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Rules Committee recommends Eddie Zang for DCYF oversight seat, grants residency waiver
Summary
The Rules Committee voted unanimously to recommend Eddie Zang to a board-appointed seat on the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families Oversight and Advisory Committee, including a residency waiver. Deputy City Attorney John Givner told the committee Zang’s planned consultant role would not create a disqualifying conflict at appointment.
Chair John Avalos opened the hearing on July 23 to fill one board-appointed seat on the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families Oversight and Advisory Committee. After hearing short presentations from several candidates, supervisors debated qualifications, diversity and potential conflicts of interest.
Eddie Zang, a project director at the Community Youth Center who is beginning a Soros Justice Fellowship in September, described his work on youth outreach, violence-prevention programs and efforts to build culturally competent services in Bayview-Hunters Point. Supporters including Sarah Winn of the Community Youth Center told the committee he had deep ties to the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods and would be an asset to the oversight body.
Supervisors raised questions about whether Zang’s continuing, part-time consulting relationship with his former employer would create a conflict with DCYF funding. Deputy City Attorney John Givner advised the committee that the relevant test is employment status: "that would not be a conflict because he is not going to be an employee, at the time that he's appointed," Givner said, explaining that a consultant role, unlike employment, would not necessarily disqualify an appointee under the committee’s rules.
After deliberation, Supervisor Belia Cohen moved to recommend Eddie Zang for the Oversight and Advisory Committee seat and to grant the requested residency waiver; Supervisor Kay Tang seconded. The committee took the motion without objection and forwarded the recommendation to the full Board.
The committee packet indicates there were seven applicants for this single seat and several public commenters urged the supervisors to prioritize applicants with deep early-childhood or family-service experience. The committee’s recommendation will be placed on the Board of Supervisors agenda for final action.
Next steps: the Board will consider the appointment at a future meeting; the mayor’s office retains authority to fill mayoral-appointed seats on the body.
