Public Invited to Shape Criteria for Supervisor Pick

Members of the public are invited to provide input to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors on possible criteria for the board to select a new member to replace former supervisor and now Assembymember Jerry Hill who resigned his board seat on November 30 with two years left in his term.

The remaining supervisors have adopted a plan to select Hill’s replacement at a hearing on December 16. As part of the selection process, the Supervisors are inviting members of the public to attend a hearing on Dec. 11 to help the supervisors shape the criteria for their selection process, according to an article in the Daily Journal.

The criteria will include but isn’t limited to “the qualities and experience that are appropriate for the position,” County Counsel Mike Murphy stated in a staff memo.

The Board released a basic application for interested candidates to apply for the coveted post but as of last Friday, according to the San Mateo County Times, only one candidate had applied, that being Daniel Kaul, 55 year old cabinet maker from Belmont who wants to run a platform of fiscal conservatism.

Under the selection plan approved by the board, any and all candidates must submit an application for the board members to consider by Dec. 11. At a hearing on Dec. 15, candidates will be invited to make a 15-minute public presentation to be followed by 10 minutes of public testimony on each applicant’s behalf. The following day, Dec. 16, the Board of Supervisors would either appoint one of the candidates or set a date for a special election.

Three or four names have surfaced as possible contenders. Leading the pack is San Mateo Councilmember Carole Groom. Other names that have surfaced include San Mateo County Board of Education Trustee Rod Hsiao, former clerk to the Board of Supervisors Ric Silver and recently Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary School District Trustee Karen Leong Clancy has also been mentioned.

Although the supervisors continue to press forward with an undemocratic selection process, support for a special election is mounting. The remaining public hearings may offer a degree of uncommon political drama in San Mateo County.