2 vie for assessor, elections officer in San Mateo County

In 2012, Pollack started his own organization, FirstAID Labs and as its principal consultant, he advises nonprofits on fundraising and capacity building efforts, connecting them with philanthropic support. He also works as a substitute teacher and has volunteered with and advised local organizations including OneLife Counseling in San Carlos, Thrive Alliance and the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center.

“I’ve always seen myself as a behind-the-scene operations guy, managing people, managing resources, managing budgets,” Pollack said.

Lifelong San Mateo County resident Mark Church is running for his third term as assessor-county clerk-recorder and chief elections officer. He was first elected to the role in 2010 after a decade serving as District 1 supervisor and about five years as a Millbrae councilmember.

Before holding public office, Church built a two-decade career as a lawyer, having earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of the Pacific and a law degree from McGeorge School of Law. His political career followed that of his father, Marvin Church who also served on the Millbrae council before becoming the assessor-county clerk-recorder and chief elections officer.

“I grew up in a family where public service was a way of life. Both my parents always instilled in me the importance of giving back to the community,” Church said.

Alternatively, Pollack said he has never considered running for public office. But to oversee operations of one of the largest departments in the county, Pollack said he acknowledges the race is a necessary part of the journey. If elected, his vision for the department is largely focused on expanding its messaging arm.

In doing so, Pollack said the department could do a better job at empowering the public to become more civically engaged, going beyond voting for a candidate to believing they can run for public office themselves. That message is especially important for the county’s most underserved residents who Pollack said are underrepresented on governing boards.

Stronger messaging could also act as a tool for transparency by helping build trust between the assessor’s office and the public who may doubt large companies are paying their fair share in property taxes, Pollack said.

“The greater population in San Mateo County has not been reflected in decision-making and I think that this office is central to making that change so that the government is transparent, accountable and accessible to the greater community, from funding our public schools and services to deciding who our leaders are going to be at all levels of San Mateo County government and that the community can feel that the government at all levels is really working for them and their interests in moving the county forward for everyone,” Pollack said.

As for the hundreds of thousands of records he’d be responsible for safekeeping as county clerk-recorder, Pollack said he would like to speed up the digitization process to ensure the documents are available to the public, decision-makers and researchers.

Church’s efforts to digitize the county’s historic documents, dating back hundreds of years, has been the subject of criticism from Pollack who’s alleged the department has mishandled the process by moving too slowly, taking up storage space and potentially creating security risks.

Pollack has lobbed a number of other allegations at Church accusing him of contributing to a toxic work environment in part by staging security cameras in areas like staff break rooms but not in executive offices and failing to develop a policy for handling the security cameras and recordings.

Church has vehemently disputed the allegations, asserting that he and his management team invest into their staff through substantial training that builds up skill sets and frequently meeting. The department has had a 96% staff retention rate for new hires over the past six years, Church said, noting employees have often retired from the department after 20 to 30 years there.

Church said his “record speaks for itself,” arguing that under his watch all three sectors of the department had gone from an “analog era to the digital era” and it has changed the election process for the entire state, being the first to pilot all-mail voting in 2015. Boosting cybersecurity, developing citizen advisory committees, expanding language services and voter turnout are also among Church’s list of accomplishments, he said.

“This is a complex position. It is not for someone who is inexperienced or does not have the qualification. There’s no on-the-job training here,” Church said, touting his experience as the current office holder, state certified appraiser and attorney as contributing to a unique skill set. “I’m proud of what we have done and when they compare the records they will see who is the better candidate.”

A number of notable county figures have agreed Church is the best fit for the job, with his endorsement list including names like U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo; U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto; former state Sen. Jerry Hill; supervisors Don Horsley, Dave Pine and Warren Slocum, who is Church’s predecessor; and a number of local mayors and other electeds.

Among Pollack’s endorsements are the San Mateo County Latinx Democratic Club, AFSCME Local 829, which represents about 2,200 county employees, and the REACH Coalition, a group of locally elected officials and organizations focused on expanding equity in county policy.

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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