2. Boards & Commissions Starters
• Civic engagement includes
voting, participating in
community meetings,
providing public comment,
engaging in delegations to
decision makers, and serving
on appointed boards,
commissions, and committees.
• All of those items can prepare
you for elected office.
• Today we’re going to focus on
appointed boards and
commissions service at the
local, county, regional, and
state levels.
Photo Credit: SF Examiner
3. Historically Speaking
Local boards and commissions first
became popular in the late 19th Century
as a response to the corrupt “big city
bosses” that ruled American cities during
that time period. Reformers sought to
decrease power and influence by highly
partisan and self-advancing politicians.
They wanted a system by which key
government decisions would be made by
boards and commissions comprised of
citizen experts who would, they hoped,
apply their expertise for the greater good
of society.
4. Possibilities of
Power &
Influence
Provide advice to
electeds,
departments,
programs, or
other boards and
commissions.
Hear and decide
upon appeals.
Enact regulations
and establish
policy.
Hire and fire
agency staff
members.
5. • What are the
opportunities?
• What are the term
limitations?
• What is the
compensation, if any?
• When and where are the
meetings?
• What is the time
commitment?
• Who appoints,
confirms, removes?
TheLayoftheLand
6. Who Appoints? Who Confirms? Who Removes?
Mayor
Governor
City
Manager
City
Council
Rules
Committee
Senate
Board of
Supervisors
Commissioners
Agency
Executives
7. What are the
strategies for
getting
appointed?
Decision Makers
(Appointers and Confirmers)
Inside Influencers
(Appointment Secretaries,
Department Staff, Current
Commissioners)
Outside Influencers
(Community Organizations, Labor
Groups, Business Organizations, etc.)
8. • How might you influence?
• Where (and how much) is the
money?
• What is the potential for
network building?
• What are the possibilities as a
proving ground and/or
pipeline?
• Where are the potential
pitfalls?
DrillingDown
11. Santa Clara
County
Commission
on the Status
of Women
(appointed)
Franklin-
McKinley
School
District Board
(elected)
Photo Credit: Boa Thien Ngo
Buu Thai
15. Eric Swalwell
Dublin, CA
Heritage &
Cultural Arts
Commission
(appointed)
Dublin, CA
Planning
Commission
(appointed)
Dublin, CA
City Council
(elected)
US House of
Representatives
(elected)
Photo Credit: Carlos Avila Gonzalez
16. • African American Board Leadership Institute (Los Angeles)
• Alameda Labor Council (California)
• California Women Lead (California)
• Institute for Women in Public Life (St. Louis)
• Liberty Hill Foundation (Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Ana, and
Eastern Coachella Valley)
• Nexus Community Partners (Minneapolis/Saint Paul)
• Orange County Labor Federation (California)
• Sacramento Housing Alliance (California)
• Hispanas Organized for Political Equity (HOPE) (California)
• Urban Habitat (San Francisco Bay Area)
• Virginia Leadership Institute (Arlington)
• And I’m sure many others …
AppointmentsTraining
17. Laurie Jones Neighbors
San Francisco, CA
ljneighbors@gmail.com
415/200-6743
website: www.ljneighbors.com
@ljneighbors
