[I. Call to Order ]
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ALRIGHT.WHILE WE COVERED OUR PUBLIC COMMENT YESTERDAY, I WILL OPEN THE FLOOR IF THERE ARE ANY CITIZENS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.
ARE THERE ANY CITIZENS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK AT THIS TIME? IS THERE ANYBODY IN THE ROOM THAT WISHES TO SPEAK THAT, UH, DID NOT SIGN UP? IF YOU DO, WOULD YOU PLEASE SIGN UP AT
[IV. Overview and recap of Robert Half Executive Search process for the Election Administrator search ]
THIS TIME? HEARING NONE.WE WILL NOW MOVE INTO ITEM NUMBER FOUR, UH, WHICH IS THE OVERVIEW AND RECAP OF ROBERT HALF EXECUTIVE SEARCH PROCESS WHERE THE ELECTION COM COMMITTED SEARCH.
[V. EXECUTIVE SESSION]
WE WILL NOW RECONVENE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION, AND FOR THE RECORD, UH, EXECUTIVE SESSIONS MAY BE DISCUSSED AND ACT UPON IF APPROPRIATE.AND AFTER AN OPEN SESSION, WE WILL RECESS TO GO TO EXECUTIVE SESSION PURSUANT TO 5 5 1 0 7 4 PERSONNEL MATTERS REGARDING INTERVIEW AND EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL CANDIDATES TO THE POSITION OF ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR.
AS THIS IS A RECONVENE MEETING, I WILL JUST NOTE THAT WE HAVE STAFF THAT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
NOAH BARSHA, PRISCILLA HERNANDEZ, LARRY ROBERSON, AND SUE SUE'S LAST NAME.
AND JERRY RESPONDENT AND THE ROBERT HALF TEAM WHO IS PARTICIPATING BY ZOOM.
SO THE TIME IS NOW 1:41 PM LET US NOW GO TO EXECUTIVE, BUT LET US REFRAIN FROM COMMENTING TILL WE GET THE SIGNAL THAT WE ARE NOW IN EXECUTIVE SESSION
IS I'M, DO I HAVE LIVE MIC? DO WE HAVE LIVE MICS? OKAY.
UH, WE ARE NOW IN OPEN SESSION
[VI. Discussion and appropriate action regarding the selection and appointment of the Bexar County Elections Administrator and approval of an order evidencing the appointment signed by the number of Commission members necessary to make the appointment if so made ]
AS CHAIR OF THE ELECTIONS COMMISSION.I'D LIKE TO JUST MAKE SOME BRIEF STATEMENTS.
UH, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THE ELECTION COMMISSION AND THE MEMBERS.
UH, AS COUNTY JUDGE, I'VE MADE EFFORT TO GET THIS COMMISSION BACK UP AND RUNNING AND, UH, Y'ALL HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL TO WORK WITH.
AND I SAY, UH, I'M ALSO GREAT GRATEFUL, ALTHOUGH THEY'RE NOT, I DON'T BELIEVE THEY'RE STILL ON.
BUT TO KATIE, BOB, RYAN, CHRISTINA, LIZZIE, WITH ROBERT HALF EXECUTIVE SEARCH, THEY HAVE MANAGED A VERY THOROUGH PROCESS WITH INTEGRITY AND PROFESSIONALISM.
AND FOR THAT, I AM ALSO GRATEFUL.
THE CANDIDATE WE'VE IDENTIFIED, UH, AT THIS TIME HAS MORE THAN A DECADE OF EXPERIENCE AS AN ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR.
THEY HAVE SERVED AS PRESIDENT OF THE STATEWIDE TEXAS ELECTIONS ADMINISTER ADMINISTRATOR ASSOCIATION.
THEY SERVED AS CHIEF ADVOCATE FOR THE PROFESSION, REPRESENTING ELECTION ADMINISTRATORS ACROSS THE STATE AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE.
THE BEXAR COUNTY ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT HAS SOME INCREDIBLE STAFF, AND WE BELIEVE THAT THIS APPOINTMENT PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO REASSESS, IMPROVE, INNOVATE OPERATIONS TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS FOR OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITY.
AT THIS TIME, I WILL ASK THAT WE HAVE A MOTION FOR THE APPROVAL OF AN ORDER OF THE BEXAR COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSION APPOINTING A COUNTY ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE CANDIDATE MICHELLE CARU.
IS THERE A MOTION I LUCIANA CLARK MOTION TO APPROVE MICHELLE M CARU AS THE NEXT ELECTION ADMINISTRATOR.
MOTION BY MS. UH, CL, UH, MAD CLARK.
AT THIS TIME, I WILL ASK AND OPEN THE FLOOR FOR ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.
I'LL START WITH MS. ADAM CLARK.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SAY FOR THE RECORD? I DO.
I WANNA SAY THANK YOU, A 12 FOR ROBERT HAFF AND THE EXECUTIVE, UH, TEAM FOR SEARCHING FOR THE BEST CANDIDATE TO BRING IN THE NEXT ELECTION ADMINISTRATOR FOR HOPEFULLY THE NEXT 20, 40, 60 YEARS OR SO.
BECAUSE BEXAR COUNTY IS A GROWING COMMUNITY, WE CONTINUE TO GROW AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE PROVIDE THE BEST ADEQUATE, UH,
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SUPPORT AND SERVICES HERE TO BEX COUNTY ON OUR CONSTITUENTS.I WAS VERY PROUD TO SEE THAT NOT ONLY MS. CARU HAS DEALT WITH ELECTIONS, UH, BEFORE THE PAST AND IS A CERTIFIED ELECTIONS REGISTRATION ADMINISTRATOR FOR SIR, THAT WAS ONE OF MY MAIN CONCERNS AND HER BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND DISASTER RECOVERY PROCESS BECAUSE OF ALL THE EXPERIENCE SHE BRINGS TO THE TABLE.
I THINK MS. CARU BRINGS A LOT OF INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND GOOD LEADERSHIP, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE PARTNERSHIP AS A COUNTY CLERK WITH MS. CARU.
I WANT TO SAY THAT THIS COMMISSION HAS BEEN FANTASTIC AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN VERY PLEASED WITH, YOU KNOW, ALL THE DUE DILIGENCE THAT EVERYBODY DID.
I ALSO WANT TO THANK OF COURSE, OUR HR DEPARTMENT AND OUR ATTORNEYS AS WELL, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY DID A LOT TO HELP US AS WELL.
AND OF COURSE, I WANT TO THANK MY ASSISTANT JURY RESPONDENT FOR HELPING.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS INTEGRITY OF AN ELECTION IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
OUR CITIZENS NEED TO HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT WHEN THEY VOTE, THEIR VOTE IS BEING RECORDED IN THE PROPER MANNER, AND THAT ELECTIONS ARE, ARE FAIR.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN PEOPLE ARE ELECTED TO OFFICE, IT IS THE PERSON THAT WAS ELECTED BY THE VOTERS.
AND SO THAT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT WE PICK A PERSON THAT DOES THAT.
AND I THINK THAT MS. GRU IS THAT PERSON THAT CAN HELP US WITH THE ELECTIONS.
ONE OF THE BIG THINGS FOR ME IS THAT VOTER REGISTRATION IS VERY IMPORTANT.
ELECTIONS ARE VERY IMPORTANT, BUT IN ADDITION TO REGISTRATION, WE NEED TO INCREASE THE PARTICIPATION OF OUR VOTERS.
WHEN YOU'RE HAVING ELECTIONS THAT HAVE 12%, 11%, SOMETIMES 7%, THAT'S NOT A GOOD THING.
IT'S NEVER A GOOD THING WHEN PEOPLE ARE BEING ELECTED BY 7% OF THE VOTERS.
SO I HOPE THAT THIS PERSON AND I HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT THIS PERSON IS GOING TO HELP US TO INCREASE THE PARTICIPATION, TO MAINTAIN THE INTEGRITY OF THE ELECTIONS IN BEAR COUNTY, AND TO HELP US MOVE FORWARD.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT I AM HERE TO ASSIST HER IN ANY WAY, AND AS I KNOW, EVERYBODY ON THIS COMMISSION IS PREPARED TO DO THE SAME THING.
UH, I TOO WANNA THANK THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, UM, ROBERT, HALF EVERYBODY AROUND THE TABLE THAT HAS BEEN PARTICIPATING IN THIS, UH, IT'S BEEN A, UH, A REALLY GOOD PROCESS THAT WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH.
VERY EXCITED THAT WE'RE, UH, PUTTING, GETTING AN ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR IN PLACE.
UM, I TOO, UH, PLAN TO SUPPORT, UH, MS. CARU TO THE GREATEST EXTENT THAT I CAN BECAUSE IT IS SO IMPORTANT.
ELECTION ADMINISTRATION IS SO IMPORTANT, UM, FOR THE VOTERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT WE'VE GOT, UH, UH, A PROCESS WITH INTEGRITY.
UM, I AM ALSO VERY EXCITED AND PLEASED, UH, OF THE, THE, UH, COMMISSION SELECTION OF OUR NEW ELECTION ADMINISTRATOR, MICHELLE CARU.
I THANK HER, HER ENERGY, HER EXPERTISE IS GOING TO BE JUST VERY REFRESHING FOR ALL OF US.
WE ARE SO APPRECIATIVE OF OUR PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATOR.
WE WISH HER WELL IN HER RETIREMENT.
WE WANNA THANK ROBERT HALF AND THE RECRUITING FIRM FOR HELPING US MAKE THIS SELECTION.
UM, IT'S BEEN A, IT'S BEEN A VERY DETAILED AND ARDUOUS, UM, UH, THING FOR US ALL TO DO, TO PARTICIPATE IN, BUT WE KNOW HOW INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT IT IS.
THE ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATION IS THE FOREMOST, UM, UH, THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL OF US TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE FAIR ELECTIONS, THAT, THAT ARE RUN SMOOTHLY AND THAT, UH, AND THAT EVERYONE'S ABLE TO PARTICIPATE.
SO, UM, WITH THAT SAID, SO I CONGRATULATE HER AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH HER.
SO LET ME CONCLUDE WITH MY COMMENTS AS CHAIR.
UH, FIRST, UH, I'VE EXPRESSED MY APPRECIATION TO ALL THE COMMISSION MEMBERS.
LET ME PUT ON THE RECORD THAT PART OF THE, AND MS. C***S, UH, IT, IT HAS BEEN A BIT OF AN ARDUOUS, BUT I JUST THINK IT, IT IS JUST PART AND PARCEL OF US WORKING HARD, WORKING DILIGENTLY.
AND I, I'LL BE REAL BLUNT, WE HAVE REALLY DUG DEEP INTO THE INTERVIEW AND THE RESEARCH, AND THAT'S THE REASON WHY PERHAPS IT WAS A BIT ARDUOUS BECAUSE WE REALLY, REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD THE BEST CANDIDATE.
I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE DONE THAT WITH THIS MOTION AND
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TO MOVE FORWARD.THE OTHER PART TO PUT ON THE RECORD IS THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK AS A COMMISSION.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE INPUT TO THE ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR.
I CERTAINLY WILL DO THAT AS COUNTY JUDGE AND AS CHAIR OF THE ELECTION COMMISSION.
I BELIEVE THE PARTY CHAIRS ARE GOING TO REALLY HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER, CONTINUE TO COMMUNICATE, COLLABORATE, AND COORDINATE WITH ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR AS WE COME TO THE ELECTIONS, ESPECIALLY THE PARTISAN ELECTIONS.
AND, UH, AND WHATEVER ELECTIONS MAY BE HAD.
I ALSO WANNA REMIND THE COMMISSION THAT WE HAD AS PART OF THE PROCESS, WE WANT THE NEW ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR TO MEET THE PUBLIC.
AND SO, UH, WHETHER WE NEED ANOTHER MEETING, I THINK I'M GOING TO ASK THAT ONCE, UH, EVERYTHING IS SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED, I'S DOTTED T'S CROSSED THAT, UH, ALL OF Y'ALL INDIVIDUALLY OR AS A GROUP, IF WE HAVE TO MEET IN A PUBLIC MEETING, HAVE THOSE CONVERSATION OF HOW THE ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR CAN MEET YOUR CONSTITUENTS.
OBVIOUSLY, MR. DIAMOND CLARK, MR. EE, NEW YORK ELECTED OFFICIALS COUNTYWIDE HELP ME AND THE COMMISSION.
WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? I BELIEVE THE PARTY CHAIRS, THAT'S SOMETHING YOU WOULD DO IN YOUR INDIVIDUAL CAPACITIES, UH, HOW THIS NEW ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR WILL COME TO MEET, OBVIOUSLY, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT ARE VERY INVOLVED IN THE ELECTIONS PROCESS, WHETHER THEY'RE VOLUNTEERS, WHETHER THEY'RE POLL WATCHERS, OR WHETHER THEY'RE JUST CONCERNED CITIZENS THAT WILL ALWAYS DEMAND INTEGRITY OF ELECTIONS.
SO IT IS MY HOPE AND INTENT THAT EVERYONE HERE WILL LET MS. CARU ON A PATH TO SUCCESS.
AND SO SHE WILL HAVE HER HANDS FULL.
AND WE'VE HAD THAT DISCUSSION.
UH, I TRULY BELIEVE SHE'S UP TO THE TASK, UH, TO DO THAT.
UH, I WILL CONTINUOUS COUNTY JUDGE ASSESS WHAT HER NEEDS ARE.
WE HAVE, IN FACT, I WOULD LIKE ON THE RECORD THAT BECAUSE OF THE INTERVIEW PROCESS, I HAVE GREAT OPTIMISM FOR THE ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT AND FOR SOME OF THE EMPLOYEES, UH, THAT ARE THERE.
AND OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE TO LET MS. CARU DECIDE WHAT HER EXECUTIVE TEAM WILL BE, WHAT HER EMPLOYEES WILL BE.
BUT I THINK WE ALSO WANNA MAKE IT CLEAR THAT WE HAVE SOME REALLY GOOD EMPLOYEES WHO, IF THEY SO DESIRE, I HOPE AND PRAY THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE TO WORK FOR THE BEXAR COUNTY, CONTINUE WORK IN ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT, CONTINUE THE INTEGRITY AND THE COMPETENCE OF ELECTION DEPARTMENT.
AND SO, UM, THIS IS A VERY MONUMENTAL TIME THAT WE ARE RECOGNIZING.
AND I HAVE ALWAYS RECOGNIZED THAT MISS JACKIE CALLANAN HAS SERVED WITH GREAT DISTINCTION AND DIGNITY, AND I HAVE TRULY BEEN APPRECIATED FOR HER OVERVIEW OPERATIONS OF THE ELECTIONS, THE INTEGRITY IN ELECTIONS.
I DON'T THINK ANYBODY CHALLENGES JACKIE ON THAT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE HAVE MADE IT VERY CLEAR.
YES, YOU'RE TO COUNT THE VOTES, YES, YOU'RE TO GET PEOPLE REGISTERED, BUT LET'S STRATEGIZE TO HOW WE INCREASE VOTER PARTICIPATION.
AND SO, UH, AND MS. OAM CLARK, YOU HAVE BROUGHT YOUR EXPERTISE, ESPECIALLY FROM A MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT PERHAPS MS. CARUSO, I SEE THE VALUE AND I SEE MY, OUR PARTY CHAIRS MAYBE, AND I, I DON'T WANNA MAKE LIGHT, BUT Y'ALL CAME TO AN AGREEMENT, WHICH I THINK IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE BOTH Y'ALL WANTED TO DO WHAT'S BEST FOR ALL VOTERS OF THIS COUNTY.
AND SO, UH, WITH THAT, LET US TAKE A VOTE.
UH, I'M CALLING THE QUESTION, AND I WOULD, I'LL MAKE FURTHER COMMENTS AFTER I SEE THE VOTE.
AT THIS TIME, I WILL MAKE A ROLL CALL VOTE.
MS. ADAM CLARK, WHAT IS YOUR VOTE? VOTE FOR MICHELLE M CARU TO BE THE NEXT ELECTION ADMINISTRATOR.
MR. RUSTY, I VOTE FOR MS. CAR MS. SO, LOS SOLI, I VOTE FOR MS. CARU.
MS. C***S, I VOTE IN FAVOR OF MICHELLE CARU AND JUDGE SAI VOTES FOR MS. MICHELLE CARU.
THE VOTE IS UNANIMOUS AT THIS TIME.
UH, MR. NOAH, UH, YOU WILL, UH, INSTRUCT COUNTY STAFF TO HELP MS. CARU
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PROCESS AND DO THE ONBOARDING, UH, WITH HER AND TO GET EVERYTHING OFFICIALLY DONE.BUT, UH, AT THIS TIME, IS THERE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? MOTION TO ADJOURN.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OBJECTIONS, ABSTENTIONS.
WHAT IS, IS THERE A MOTION TO PROVE BY SIGNIFY SAYING AYE.
ANY OPPOSITION? ANY ABSTENTION? MOTION ADJOURNED.
I AM NOW SIGNING OFF ON THE ORDER AND I.