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Rules Committee appoints Steve Notsell to Veterans Affairs Commission and advances ordinance to expand commission seats
Summary
After hearing two candidates, the Rules Committee recommended Steve Notsell for the Veterans Affairs Commission and advanced an ordinance to expand the commission from 15 to 17 members to improve generational representation, particularly for returning Iraq/Afghanistan veterans.
The Rules Committee appointed Steve Notsell to the Veterans Affairs Commission and moved forward an ordinance to increase commission membership from 15 to 17.
Notsell described long-standing veterans advocacy, priorities to increase attendance and engagement of the commission and to organize census-based efforts to better count and serve homeless veterans. Matthew Shea, an Army Ranger and younger veteran, argued for stronger outreach to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and presented a programmatic approach to attract younger veterans to services and peer support.
Public commenters and commissioners emphasized the need to add younger veterans to the commission to reflect recent conflicts and the changing demographics of returning service members. Several veterans and veteran-service organizations testified about the value of both candidates. To accommodate calls for broader representation, Supervisor Alioto Pier introduced an ordinance to expand the commission from 15 to 17 members and to require residency in the City and County of San Francisco for commissioners; the committee moved the ordinance forward for Board consideration after discussion about quorum and attendance requirements.
Committee members signaled a desire to appoint both applicants over time and directed staff to monitor vacancies and speed any follow-up appointments if the ordinance passes.
