County Board of Supervisors May Close Door on Election for Open Seat

San Mateo County rarely experiences a real contest for the coveted seats on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors but with the mid-term departure of Supervisor Jerry Hill who was elected to a seat in the State Assembly, a once-in-a-decade opening will be available as of Dec. 1, 2008. But whether or not the county board of supervisors will allow an election remains an open question. Instead, the county board of supervisors may elect to select Hill’s replacement, essentially ensuring that an appointed replacement will cruise for the next 14 years in office.

According to Daily Journal editor John Mays, many names have been floated as a possible replacement for Hill including San Mateo Mayor Carole Groom, Rod Hsiao, member of the San Mateo County Office of Education, Foster City Councilman John Kiramis and possibly Ted Lempert, former assemblyman, county supervisor and current member of the San Mateo County Office of Education.

But it is common knowledge in political circles that San Mateo’s Groom has had the inside track for as long as Hill had planned to run for the Assembly. But another candidate with a long and colorful history in San Mateo County politics has reared his head, that being Ric Silver, the former San Mateo County Clerk to the Board of Supervisors.

Recently, Silver generated a headline for himself in the Almanac Newspaper calling for the reopening of the Caltrain station in Atherton that was closed two years ago by the Peninsula Joint Powers Board, the board that oversees Caltrain and includes two seats controlled by the San Mateo County Supervisors as part of its membership.

Silver is no stranger to the local political scene, although he has not resided in the county for many years and it is not clear if he has yet relocated.

Silver was once a wheeler dealer political hack while a clerk to the board, a position that was eliminated as part of Silver’s exit. According to an article by former Chronicle Newspaper columnist Mark Simon Silver was removed from duty for a bit of political intrigue that went badly.

According to Simon’s article, some supervisors had prevailed upon Silver to transfer Elaine Walton Horsley out of his clerk’s department. Horsley was apparently the office computer expert, a role some board members thought she performed poorly.

Simon added: She also is the wife of Sheriff Don Horsley.

Some supervisors also told Silver -- as he was frequently instructed -- to leave no paper trail of what was being done, sources said.

Silver then put together an office reorganization that included transferring Elaine Horsley to the Information Services Department.

Sheriff Horsley, also a longtime friend of Silver's, acknowledged that he contacted members of the board, inquiring about the transfer of his wife.

The ensuing political battle ended with Silver exiting the county. Since then he has been an occasional political gadfly. Ironically, if Silver were to run and be successful, he may end up serving on the board next to none other than his old nemesis Don Horsley, the retired San Mateo County Sheriff who is now seeking to succeed Supervisor Rich Gordon when Gordon is termed out in 2010.

Bu whether or not Silver will actually run or even have an opportunity to do so remains unclear. Hill will resign his board seat effective November 30, 2008 with two years left in his term, forcing his colleagues to decide whether to appoint a replacement or to call a special election.

San Mateo County has a long tradition of selecting replacements for vacant supervisorial seats rather than allowing voters to decide for themselves. Former Supervisor Mary Griffin was appointed to her seat, gaining an additional two years in office as a result. In 1999, Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson was appointed to her seat and she was just elected to her third and final term with only token opposition.

In announcing his resignation Hill has already laid out the rationale for not calling for an election – that being the estimated cost of $1.7 million to the county to organize a special election. In a statement given to the local press Hill said, “To me that's the real incentive for the Board to make an appointment.”

According to election records, San Mateo County has not had a serious election for one of the Board of Supervisor seats since Rich Gordon won a special election in 1997, over a decade ago. Since then, no sitting Supervisor has been seriously challenged and some seats have even changed hands without a contest. Those with token opposition have never even been forced into a runoff election.

This is despite the fact that the office of supervisor is a coveted full-time political office that oversees a county budget of $1.5 billion, pays a six-figure salary and members hold seats on powerful local and regional agencies such as the San Mateo County Transit District, the San Mateo County Transit Authority, CalTrain and have the power to appoint members to agencies and commissions such as the First Five Commission which doles out large sums of money to local non-profits – a veritable trough of patronage dollars.

The board seats, like legislative seats, are term limited but Supervisors are allowed three four-year terms, which in California’s political landscape is akin to political gold.

But, as is typical of San Mateo County, it appears that voters will again be deprived of the opportunity to actually elect their supervisor.