Council reopens Public Defender Commission reappointments; directs staff to reopen applications

Council members voted on Nov. 3 to reconsider a consent-calendar reappointment of three members to the Aurora Public Defender Commission and directed staff to reopen the application process and schedule interviews.

Council member Bergen moved to reconsider the consent reappointment, saying it was not clear the commission members would be reappointed without interviews and that the council had discussed earlier conducting interviews for reappointments. “I would like to interview for the public defender positions,” Bergen said.

Staff reported that six total applications were in the meeting backup; three were for reappointment and three were new. City attorney Pete Schulte advised that council interviews would not create a legal conflict as long as the council conducted the interviews the same way it would for any other board or commission and did not attempt to direct the commission after appointment. Schulte said interviews are an appropriate avenue for council input on commission direction and leadership so long as the process stays within the statutory and code constraints that establish the commission’s independence.

Council voted to reconsider the consent appointment; the motion passed with seven yes votes and three no votes. Council members directed staff to reopen recruitment for the positions, advertise for approximately one month and return with a candidate list and an anticipated interview date (staff proposed targeted interviews around Dec. 15). Council members discussed the requirement that four commission seats be held by attorneys admitted to practice in Colorado and noted current vacancies included two attorney slots and one resident slot.

Provenance: motion to reconsider begins at 00:27:28 and the final vote on reconsideration is recorded at 00:37:54 in the transcript.

Ending: Staff will advertise for roughly one month, collect applications and return to council with a recommended interview schedule and candidate list for appointments to the Public Defender Commission.