Mayor Alameda issued the following statement on Bill 64, which failed to pass the County Council on Oct. 8:

“Currently, the County Charter requires the Public Works Director to be a registered professional engineer, which unfortunately restricts the pool of applicants. In addition to education, there are other qualifications that should be considered when choosing someone to run a department, such as an individual’s practical experience and leadership abilities. I believe the public deserves a say on whether the existing requirement is truly necessary, and it is disappointing that a majority of the Council members chose not to place this decision before them. Still, I hope that this conversation continues and that we can find opportunities to apply a more common-sense approach to our hiring practices.”

The bill would have proposed a change to the County Charter, subject to voters’ approval, amending the requirements for the position of Director of Public Works.