5 vie for District 4 supervisor in San Mateo County

Vying for Slocum’s seat are two East Palo Alto elected officials, Mayor Antonio López and Councilmember Lisa Gauthier; Maggie Cornejo, former Slocum staffer and current nonprofit administrator; Paul Bocanegra, activist and member of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission; and Celeste Brevard, project manager for Stanford University.

In interviews with the Daily Journal, each candidate outlined their vision and top priorities for the county from addressing housing and public safety concerns to bridging gaps between differing groups.

Housing and homelessness

Each raised housing as a top concern for District 4, an area encompassing most of Redwood City, East Palo Alto, North Fair Oaks and Menlo Park. The area is home to nearly 143,000 residents and the largest portion of the county’s homeless population.

As for solutions, Cornejo and Bocanegra said they’d like to see the county invest more into first-time homebuyer opportunities, arguing that homeownership is a dream for many, as is living in something other than an apartment.

Brevard said educating the public on existing housing assistance will be a necessary measure while noting many are being priced out of the market, making too much for government support but too little to actually pursue homeownership. López emphasized housing preservation while Gauthier said boosting transit-oriented development and missing middle housing will be a priority for combating the housing crisis.

“I’m a mother of three young adults who can’t afford to buy a market rate house and they make too much for affordable housing so how do we build up a robust set of housing for all because that’s why families, young people are still at home with their parents or living with other friends,” Gauthier said.

The candidates acknowledged the progress the county has made on some housing and homelessness initiatives, but some had criticisms as well. Bocanegra said he strongly disagrees with the board’s recent decision to prohibit living in encampments in unincorporated areas and Cornejo, who was less critical, said she looks forward to seeing a six-month report on the program.

“We took the side of the impoverished, we took the side of the youth because not one time was there a mention of what we’re going to do with the homeless youth,” Bocanegra said, noting he was a product of the school-to-prison pipeline. “Watching my leadership in my county create another pipeline to incarceration was disturbing to me.”

Brevard said there lacks a clear vision with effective policy and López criticized the county’s outreach process related to the La Quinta Inn and Suites, a Millbrae hotel that officials are looking to turn into permanent affordable housing.

Gauthier also critiqued the concept of criminalizing people for living on the streets, noting many of the county’s homeless residents have justified reasons for avoiding entering the service system. She said the county needs to do a better job on promoting why accepting help is beneficial and meeting people where they’re at.

Public safety

Also recognized by each candidate as a top concern, if not the top priority, was public safety. Candidates spoke more directly to the board decision to codify in policy that the county would not interact with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency without being provided with a judicial warrant.

All candidates but López said they would have voted in favor of the policy. López said he understands the intent of the policy but argued that it shouldn’t apply to people who’ve committed serious offenses including rape or murder.

“I’m thinking about the victims,” López said. “Our responsibility, fundamentally, is to keep our community safe.”

Alternatively, Bocanegra, a staunch supporter behind the policy, noted it only prohibits county employees from using county resources to cooperate with ICE agents who do not obtain a judicial warrant. Deportations can still occur, he noted, calling arguments otherwise “fear mongering.”

The other three candidates said the policy signals to the county’s immigrant community that they’ll be treated fairly and that they’re welcomed and safe in San Mateo County.

“I am a very firm believer that this county needs to remain a welcoming county,” said Cornejo, who was raised in North Fair Oaks by her Mexican immigrant parents. “I want to make sure the kids coming up after me don’t grow up with that fear.”

Budgeting and internal reforms

To ensure long-term financial stability, the candidates agreed a deeper look into the county’s budget would be necessary. Cornejo said funds should be going toward programs known to be effective, meaning outdated initiatives would need to be ended. López suggested budget savings could be found by restructuring the fire district.

Brevard suggested the county could weed out redundancies and inefficiencies to save money, work with nonprofits where services overlap and better assess tax policies to ensure larger companies are paying their fair share. Bocanegra also called for reviewing the tax roll while suggesting cuts to the juvenile detention system could save funds. Also similar to Brevard, Gauthier said cutting wasteful spending would be vital for ensuring the county remains in the black.

On other reforms, the candidates also agreed the county could be doing more to further its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. In recent years, supervisors hired Shireen Malekafzali to be the county’s chief equity officer. She began to oversee the implementation of a variety of changes but candidates agreed Malekafzali shouldn’t be tasked with doing the work on her own and suggested investing more into the program.

Bridging gaps

Recognizing recent tensions on the board and among the public, the candidates acknowledged progress often comes with conflict. Bocanegra most strongly embraced the tension, arguing “tension is part of change,” while the other candidates said they would seek, as Cornejo put it, less divisiveness and more unity.

Still, López and Gauthier both said they’d pull from their experience on the East Palo Alto City Council to be consensus builders, López sharing support for “rigorous debate” and Gauthier for hearing from people with different opinions from hers. And Brevard said she’d be an open listener who’s not afraid to ask tough questions.

“We’re all human beings and sometimes when we get testy it’s because we feel like we’re not being heard or respected,” Brevard said. “I try to truly hear people and their points but I’m not afraid to ask questions.”

Other races

While David Canepa is running uncontested for reelection in District 5, former U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier and Ann Schneider are vying to replace Pine in District 1 after he finishes his last term this year. Meanwhile, supervisors Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller will be up for reelection in 2026.

The Presidential Primary Election will be Tuesday, March 5. Vote By Mail ballots will be sent out Monday, Feb. 5, and the voter registration deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 20.