Millbrae School Board Eschews Political Selection

Following the death of veteran Millbrae School District Trustee John Lynch and the unexpected resignation of Trustee Robert Miller two new appointees to the board were seated at the board’s Feb 2nd meeting.

Two candidates, D. Don Revelo and Jay Price, both parents of school children in the district, were selected from a field of five applicants.

But the most interesting applicant was among those not selected. Former teacher and parent Jeff Steinberg was among the five applicants. Steinberg, a Millbrae native, is a former Capuchino High School Teacher who is known for creating the Sojourn to the Past program.

According to its web site, Sojourn to the Past brings the historical Civil Rights movement to life for 11th and 12th grade students, to develop communication and advocacy skills that better enable them to promote awareness of social justice in their community, and create a more civil society where diversity is embraced, injustice is spoken out against, and all people are treated with dignity.

The program has garnered national attention and has become a Steinberg’s fulltime occupation. Beyond Steinberg’s success with an innovative educational program, Steinberg is also the brother of the second most powerful political in the State government in that of Darrell Steinberg, the President pro Tempore of the California State Senate, the mantle held previously by Oakland’s Don Pirate and San Francisco’s John Burton.

Apparently the Millbrae School Board was not intimidated by the fact that one of the candidates they denied a board seat was the brother of one of a handful of political leaders who has the power to determine the fate of public education in California in the near future.

Slocum Calls for All-Mail Ballot

San Mateo County’s Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum is publicly calling on the State Legislature to allow California counties to conduct elections by mail.

Slocum’s call for a mail-in ballot is due to the fact that a special May or June election is virtually assured and Slocum, like all elections officers in the state, is rightfully concerned about the cost of running yet another election.

Slocum writes in his blog:

To reduce the financial burden on the counties and/or the state, California could take a bold step forward and conduct the special election all by mail. Or lawmakers could allow counties that want to conduct the election by mail the legal authority to do so. This would not only save a huge sum of money in California but would possibly increase voter turnout. And around half the voters already vote by mail in regular elections.

This is not the first time that Slocum has advocated for mail-in elections, but in this context Slocum’s concerns are financial. The question remains if Slocum can convince local legislative representatives to carry such a bill.