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After nearly three months with a vacancy, San Benito County’s Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) on Nov. 13 unanimously appointed Lynn Mello its new commissioner.
Mello, a former county deputy director of public health, had been serving temporarily as an alternate member.
LAFCO oversees the boundaries and growth of the county’s two cities and nine special districts.
“I believe that the core of existence is health,” Mello told BenitoLink. “I’ve committed my career to the health of individuals, families and communities, and LAFCO is just another piece of the infrastructure that helps to protect public health.”
Every California county has a LAFCO consisting of representatives from local jurisdictions plus one community member who does not hold public office. That public seat is meant to bring a community perspective to an agency composed primarily of public officials.
In San Benito County, LAFCO is made up of San Benito County Supervisors Kollin Kosmicki and Dom Zanger, Hollister Mayor Roxanne Stephens, San Juan Bautista Mayor Leslie Jordan, and now Mello, serving as its public member.
The position had been vacant since August, when former commissioner Julio Rodriguez stepped down to take a seat on the Hollister Planning Commission amid conflict-of-interest concerns if he were to occupy both positions simultaneously. Rodriguez had been at LAFCO for just five months. Richard Bettencourt, his predecessor, was ousted by the new LAFCO majority and had held the seat for 14 years.
Two other residents applied to replace Rodriguez: Andy Morrison, a retiree with more than 40 years in the wastewater industry, and geographer Joseph Howard. Both told commissioners they deemed Mello as the strongest candidate and had applied only because no one else had applied by late October.
Commissioners appointed Howard as the alternate public member to serve when Mello is not present. Howard told BenitoLink he was looking forward to “fostering more public engagement” in LAFCO meetings.
“The people are stronger when they know better,” Howard said. “In this county, there are people who have so much knowledge in their heads. We need to get them in here so they can talk to us.”
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