It has been announced that event promoter Rob Appel has been appointed to the HIV Planning Council by County Supervisor Pam Slater. Slater has been a longtime supporter of Appel’s annual SummerQuest HIV and AIDS gala fundraiser, although some have been critical of the event, saying that it costs too much while raising too little money for beneficiaries.

Last year’s event, which cost over $85,000 to produce, was called a tremendous success by Appel, although it raised only $16,000, which was bolstered by a $50,000 county grant by Slater to bring the total to $66,000. The results of this year’s event, which featured singer Lorna Luft and dancer-actress Cyd Charisse, have not been made public, but once again Slater contributed a $50,000 county grant to the fundraising effort.

According to HIV Planning Council Coordinator Deborah Roseman, Appel was appointed to his position by Slater after former planning council member David Breceda stepped down from the council two months ago because of health related issues.

“The appointments for the supervisor’s seats are really the purview of the supervisors,” Roseman told the Gay and Lesbian Times. “In the past there has been a little bit more information sharing before the appointment took place, so we didn’t know it was coming until we got word that he was appointed.”

According to county officials, traditionally HIV Planning Council Members are interviewed and screened by the council’s membership committee. Once applicants are screened they are submitted to the entire council for approval before being sent on to the County Board of Supervisors to make their final selections. This is the first time that a member of the board of supervisors has recommended someone without first getting the HIV Planning Council’s recommendations.

“At one point [Appel] had a conversation with [Slater], mentioning that if there were any volunteer work he could do at the county he would have an interest in it,” said John Weil, Pam Slater’s chief of staff. “That probably was a good year and a half ago. Nothing came up that the supervisor felt he would have a strong interest in — because typically volunteers must have a strong interest in an issue to stay involved and attend all of the meetings and do a good job. You look for specific skills or backgrounds and interests when you appoint someone.”

When Slater learned of the opening on the HIV Planning Council she contacted Appel to see if he would be interested in the position. According to Weil, Appel was “delighted” to take on the position and said that it’s “something he said he’s always, always wanted to do.”

“As you know he has held fundraisers in helping to find a cure for AIDS,” Weil said about Appel’s qualifications. “He’s been very involved in the gay community on various issues. He spoke on the issue for about 15 to 20 minutes to Pam about why he wanted to get involved and his heart seemed very into wanting to give time back to the community.”

According to Terry Cunningham of the Office of AIDS Coordination the planning council is always looking for new candidates who are able to come to the table with diverse skills and backgrounds.

“There is a significant amount of work that needs to be done by HIV Planning Council members,” Cunningham said. “I have no doubt that we can bring Rob Appel up to speed on the issues, because we do have trainings and we do have a mentorship program on the planning council. He’s going to need to attend the meetings and make decisions on funding issues. There is definitely a fiscal and fiduciary responsibility.”

Although Times staff tried repeatedly to reach Appel, as of press time he was not available for comment.