City council appoints Genevieve Waltwer to Appeals Hearing Board after candidate interviews

The San Jose City Council on April 8 appointed Genevieve Waltwer to a vacant seat on the city's Appeals Hearing Board after interviewing two candidates for the position.

In an interview before the council, Waltwer described herself as a licensed marriage and family therapist with a private practice in San Jose and said she grew up in the city. She told the council she has prior experience working with first responders and reading ordinances, which she said gives her a useful perspective for board hearings: "I am familiar with code enforcement. I'm familiar with, reading ordinances, translating them," Waltwer said during her remarks.

Nut graf: The council held structured interviews and used a paper ballot to pick a single appointee for a term that runs until December; the appointment was unanimous. The council noted there will be additional vacancies in December and encouraged qualified applicants to reapply.

Samantha Kaye, the other finalist, described her background in internal audit and corporate compliance and her long residency in San Jose. Kaye said she has served on advisory boards and worked with government agencies and the private sector: "I have been working with a variety of organizations on volunteer work and also including serving on the customers advisory board for San Jose Water Company," she told the council.

Council members asked both candidates about experiences with code enforcement and how they would separate personal beliefs from applying city policy. Waltwer said she respects laws and policies even when they conflict with personal beliefs and emphasized both physical and emotional safety when adjudicating cases: "I have to say, there's an emotional safety component to this too, making sure that our community members who are going through this process are getting a fair process," she said.

Following the interviews, the council used paper ballots. The clerk reported unanimous support for Waltwer; a later verbal correction said the tally was nine votes unanimous. The council appointed Waltwer to the current vacancy through December; the mayor noted the appointee will need to reinterview in the fall if they seek a new full term.

Ending: The city clerk and staff will process the appointment and notify the board; the council also signaled there will be additional appointments to consider in December and encouraged applicants to apply then.