27 apply to serve on Vallejo’s new surveillance advisory board

VALLEJO – Twenty-seven Vallejoans have applied to serve on the city’s new Surveillance Advisory Board, which was created last year following concerns about the police department purchasing and using surveillance technology without the required oversight.

The Vallejo City Council is scheduled to hold two special meetings next week to interview all of the applicants. The new board will consist of seven members, each appointed by a sitting councilmember. Board members must be Vallejo residents and will be required to serve the same term as the councilmember who appointed them.

A bulk of the applicants, 11, come from District 5 - Central Vallejo. The voters in that district will pick a councilmember to represent them this November after Councilmember Hakeem Brown announced that he would not seek another term in office.

The District 5 applicants include: Tara Beasley Stansberry, who is a current member of the city’s Housing and Community Development Commission and Design Review Board, and a declared District 5 council candidate; Robert Mangosing; Adam Bregenzer; Dwight Monroe, another declared council candidate; Timothy Brice; Asia Fisher; Sean MacCracken; Joey Carrizales; Peter Van Der Pas; Demetra Stall Nash, and Matthew Kennedy, who also serves on the city’s Design Review Board.

Five from District 3 - Glen Cove, which is represented by Mina Loera-Diaz, have also applied. They include Phillip Thomas; Naomi Yun; Andrea Sorce of the new Solano County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union; Phillip Balbuena; and Harrison Ransom.

The same number applied from District 4 - Mare Island/North Waterfront. That district, too, will be on the November ballot as Councilmember Katy Miessner is termed out of office this year.Those applicants include David Haldane, a self-declared council candidate; Lisa Chen; Laura Likover; Brett Olsen; and Andrea Germaine.

There are three applicants from District 6 - South Vallejo, which is represented by Cristina Arriola. They include Ryan Tewell; George Roth; and Brooke Redelle.

From District 1 - Hiddenbrooke/Northgate, two people have applied: Michael McMillan, and Kurt Leier. The district is represented by Vice Mayor Rozzana Verder-Aliga. Councilmember Pippin Dew, who is also termed out, lives in the district.

Finally, only one person from District 2 - North Vallejo/Mini, applied: Sabrina Enriquez. That district will be on the November ballot. No current council member lives in the district.

There are restrictions on who can serve on the board. Members of Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams’ Chief's Advisory Board are ineligible, as are current city of Vallejo employees and their immediate family members. In addition, members of local, state or federal law enforcement are prohibited from being a member.

The council approved the creation of the new board last September.

The local ACLU chapter along with Oakland Privacy pushed for the new board after the city purchased a cell-site simulator, otherwise known as a Stingray, before had a use policy in place, as required by state law.

A cell simulator masquerades as a cell phone tower, confusing nearby cell phones, which then connect to the device instead of a cell phone tower. Law enforcement can find each phone’s unique international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number, which is then used to track the location of the phone. Some of the  devices can intercept voice and text transmissions.

Oakland Privacy sued the city, arguing the city violated state law when the council voted to acquire the cell site simulator without public input. Oakland Privacy won a preliminary ruling, which forced Vallejo to change its Stingray policy.

Other surveillance technology the committee is reviewing includes automated license plate readers, drones, closed circuit TV cameras, gunshot detection technology, body cameras, biometric software, and DNA capture technology, among others.

The special meeting of the Vallejo City Council is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Monday and 5 p.m. on Tuesday. The meetings will be held via teleconference.