4 in race for District 3 San Mateo County Board of Supervisors supervisor seat

Arguing to be the one to address those issues are four candidates in the race — Steven Booker, political director and community affairs liaison for the local chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union; Menlo Park Councilmember Ray Mueller; San Carlos Councilmember Laura Parmer-Lohan; and Virginia Chang Kiraly, a member of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District Board and the San Mateo County Harbor District Board of Commissioners.

Facing climate change

While in agreement on the number of climate related issues facing District 3 and the county as a whole, the candidates differed in how they’d like to address the problems.

Parmer-Lohan said her focus would be on building up green infrastructure like increasing the number of electric vehicle charging stations available in the county, developing greater clean energy sources, reusing wastewater through investing in purple pipe systems and educating the public on the importance of clearing out gutters and other small changes.

“Helping people understand how their actions can play a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as making for a more resilient community I think are some low-cost ways we can go,” Parmer-Lohan said. “There’s a lot of things we can do.”

Parmer-Lohan was also the only candidate to share support for a potential tax measure the county is currently pursuing that would serve as a funding base for various climate resistance efforts.

Alternatively, Chang Kiraly has been the only candidate to come out against the measure, which she said would be coming at a poor time when the public is still recovering from the pandemic and inflation has caused goods to become more expensive.

Instead, Chang Kiraly supported creating greater collaboration among the special districts that have already spent years addressing many of the climate issues while also scaling programs like an alert system in East Palo Alto or fire fuel mitigation programs run through Cal Fire using existing resources.

“There are opportunities to scale some of the things we’ve done,” Chang Kiraly said. “We just have to be more resourceful with our current resources before we ask people to pay another tax.”

Booker largely lauded the county’s efforts to push back against climate change and said he’d like to continue working with Peninsula Clean Energy on future initiatives. He also spoke in favor of banning natural gas in new development while advocating for the move to be done in a way that doesn’t add burden to low-income earners or renters.

For Mueller, a key solution would be to place housing near alternative modes of transportation which would potentially reduce the numbers of cars on the road. He also called for better piloting and investing in programs that would make the transition to green utilities easier, especially for underserved residents.

“We need to really start to figure out how we [implement programs] in a way that has the least negative impact on underserved populations but actually moves the needle long term,” Mueller said.

Housing concerns

Housing has also been a top priority throughout the race for the candidates. The issue is the center of Booker’s campaign, which has called for greater investments in housing for seniors, veterans, working families and essential workers. Booker also strongly advocated for investigating the potential for county-operated affordable housing, arguing that all opportunities should be considered.

“Whatever it is, we need to look into it and do something for our citizens,” Booker said.

The model has already been adopted in some parts of the county where officials have used local and state Project Homekey funds to purchase hotels to turn them into temporary and permanent affordable housing for seniors and those nearing homelessness.

Parmer-Lohan lauded that effort and said it and the county’s quick-build modern navigation center are models to replicate. She and Chang Kiraly also spoke in favor of reviewing what public land the county has and potentially building housing on available lots through a public/private partnership.

And Mueller said he’d like to see a task force put together that would be charged with finding what may help “move the needle” for cities struggling to build more housing. He and Booker also shared specific concern for farmworker housing with both noting coastal farmworkers have struggled to find places to live and were also some of the hardest hit during the pandemic.

Health care, equity and oversight

The county’s health department was largely tasked with responding to the needs of underserved community members during the pandemic, all while facing a $15 million budget deficit that’s been whittled down from more than $50 million over the years.

In addressing how they would shore up the department’s finances, Chang Kiraly and Mueller argued the county should revisit the way it spends revenue from Measure K, a voter-approved sales tax initially promoted as a revenue source for public safety and health that has been spent on a number of supervisor priorities.

“You need to be honest to the voters about what they passed Measure K for and make sure the health and hospital system is running efficiently,” Mueller said.

Chang Kiraly also suggested a private/public partnership could bring low-cost and efficient medical services to those who need it while Parmer-Lohan lauded telehealth as an example of a valuable tool that could reduce the cost of service and access barriers and Booker argued additional facilities and services are needed on the coastside.

Parmer-Lohan also said a key solution would be to address the social and environmental causes that are leading patients to the hospital such as housing insecurity.

“I don’t think there’s a silver bullet to any of this,” Parmer-Lohan said. “I think it’s going to take a multifaceted approach.”

Reflecting on the county’s pandemic response, the candidates praised some actions, like Booker who appreciated the county taking its own path when keeping mask mandates in place, while criticizing others with Chang Kiraly highlighting the mishandling of roughly $7 million of surplus protective equipment.

Ultimately, the candidates agreed the biggest takeaways from the past two years was that socioeconomic disparities have been greatly exacerbated and a more unified response is needed moving forward.

Mueller advocated for additional community clinics that proved to be a trusted source for residents who are typically hesitant to trust government agencies while Parmer-Lohan called for greater emergency planning and Chang Kiraly and Booker stressed the importance of meeting people where they are.

“Where there is inaccessibility, these resources need to be brought to the communities,” Chang Kiraly said.

Common ground was also struck on whether the county should implement some sort of additional oversight of the Sheriff’s Office with each candidate cosigning the idea. Parmer-Lohan said her support is inspired by the public calls for a community board that she said could help rebuild trust between the public and the department.

Also interested in building trust between law enforcement and the public, both Booker and Mueller advocated for a board that included law enforcement personnel as well as civilians to help bridge the gap in conversations. And Chang Kiraly said her main objective would be for the body to be formed without political motivation.

Other races

An election to represent District 2 is also occurring this year as three compete to replace outgoing Supervisor Carole Groom. That race includes Noelia Corzo, San Mateo-Foster City School District trustee; Belmont Councilmember Charles Stone; and Cameron Rolfe, a commercial pilot and flight instructor.

Current terms for supervisors Dave Pine, District 1; Warren Slocum, District 4; and David Canepa, District 5; expire in 2024. Canepa is currently running to replace U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, who announced her retirement early this year.

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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