When the San Luis Obispo City Council approved the formation of a 10-member Revenue Measure Advisory Committee in July, one council member predicted the citizen advisory board would be little more than a group of “Yes” men and women.

That committee—tasked with determining whether renewal of the controversial Measure Y, which enacted a half-cent sales tax, should be put up to the electorate, or whether “alternative” measures should be pursued—was named on Sept. 3. Candidates needed a vote from three council members to make the cut.

Councilman Dan Carpenter earlier said that the committee would be something of a waste, as many members of the council and city staff have already come out in support of renewing Measure Y, and their appointees would likely do the same. He further argued that the candidates would likely be the “same old suspects” and not accurately represent the diversity of the city population.

And as he predicted, the appointees shared mostly unanimous favor among the council’s majority voting bloc.

They also include several people who have previously served or are currently serving on various city advisory bodies, including the planning commission’s John Fowler and Michael Multari, former planning commissioner Michael Boswell, retired county administrator Jim Grant, bicycle advisory committee member Lea Brooks, county parks employee Victoria Carranza, former San Luis Coastal Unified School District trustee Patricia Andreen, and former Promotional Coordinating Committee member Cate Norton. Also selected were retired residents Jeri Carroll and Dia Hurd.

Candidates Steve Barasch and Will Powers—often outspoken critics of city policy—weren’t selected, though they were two of Carpenter’s picks.

Measure Y, the half-cent sales tax approved by 65 percent of the electorate in 2006, is set to sunset in December 2014. The committee is scheduled to make its official recommendation in the spring.