EEOAC elects new chair and vice chair; committee debates virtual participation rule

At its May 7 meeting the San Joaquin County Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee elected new leadership and approved past minutes amid a protest over a rule limiting voting by virtual participants.

Resignation and nominations: David Davis reported the previous chair, Naja, had resigned and recommended Dominic as a successor. Committee members opened nominations and moved to elect Dominic as chair. After a motion and second, the committee voted in favor; the motion carried and Dominic was confirmed as chair.

Vice chair election: Committee members then nominated Michael Sorensen for vice chair. The nomination was seconded and carried; committee members congratulated Sorensen.

Minutes and corrections: The committee considered approval of the minutes from April 2, 2025. Members requested corrections: one member asked that their name be removed from a luncheon subcommittee list where they had said they would "think about it," and another member noted a misspelling of a name (corrected from "E n" to the proper spelling). With those changes noted, the committee moved to approve the minutes. A motion carried with one abstention recorded during roll call.

Virtual participation dispute: During the nominations discussion, member Douglas Vigil objected to a standing rule that barred virtual participants from making motions or voting. He asked for the rule to be reconsidered and requested it be placed on a future agenda; staff said the issue was not approved at this meeting but would be added to the next agenda for discussion. Committee staff offered to follow up offline with Vigil about the policy.

Adjournment: With no additional business, the committee set its next meeting for Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, at 3 p.m., and adjourned.

Ending: Staff and committee members agreed to return with the corrected minutes, follow up on the virtual-participation concern and continue EEO plan implementation updates at future meetings.