Opposition to County Board Appointment Grows

On Tuesday, November 18, 2008 the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to move forward with a process to appoint a replacement for Supervisor Jerry who is resigning in the middle of his four year term to take a seat in the State Legislature.

An appointment will all but guarantee the beneficiary of a likely 14-year run on the powerful Board of Supervisors which oversees a $1.8 billion annual budget and maintains substantial influence over other government agencies and programs such as the San Mateo County Transit District and the Transit Authority to name two.

Despite the Supervisors apparent determination to avoid a democratic process in favor of an appointment, opposition to this plan is growing.

In fact, Dave Pine, a San Mateo Union High School District Trustee spoke passionately against an appointment process stating that "democratic principles and benefits far exceed the costs," according to an article in the San Mateo County Times.

Pine challenged the lack of the elections for San Mateo County board seats as a result of the cost of running a countywide campaign – a fact that has guaranteed a self-perpetuating board for nearly 30 years with very few exceptions or surprises.

On Wednesday, November 19, the San Mateo Daily Journal published an editorial also calling for an election rather than an appointment. The Daily Journal stated:

Today, the county faces a true opportunity to have a dialogue about the role of the county’s largest governing board, the issues it faces and what may solve those complicated issues. By opening up this seat to an election, whatever the cost, democracy will be truly served and voters will have a chance to weigh in on the person who will fill an important leadership role for what could be more than a decade.

Although the Supervisors are moving forward with an appointment process on the basis that a special election would cost too much, the four remaining supervisors’ refusal to embrace a democratic process for replacing a colleague may have generated some real resistance and potential for political backlash.