Mountain View council interviews six applicants, recommends Alexander Brown, Emily Hislop and Kevin Ma to Rental Housing Committee

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — The Mountain View City Council on a special evening meeting interviewed six applicants for three open seats on the city's Rental Housing Committee (RHC) and, by ballot, recommended Alexander Brown, Emily Hislop and Kevin Ma for the posts.

The council conducted panel-format interviews under Council Policy K-2, allotting one minute for an introduction, one minute for the RHC/hearing officer role question, two minutes on near-term issues and one minute for applicants' experience with the RHC. The council set the committee terms to run from April 17, 2025, through April 17, 2029, and directed that recommendations be placed on the March 25, 2025, council consent calendar for formal adoption.

Why it matters: The RHC implements the city's renter-protection framework (referred to during the meeting as the CSFRA) and oversees hearing officers who adjudicate petitions under the city's rent and mobile-home stabilization rules. Councilmembers said they weighed candidates’ technical skills, institutional knowledge, language access and the need for stability in a body that now handles regular appeals, utility-billing disputes and retaliation concerns.

During the interviews, candidates described backgrounds and priorities. David Grimm said his “background is in engineering” and emphasized spreadsheet and financial-review skills. Alexander Brown said he regularly attends RHC and council meetings and described himself as “connected to a lot of the people who are served by” the city's housing protections; Brown identified himself as an existing committee chair. Kevin Ma described work with the League of Women Voters and said he serves as vice chair of the RHC. Christopher Chang, a long‑time renter and former school board member, recounted diverse rental experiences. Guadalupe Rosas participated remotely and identified herself as a community organizer. Emily Hislop, who has served in city mediation and administration roles related to rental dispute resolution, described the RHC as “the governing body for the CSFRA” and said hearing officers must act as “neutral, arbiters.”

Council discussion focused on how the RHC should balance advocate perspectives with procedural stability. Councilmember Chris Clark said he is “looking less for advocates and more for folks who are really focused on what is good policy and ensuring that we don't end up in a world where we have all sorts of appeals just for the sake of appeals.” Councilmember Lisonbee Hicks and others praised the overall strength of the applicant pool and encouraged unsuccessful applicants to reapply.

Applicants and several councilmembers emphasized issues the RHC is expected to address in the coming year, including the city’s ratio utility billing (referred to in the meeting as the “RUBS” or utility adjustment process), outreach and language access for petitioners, potential retaliation claims, and clarifying procedures and forms so tenants and landlords can use the process effectively. Kevin Ma described the utility‑billing work as ongoing for “about 2 plus years” and said outreach and predictability are priorities. Emily Hislop urged transparency in data collection to increase predictability for both landlords and tenants.

Ballot results and next steps: The council voted by ballot—each member could vote for up to three candidates under Council Policy K-2. The roll-call ballot showed these selections by councilmember: Lisonbee Hicks (Alex Brown, Emily Hislop, Kevin Ma); Alan Kamay (Alex Brown, Emily Hislop, Kevin Ma); Emily Ramos (Alex Brown, Kevin Ma, Guadalupe Rosas); Lucas Ramirez (Emily Hislop, Kevin Ma, Guadalupe Rosas); Chris Clark (Alex Brown, Emily Hislop, Kevin Ma); and Pat Shewalter (Alex Brown, Emily Hislop, Kevin Ma). Alexander Brown, Emily Hislop and Kevin Ma received the highest numbers of votes and were recommended for appointment; the council will return those recommendations to its March 25 meeting for formal confirmation.

The council noted a Charter provision cited during the meeting (recorded as "Charter section 17 O 9") that limits RHC composition so that no more than two committee members may own/manage rental property or be realtors/developers; council staff presided over the ballot process per the K-2 selection rules.

The meeting opened at 6:32 p.m. and adjourned at 7:35 p.m. The council signaled plans to continue monitoring RHC work on the utility‑billing adjustments, retaliation issues and outreach/language access efforts in the coming year.

Ending: The council thanked the applicants and encouraged continued community interest in serving on advisory bodies; those recommended will appear on the March 25, 2025, council agenda for final action.