Upon the director’s request, the committee shall submit to the director the name of a natural person, who shall be a citizen and resident of this state and not a producer, shipper, or processor nor financially interested in any producer, shipper, or processor, for appointment by the director as a public member of the committee. The director may appoint this nominee as the public member on the committee. If the nominee is unsatisfactory to the director, the committee shall continue to submit nominees until the director has made a selection. Any vacancy in the office of the public member of the committee shall be filled in the same manner as used in initially selecting the public member. The public member of the committee shall represent the interests of the general public in all matters coming before the committee and shall have the same voting and other rights and immunities as other members of the committee.