Millbrae School Board Eschews Political Selection

Following the death of veteran Millbrae School District Trustee John Lynch and the unexpected resignation of Trustee Robert Miller two new appointees to the board were seated at the board’s Feb 2nd meeting.

Two candidates, D. Don Revelo and Jay Price, both parents of school children in the district, were selected from a field of five applicants.

But the most interesting applicant was among those not selected. Former teacher and parent Jeff Steinberg was among the five applicants. Steinberg, a Millbrae native, is a former Capuchino High School Teacher who is known for creating the Sojourn to the Past program.

According to its web site, Sojourn to the Past brings the historical Civil Rights movement to life for 11th and 12th grade students, to develop communication and advocacy skills that better enable them to promote awareness of social justice in their community, and create a more civil society where diversity is embraced, injustice is spoken out against, and all people are treated with dignity.

The program has garnered national attention and has become a Steinberg’s fulltime occupation. Beyond Steinberg’s success with an innovative educational program, Steinberg is also the brother of the second most powerful political in the State government in that of Darrell Steinberg, the President pro Tempore of the California State Senate, the mantle held previously by Oakland’s Don Pirate and San Francisco’s John Burton.

Apparently the Millbrae School Board was not intimidated by the fact that one of the candidates they denied a board seat was the brother of one of a handful of political leaders who has the power to determine the fate of public education in California in the near future.

Slocum Calls for All-Mail Ballot

San Mateo County’s Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum is publicly calling on the State Legislature to allow California counties to conduct elections by mail.

Slocum’s call for a mail-in ballot is due to the fact that a special May or June election is virtually assured and Slocum, like all elections officers in the state, is rightfully concerned about the cost of running yet another election.

Slocum writes in his blog:

To reduce the financial burden on the counties and/or the state, California could take a bold step forward and conduct the special election all by mail. Or lawmakers could allow counties that want to conduct the election by mail the legal authority to do so. This would not only save a huge sum of money in California but would possibly increase voter turnout. And around half the voters already vote by mail in regular elections.

This is not the first time that Slocum has advocated for mail-in elections, but in this context Slocum’s concerns are financial. The question remains if Slocum can convince local legislative representatives to carry such a bill.

Newsom to make Gubernatorial Campaign Foray into San Mateo County

Campaign staff for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom are reaching out to Democrats in San Mateo County promoting a scheduled Town Hall style meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 13 at 7 p.m. at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos.

According to campaign e-mails, Newsom will make brief remarks and then take questions from the audience.

Newsom is beginning his tour of local counties “as he contemplates a run for governor, he wants to hear from California voters about the issues that matter to them.”

Newsom will run to succeed termed out Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010. But first Newsom must win the June 2010 Democratic Primary Election which by all accounts will be a crowded affair.

California’s current Attorney General and former Governor Jerry Brown is already in campaign mode as is current California Lt. Governor John Garamendi.

Also rumored to be contemplating a run for Governor is Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Newsom, who will also be termed out of office in 2011, has experienced numerous setbacks during his tenure as Mayor, most recently being used as the posterboy in advertisements supporting the same sex marriage ban, Proposition 8.

The blitz of Yes on 8 commercials seized on Newsom celebrating a May California Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage by shouting out in a sing-song voice: "This door is wide open now! It's going to happen – whether you like it or not!"

In 2007 Newsom also admitted to being a problem drinker, which first came to light after witnesses reported that he appeared to have been drinking late Dec. 22 in 2006 before arriving at San Francisco General Hospital, where a police officer had been taken after being mortally wounded.

Newsom also indicated that his difficulty with alcohol may have played a role in his very ill-advised affair with Ruby Rippey-Tourk, then the wife of his deputy chief of staff.

Despite his many personal foibles, Newsom is contemplating a run in a crowded Democratic field.

If local political watchers are very lucky, they may also see Newsom's favorite televison journalist, Dan Noyes of ABC 7, attend the event and try to get an interview with the Mayor.

According to campaign staff, Newsom’s appearance in San Carlos is free and open to the public, but the staff is asking for rsvps from attendees by going to conversation@gavinnewsom.com.

San Mateo to be Represented by Second Appointee

Following on the heels of the appointment of San Mateo City Councilwoman Carole Groom to the county board of supervisors, the San Mateo City Council will undertake its own appointment process to replace Groom.

Groom will vacate her council seat prior to the Board of Supervisors’ first meeting of the New Year on Jan. 6. The San Mateo city charter requires the council to appoint a new councilmember within 30 days after a council seat is vacated.

Applications for the vacant council seat are available on the City’s Web site. All applications are due Jan. 14 by 5 pm. The council will hold a public meeting to hear from candidates on Jan. 21 and will then make an appointment the following evening on Jan. 22.

Numerous potential candidates have already emerged, according to the Daily Journal including labor activist Rich Hedges, former council candidate Anne Arnold, Community Relations Commissioner David Lim, former planning commissioner and council candidate Karen Herrell, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Charlie Dreschler, former planning commissioner and council candidate Bertha Sanchez and planning commissioners Fred Hansson and Robert Gooyer.

The good odds are on Hedges getting the nod.

Hill’s Bills

Newly minted Assemblyman Jerry Hill has introduced his first solo piece of legislation, Assembly Bill 84, which would require that local elections officials establish a free access system by which a vote by mail voter may find out whether their ballot was counted and, if not, the reason why it was not counted.

The legislation is seemingly an extension of the emerging concern over voting security and citizen access to such information.

Hill, who has never been known publicly as an advocate for issues related to voting security, may run into some resistance.

The legislation requires local elections officials to spend what may be tens of thousands of dollars to set up such a ballot tracking system at a time when local governments are struggling financially. Such state-mandated programs are often fought by local governments as state reimbursement is often unreliable.

San Mateo County's own elections officer, Warren Slocum, the elected Assessor-Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County, also questioned the likelyhood of State reimbursement for Hill's legislative endeavor in Slocum's own blog asking "And the big question is, 'since this is a state mandated program, will Sacramento pick up the tab?'"

It is peculiar that Hill, who was recently a county official, would so quickly author legislation that would create such an economic burden for county governments. In the past, Hill blasted the State Legislature for taking money from local governments. In 2002, when Hill assumed the post of president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors he blasted the State for taking local money.

“Sacramento, if you're listening, Sacramento, if you ever listen. Listen now,” said Hill in his inaugural speech. “Don't continue to insult us, just give us our money back!!!”

It appears that Hill is no longer so passionate about local government finances.

A Government of Three People, by Three People and for Special Interests

With the appoint of former San Mateo City Councilmember and now Supervisor Carole Groom to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, the voices of democracy – those calling for an election rather than a coronation – have been silenced.

The Supervisors crowned their new colleague on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2008 over the objections of numerous organizations, many local elected officials, most of the county’s political editors in the press and even the lone voice of democracy on the board, Supervisor Rich Gordon.

During the board meeting Gordon asked his colleagues to embrace a democratic process.

“I am absolutely convinced that now is the time to clearly engage the citizens of this county in a discussion of the important issues we face,” Gordon said.

Gordon then made a motion to call for an election but the crickets could be heard all the way to San Francisco.

Gordon’s colleagues then appointed Groom in a vote so expected that it was predicted on this very blog over a year ago.

Groom’s appointment is the most conclusive evidence as of late that San Mateo County is indeed a political country club where membership is limited to those invited by special interests. Daily Journal editor Jon Mays blasted the board for failing to see that the bigger picture, that of a democratic process and the vetting of candidates through the electorate is a far better process and worth the price. “Indeed, looking at that big picture and not being influenced by the business and labor community is their job,” said Mays.

The response from the local editorial corps was swift. The Watchdog blog said that the Supervisors were “Thumbing their noses at democracy, elections, and all things we value as Americans.”

Examiner Columnist Bruce Balshone stated that “Now that the Supervisors have abandoned a democratic process and continued its tradition of machine politics, each supervisor may each individually pay a political price should they wish to continue their careers.”

It remains to be seen if the broad coalition that opposed this appointment will coalesce into a longer term response. Daily Journal columnist and former San Mateo City Councilwoman Sue Lempert theorized that a radical shift may occur in the near future catalyzed in part by the undemocratic actions of the Supervisors.

“The present system as it has evolved discourages those [candidates] who may not yet enjoy the support of the local labor and business establishment. But change is in the air. More people are voting. More people are interested in running for office, especially at the local level. New constituencies feel they are not adequately represented in top county posts. By the time there is the next round of supervisor elections in 2012, I would not be surprised if we were voting by district rather than countywide,” said Lempert.

Whatever the future holds for San Mateo County, one thing is clear: the present political system is broken and the smoked filled backrooms must soon see the light of day or San Mateo County will forever suffer the rule of an established oligarchy.

Local Editors Condemn Supervisor Appointment Process

As part of a growing chorus of voices, the editorial pages of local newspapers are ablaze with sharp criticism for the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors’ push to make an appointment to fill a vacancy on the board rather than calling for a special election.

The sharpest criticism by far has come from Daily Journal Editor Jon Mays who skewered the Supervisors for hiding behind the false rationale that a special election would be too costly for the county in an op-ed that ran on Thursday, Dec. 12. Mays criticizes the supervisors for trying to do an end run around democracy stating that a special election is the “…only way the board can avoid the perception that offices are not earned, just simply transferred by the powers that be.”

May’s criticism follows that of the Daily Post, which published an editorial the day prior urging “...the supervisors to put democracy ahead of cost concerns and call a special election to allow the people to pick Hill’s replacement.”

Previously, the Insider Column of the San Mateo County Times also editorialized in favor of a democratic process, if fir nothing else than to avoid the perception of a closed political machine operating in the county, “Not that the San Mateo County government has a reputation for being clubby and nontransparent — cough, cough — but the Insider agrees with local Democrats that holding an election to fill the seat of Assemblyman Hill, irrespective of the cost, would be the democratic thing to do.”

Bill Paul, a columnist for the Daily News and an early critic of the appointment process, stated: “When the argument for making an appointment is that the person selected could well be the same person who’d be elected, or that supervisors will definitely pick the most qualified, experienced, and smartest person, then we need to ask, why have a representative, republic form of government anyway?”

One of the major proponents of calling a special election in lieu of an undemocratic appointment process is Dave Pine, a San Mateo Union High School District Trustee and local activist. Pine penned an op-ed stating that:”Holding an election to fill the vacant supervisor seat would encourage a rigorous and thoughtful debate on county issues, allow the voters to choose who will represent them, and energize our local democracy. To do otherwise would be a disservice to the residents of San Mateo County.”

Despite the near universal call for an election, the Board of Supervisors has remained steadfast in its pursuit of installing the fifth member of the board rather than allowing voters to choose their representative.

Appointment Process Attracts Numerous Candidates

With eleven applicants with varying degrees of credibility vying for an appointment to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, the process to replace Jerry Hill has become far more complicated than expected.

Following former Supervisor Hill’s ascendance to the State Assembly, it looked as if his chosen successor, San Mateo City Councilwoman Carol Groome, was all but anointed.

But in a few short weeks, what was expected by most political watchers in San Mateo County to be hand-off from one member of the county’s political machine to another, has turned into an all out scrum.

Firstly, the process by which the four remaining supervisors undertook to fill the vacancy on the board has drawn fire from a range of interests and local leaders including numerous local elected officials and organizations such as the county’s Democratic and Republican parties, The Sierra Club, three chapters of the League of Women Voters and the League for Coastside Protection.

Dec. 11 was the deadline for candidates interested in applying for the vacant seat and, as reported in the San Mateo County Times, 11 candidates have filed papers. On Dec. 15, the board of supervisors will interview the candidates and hear from supporters on the merits of each. The following day, the supervisors will issue a decision – if they are able to agree- and appoint a new San Mateo county Supervisor. But if the fab four deadlock, which is rumored to be a possibility, the county may have a special election after all.

These applicants include:

Daniel Duane Kaul, Belmont

David Dexter Frydenlund, Belmont

Richard Louis Silver, San Mateo

Linda A. Koelling, Foster City

Michael Stogner, Belmont

Carole Groom, San Mateo

David Bauer, Belmont

Rod Hsiao, Foster City

Karen Leong Clancy, Belmont

Marland Wesley Townsend, Foster City

Maureen Freschet, San Mateo

League of Women Voters Call for Special Election for Supervisor Seat

The League of Women Voters of San Mateo County, the very paragons of good governance, issued a statement on Tuesday, December 9 to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors requesting that the board call a special election to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of former Supervisor and now Assemblyman Jerry Hill.

The Statement, delivered by Marie Baldisseri, the president of the League of Women Voters of North and Central San Mateo County, was a polite but stinging rebuke of the board’s effort to undertake an undemocratic appointment process in lieu of an election.

“The Leagues…have a position of support for procedures to ensure an open and responsive process of selecting supervisors in San Mateo County,” said Baldiserri. “We believe that an election is the best way to ensure that process. If appointed, the [next] supervisor would face the next election as an incumbent which is always a substantial advantage and which may discourage others from running.”

The board held a public hearing in order to gather input from members of the public regarding criteria for selecting a new member of the board. Instead, the board got an earful from opponents of an undemocratic selection process.

The Leagues’ (North, Central and South chapters) action on this matter was an unusual challenge to the county’s political machine but one that may end up tipping the scales away from an appointment process.

The Leagues join the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club, the League for Coastside Protection and environmental activist Lennie Roberts who have all called for a special election. Prior to this most recent hearing, the San Mateo County Democratic Party, Republican Party leaders and several current and former local elected officials have protested the board’s actions and have called for a special election.

The remaining supervisors will hold another hearing on December 15 to hear from potential supervisor candidates seeking the board appointment and their supporters. The following day on December 16, the board will pick the next supervisor.

If the board is somehow unable to come to an agreement, the board can still call an election or perhaps appoint a caretaker candidate who will not seek election in June of 2010.