Claire Hempel elected as new Planning Commission chair

The Planning Commission has elected a new interim chair because the current chair, Todd Shaw, will be leaving the commission at the end of the year. Shaw is completing his fourth term and is ready to move on to other endeavors. He nominated Claire Hempel, who has served as vice chair. Commissioner Jennifer Mushtaler expressed some concern about whether it would be wise to choose Hempel, a landscape architect and urban planner. According to Mushtaler, Hempel has had to recuse herself on several occasions to avoid a conflict of interest. The other nominee was Commissioner Awais Azhar. Commissioner Greg Anderson urged everyone to vote for Hempel, noting that Azhar crafts many complicated motions and he might not be able to continue to do so if he were chair. Hempel, who will serve in the interim position until April, was elected with seven votes, the minimum. Staff wasted no time in announcing on the city website that Hempel is now the chair.