Fremont Mayor Lily Mei caused a stir in local political circles last week when it appeared she would appoint two new human relations commissioners to replace the ones who tried to thwart her campaign for mayor last year.

But just a few hours before the start of the City Council meeting when the appointments were to have been made, Mei issued a memo noting that she would hold off. She later told The Argus she needed more time to think about it.

Historically, members of a city commission who are eligible and willing to serve a second four-year term get reappointed without much fanfare.

The two incumbent human relations commissioners are John Smith and Paddy Iyer, whose first terms expire at the end of 2017; both can continue to serve unless another appointee is selected, according to city code.

Both commissioners supported then-incumbent Bill Harrison for mayor over Mei in the 2016 general election.

Iyer filed a complaint against Mei’s campaign — as well as those of then-Councilman Vinnie Bacon and unsuccessful council candidate Cullen Tiernan — with the California Fair Political Practices Commission just a few days before the election. He alleged they had improperly filed campaign finance documents and not clearly labeled some contributions.

Smith publicized the complaint on his own Facebook account Nov. 5, and the posting also appeared on the Facebook page of the pro-Harrison political organization, the Ohlone Area United Democratic Campaign, which spent tens of thousands of dollars on Harrison’s campaign. Smith chaired that organization at the time.

When Smith learned recently he and Iyer might not be appointed for a second term, he said Mei was taking “purely a political position.”

“She knows that we did not support her in the last election, and so I assume therefore that she feels she doesn’t need to support us going forward,” he said in an interview last week, adding that the complaint to the Fair Political Practices Commission may have influenced her.

“If I as the chair of the Human Relations Commission were not doing what the expectations were, I could understand that. But simply, for whatever reason, to change the composition of the commission just because you want to, I just don’t think that’s a good thing for the city.”

Smith said he is proud of the work he’s done with the commission, which included crafting the city’s compassionate and sanctuary city resolutions.

In an interview, Mei dismissed the claim that her potential appointments were politically motivated or retaliatory, saying the complaint Iyer filed against her is “totally irrelevant.”

She said she has reappointed others on different commissions who didn’t support her mayoral bid, and also voted to appoint David Bonaccorsi for a spot on the council this year despite his not supporting her either.

Mei added she’s appreciative of the work Smith and Iyer did, but her decision to possibly replace them was based on what she feels are the needs of the commission and because the two people she had in mind are highly qualified.

One person has years of experience working with kids as an elementary school principal in Fremont, Newark and Oakland, and the other has a master’s degree in psychology, focusing on improving the mental health of people in culturally diverse communities, according to applications filed with the city.

“I only have so many chances to help set the vision for Fremont and the voices that are representing it,” Mei said. “And if I were to not use it, I would basically be coming into office and not making any changes in four years, which doesn’t really make sense.

“People elected me because they thought that I was going to bring different perspectives and allow people to have the chance to have a voice. I think that’s why it resonated with people that I’m not an insider,” she said.

Nevertheless, Mei said Friday, she wanted more time to “digest and think about all the different options.”

Gus Morrison, a former longtime Fremont mayor, had emailed the four other council members ahead of the Dec. 12 meeting to say Smith is his friend and remind them that mayoral appointees must be confirmed by majority vote.

“I reappointed lots of people who I might not have appointed in the first place, but they had done the job we asked so that’s the way it worked,” Morrison said in a Dec. 14 interview, adding that he still respects Mei’s right to choose who she wants.

“You replace a good person with a great person, you don’t replace a good person with another good person,” Morrison added. “So if you’re getting better, and significantly better, then it might be something you should try. But in general the mayor only has so much political capital and this is a bad place to lose it.”

City Clerk Susan Gauthier said in an email she was aware of only “one time that a commissioner was not reappointed, after expressing an interest to be reappointed. In 2010, a Senior Citizens Commissioner was not re-appointed to an additional four-year term.”

Iyer said he was “glad that we were allowed to continue” on the commission for now, because he and Smith sit on subcommittees with ongoing projects.

Mei said while she hasn’t reached a decision, she may make her selection for the two Human Relations Commission seats at the next scheduled City Council meeting on Jan. 9.