Electoral Picks for City Council Seats

Ten cities in San Mateo County have city council elections this fall. With the election just around the corner, candidates in the many elections have already staked out positions and the leaders of the various packs have, in general, separated from the rest.

Below are the top picks for the city council winners for the November 6th, 2007 election.

City of Belmont 2 to be Elected

The Belmont City Council is one of two local councils in which the incumbents chose not to run for reelection. This has left an opening for new candidates.

The leaders in this race are, unquestionably, Planning Commissioner Christine Wozniak and local activist David Braunstein.

Challengers Broderick Page and Jason Born have been unable to demonstrate any traction in Belmont. Born has racked up many endorsements from outside of Belmont but Born has lived in Belmont for less than a year and his credentials are somewhat suspect. In addition he has been unable to stake out coherent positions on some of the local hot topics such as the town’s smoking ordinance.

City of Brisbane 2 to be Elected

Brisbane is a small community and has had a very stable council for years. There will be no change this time around. Look for incumbents Steven Waldo and Cy Bologoff to fend off challenger Roberto Martinez.

City of Burlingame 2 to be Elected

Burlingame is host to one of three hotly contested city council races this year with five candidates seeking two seats. It will be difficult for any challenger to dislodge incumbents Russ Cohen and Terry Nagel. Planning Commissioner Jerry Deal has substantial local backing but has squandered his opportunity with a lackluster campaign marred by a badly handled scandal.

Challenger Gene Condon is making a much stronger run than in his 2005 bid and may be the dark horse of the race. Challenger Peter Comaroto has not gained any traction and is not a serious threat.

City of Foster City 3 to be Elected

Foster City is embroiled in a highly contentious and bitter City Council race with ugly accusations of race-baiting from some camps.

Incumbents Linda Koelling and Rick Wykoff will likely be returned to their seats but both have never faced a real electoral test and some surprises may occur.

Challenger Huijun Ring has garnered a remarkably impressive list of endorsers and backers in her first electoral bid and is rumored to be running a potent local campaign. This has galvanized the incumbents and their handpicked candidates in that of Planning Commissioner Art Kiesel into a de facto slate.

Kiesel performed badly in his last bid for council and is working somewhat harder than last time around but is simply not an attractive candidate. Look for Ring to edge out Kiesel.

The remaining candidates, Stanley E. Roberts, Patrick McKinnie and current San Mateo Union High School District Trustee Marcia Cohn-Lyle will fall far short of the mark. Roberts and McKinne are not running to win. Cohn-Lyle is fleeing the high school district board following a series of financial scandals that forced the resignation and retirements of several top district officials. Cohn-Lyle’s tenure on that board will translate into a council defeat.

City of Millbrae 3 to be Elected

Millbrae is host to an eight-way melee to fill three open city council seats. Three incumbents were forced to leave their seats due to term limitations in that community.

Former councilmember Dan Quigg is running to reclaim a seat he vacated two years ago as the first member of the council to be termed out of office, which is not a lifetime ban.

Quigg is the odds-on favorite and will return to office. Attempting to follow Quigg will be planning Commissioner Wayne Lee, Parks Commissioner Paul Seto and community activist Marge Colapietro. Lee looks like a good bet for a win but fellow commissioner Paul Seto will be left to fight it out with Colapietro. Both command some unique constituencies but it will be up to their respective campaign efforts to turn out those votes. Whoever does a better job of that will be on the council in November.

Millbrae School District Trustee John Darro and Planning Commissioner Lorrie Kalos-Gunn are among the second tier of candidates but do not have enough support in Millbrae to earn a seat.

Candidates Ronald Caine and Richard Dixon are both former Millbrae Police Officers and are running no budget, nearly single issue campaigns and will not make any significant impact on the race.

City of Redwood City 4 to be Elected

In Redwood City there are four incumbent councilmembers seeking four seats with two would-be challengers.

This race is easy to call. Incumbents Barbara Pierce, Alicia Aguirre, Ian Bain and Rosanne Foust will all be returning to office. Local city commissioner Kevin Bondonno has some backing but this election is likely just his introduction to the community rather than a real shot at a council seat.

Challenger Joneen Elisabeth Nielsen is simply a protest candidate and she will come nowhere close in this election.

City of San Bruno 2 to be Elected

Incumbents Irene O’Connell and Jim Ruane have barley even acknowledged challenger Miguel Araujo. No change in San Bruno this year.

City of San Carlos 2 to be Elected

The City of San Carlos is another community in which the incumbents chose not to seek reelection. Four new candidates emerged to replace then including former Councilman John Hoffman, Planning Commissioner Alex Phillips, political newcomer Omar Ahmad and former Commissioner Randy Royce.

Hoffman is a veteran and has deep roots in the community but as of late has alienated some townsfolk over superfluous issues and has been out of the game for too long. As such, Mr. Hoffman is no longer viable.

Planning Commissioner Alex Phillips is the odds-on favorite and has significant local backing. Political newcomer Omar Ahmad has put together an impressive campaign by otherwise low-key San Carlos standards and will reap the rewards. Former commissioner Randy Royce has not mounted an aggressive campaign nor has he garnered much in the way of support. Look for Royce to finish out of the money.

City of San Mateo 2 to be Elected

This race could have been a really close call but challengers Bertha Sanchez and Anne Arnold have failed to mount adequate campaigns.

Look for incumbents Jack Matthews and John Lee to retain their seats.

Challenger Pete Tyo is not a serious candidate and has no real chance.

City of South San Francisco 2 to be Elected

This race is a real snoozer. Incumbent Mayor Richard Garbarino will easily retain his seat. Newcomer Kevin Mullin is seeking to replace Councilmember Joe Fernekes who is retiring after for terms on the council. Mullin is the son of former South San Francisco Councilman and current Assemblyman Gene Mullin. The younger Mullin is a shoe-in against challenger Kamala Cynthia Silva Wolfe. Wolfe has run before and has not demonstrated a serious commitment to running for office.