San Mateo Daily News Columnist Bill Paul has issued a missive warning that lack of elections for the five-member county board of supervisors has lead to a government body that is becoming “a self-perpetuating group that could potentially suffer from inbreeding.”
Paul attacked the notion of filling a vacancy on the board via an appointment process that has been favored by the four remaining supervisors. Supervisor Jerry Hill was recently elected to the State Assembly and will vacate his seat at the end of the month. Despite public demand for the supervisors to fill the vacancy by calling a special election, the board has moved forward on an appointment plan that will bypass the voters.
The articulated rationale for making an appointment is the cost of conducting a special election – estimated to be approximately $1.6 million. To that, Paul states: 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? The fact is that politicking and battling things out from the trenches is the American way, for better or for worse.
In calling on the Supervisors to undertake a democratic process to replace Hill, Paul joins the San Mateo County Democratic Party, the Daily Journal, Millbrae Mayor Gina Papan and San Mateo Union High School District Trustee Dave Pine. In addition, the Insider Blog at the San Mateo County Times has also opined against an appointment process, stating sarcastically that San Mateo County's government in no way has a reputation "...for being clubby and nontransparent — cough, cough." As the pressure mounts on the board, an appointment process may be looking more like a political hot potato. Voters may yet have a voice in who their representatives may be.
The San Mateo County Democratic Party has issued a resolution supporting a special election to fill the Board of Supervisors vacancy left by Supervisor Jerry Hill who will be resigning at the end of the month to take a seat in the State Assembly, according to an article in the Daily Journal. Hill’s colleagues on the board have pushed for an appointment process which, according to the Democratic Party statement, will virtually ensure that the appointee replacing Hill will get a free ride until 2022, or 14 years in office. "Our county's at-large system for electing supervisors gives a strong advantage to incumbents. It has been nearly three decades since a supervisor running for re-election has been defeated,” said Nick Akers, the proponent of the Party’s official resolution. “The People of San Mateo County should be given the opportunity to fill this open seat." According to an article in the San Mateo County Times, the San Mateo County Supervisors have complained that the cost of a special election would be approximately $1.6 million at a time when the county faces serious financial challenges. In response, the Democratic Party resolution highlighted the fact that the State will likely hold a special election on June 2, 2009 in order to place revenue measures on the state ballot as part of a budget balancing effort. With a special election already likely, the issue of cost is de minimis. That sentiment was echoed by San Mateo Union High District Trustee Dave Pine, according to an article in the San Mateo County Times, when Pine testified in front of the board of Supervisors in protest of an appointment process on November 18. Pine stated that sitting supervisors have been unchallenged because it is a daunting task to mount a countywide campaign, thereby protecting incumbents. As a result, said Pine, "We can never have a dialogue with the citizenry about the county government.” The Daily Journal also issued an editorial critical of an appointment process on Nov. 19. In Today’s edition the Daily Journal Millbrae Mayor Gina Papan penned a letter also calling for a special election stating “Voters have not had a real opportunity to shape county policy for over a decade as there have been no seriously contested elections since 1997.” Under the plan approved by the board Tuesday, these two candidates and any other hopeful must submit an application made available Dec. 1 when Hill’s vacancy becomes official. On Dec. 9, the board will hold a public hearing for input on possible appointment criteria. Candidates would offer a 15-minute public presentation Monday, Dec. 15 followed by 10 minutes of public testimony on each applicant’s behalf. The public hearings could be mediated by either the League of Women Voters or another third party. The following day, Dec. 16, the Board of Supervisors would either appoint one of the candidates or set a date for a special election.
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.
With the election of Barak Obama to the Presidency, politicians and officials from across the nation are on pins and needles awaiting a call from the superstar President-Elect to serve in his administration. This is true for South Bay Congressman Mike Honda who, according to a recent article in the San Jose Mercury News, may be in the running for the position of Secretary of Education. In the article Honda is quoted as saying: "If I don't throw my name out, it won't show up in the mix.” Honda, who has 30 years in public education including stints as a San Jose middle school principal and San Jose Unified School Board member, has served in Congress since 2001. Should Honda be tapped for the position it would set off a veritable game musical chairs as local and state officials seek to fill voids left by those in higher office. The logical heavyweight in the mix is State Senator Joe Simitian who was just elected to his second a final four-year term. Should Honda get the nod, Simitian, whose senate district overlaps a bit with Honda’s congressional district, would be on the odds-on favorite to succeed Honda. Challengers may include termed-out Assemblywoman Sally Lieber or second-term Assemblyman Jim Beall. Although Lieber has already opened a campaign fund to run for the 13th Senate District Seat that will be vacated by second term State Senator Elaine Alquist in 2012, according to the Secretary of State’s Web site. However, Beall may opt to take a run at the state senate seat vacated by Simitian in what would likely be a special election in the spring of 2009. Beall would undoubtedly face Assemblyman Ira Ruskin who is now in his third and final term. Should either Ruskin or Beall win the seat, a vacated Assembly seat would then be available causing another special election. Likely candidates to fill Ruskin’s seat should he be successful could include Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss or San Mateo County Supervisor’s Rose Jacobs Gibson or Rich Gordon. Should one of the Supervisors exit early a scrum at the local level would be likely, which in turn would lead to scrums lower down the ticket. According to the Mercury News article, however, Honda may have some heavyweight competition including: former Secretary of State Colin Powell; Caroline Kennedy; and the school chiefs of New York City and Chicago; and Stanford education professor Linda Darling Hammond, an adviser to Barack Obama during the campaign. But the clock is ticking. It is likely that the President-Elect will make his selections before the end of the year and prior to taking office in January. It is a good bet that many local politicians have taken notice and begun preparations for what could be months of electoral volatility. *Note: The Fifteenth Congressional District encompasses much of the central, northeastern and southwestern area of Santa Clara County. This includes the cities of Cupertino, Milpitas, Santa Clara, Campbell, Los Gatos, the west and some southern parts of San Jose, and Gilroy.
Following revelations that the investment pool managed by San Mateo County Treasurer Lee Buffington lost $155 million in the wake of the collapse of the Lehman Brothers Investment Bank, San Mateo County Supervisors’ have called Buffington on the carpet, according to an article in the Almanac Newspaper.Much of the investment pool consisted of city and school district reserve funds as well as bond funds. Districts such as the Sequoia Union High School District lost as much as $6.5 million. The San Mateo County Community College District, which has approximately $500 million invested with fund managed by Buffinton’s office, lost as much as $25 million – a loss that will likely impact the capital improvement program at the three colleges which as funded by bonds passed by county voters. Meaning simply, San Mateo County taxpayers will be paying off bonds for which they will get literally nothing in return for.But the Supervisors’ quick call for answers from Buffington in no way mirrors the year of silence in which the Supervisors refused to require similar answers from San Mateo County Sheriff Greg Munks who was detained in April of 2007 at a Las Vegas brothel.It was not until an in-depth expose was published in the San Mateo Daily News that the Supervisors’ even contemplated any public response to the Sheriff’s scandal – an incident that had the county sheriff and undersheriff detained at a Las Vegas brothel hosting underage women who were likely trafficked into the U.S. And the best part, the lawmen’s trip to Sin City was financed by San Mateo County taxpayers to the tune of $10,000. But Munks had some political cover that Buffington does not have. As it turned out, Munks and his family had been and likely will be substantial political contributors to Supervisor Jerry Hill, who was running to succeed Gene Mullin in the State Assembly. Following the brothel incident, Hill consistently defended Munks despite mounting criticism. It wasn’t until Hill’s financial ties to Munks were exposed by his Assembly opponents that he and his fellow Supervisors took action. In an articled in the San Mateo County Times, Hill was blasted by his Assembly opponents for failing to take action.Only weeks later, according to an article in the Times, did the Board of Supervisors finally take action by creating a Citizens Review Panel to investigate other county elected officials suspected of malfeasance. Such a panel, to be comprised of retired judges, prosecutors and Bar lawyers, will have the power to subpoena, hire investigators and return with a recommendation to the board of supervisors.But Munks was never to be brought before this panel.In the Times article, Jerry Hill stated that "This was created to deal with conduct prospectively, not retroactively," he said.Unlike Munks, however, Buffington, when called by the Supervisors to respond to criticism, was compelled to defend his investment strategy under aggressive questioning by Hill, according to the article in the Almanac Newspaper. Perhaps Buffington should have donated as much to Hill as Munks.
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.
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