Subject: County Commissions

Zach Friend – Second District Supervisor

County advisory bodies play a key role in providing advice to the Board of Supervisors but many in the community don’t know who serves in these positions. I believe it is important that the community know who is serving in these positions so they have another person to interact with on local policy issues. The County Board appoints local residents to more than 40 advisory bodies with most of terms beginning in April. However, a few commissions required appointments before this point and I wanted to introduce my appointees to the community.

The first is the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission focuses on issues surrounding the County General Plan including zoning, permits and even annexation or abandonment questions. Board members are asked to appoint a member and an alternate to serve in the member’s absence.

My appointments were Casey Hemard (as the commissioner) and Al Aramburu (alternate).

Casey holds a BA from the University of Alabama and a law degree from Louisiana State University. She was counsel for the United States House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce before becoming counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. When she moved to Santa Cruz with her husband and young family she became the Assistant Director of Government and Community Relations for UCSC. She and her family live in Aptos.

Al served as Supervisor Pirie’s commissioner for the last six years. He has an extensive background in the public and private sectors including serving on the Marin County Board of Supervisors for over a decade. Al was a realtor and served as the government relations director for the Marin Association of Realtors for three years. He is a U.S. Army veteran and lives with his wife in Aptos.

The second commission I made an appointment to was the Commission on the Environment. This commission is charged with recommending policies and action programs designed to improve and protect the environment. The commission advises the Board in reviewing county policies, works to build cooperation with other public and private organizations to implement effective environmental policies and reviews pending state and federal legislation that may have an environmental impact in our area.

My appointment to the Commission on the Environment was Jeffrey Talmadge. Jeffrey was one of the first certified Green Building Professionals in Santa Cruz County. He led an effort with the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) in establishing a Green Building training program for their over 200 members. His company uses green and sustainable practices in their course of work. Talmadge was the 2011 Aptos Chamber Man of the Year and lives in Aptos with his wife.

If you are interested in applying for a commission visit the County of Santa Cruz website [www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us] to see information on all of the advisory bodies and current openings. From the main webpage click on the “government” tab and then “commissions, committees and advisory bodies.” If you have any questions please call my office at 454-2200 and we’d be happy to help!