Appointment for next councilmember in South City

With Nagales shifting from an at-large councilman to a district representative, Matsumoto not running for re-election and newcomer James Coleman defeating now former mayor Rich Garbarino in the District 4 race, South San Francisco enters 2021 with only four councilmembers.

Facing a Feb. 5 deadline to choose the preferred route for filling the void, councilmembers agreed appointment was preferable to hosting a special election, which would likely take more time and money to host.

Noting that May would be the soonest the city could call a special election which was projected to cost as much as $700,000, Nagales said he believed the most sensible approach was appointing a replacement to his former seat.

“The choice is clear — I don’t think it is wise for us to wait five months to a year before someone joins us,” said Nagales, recognizing the longer-term option would be to wait until the fall to host a November special election.

Coleman agreed, further acknowledging that special elections generally feature lower turnout which could result in a smaller group of voters determining a key role in the city’s government.

The newest councilmember’s support for the arrangement was conditional, however, as Coleman said he felt the appointee should not be someone eligible or interested in running for re-election, due to concerns over awarding an incumbent’s advantage in 2022.

His perspective echoed the opinion shared by John Baker, South San Francisco Unified School District trustee, who urged councilmembers to not pick someone interested in parlaying their appointment into another term.

Councilmembers ultimately agreed, while acknowledging their capacity to achieve the intended outcome was limited to taking a commitment from the applicant that they are not interested in running for election in 2022. To that end, City Attorney Sky Woodruff said officials cannot mandate the appointee sit out the upcoming election.

November’s election was the city’s first since pivoting from an at-large system to a district format. The 2022 election will feature races for District 1, 3 and 5. Looking ahead, Woodruff said the appointment process will be initiated and an application will soon be issued inviting interested candidates.

In other business at the meeting, Coleman was sworn into his first term representing District 4. In his opening remarks, the Democratic Socialist who grew up in South San Francisco said he will work to achieve ambitious goals with hopes of fulfilling promises he made to voters who supported him over Garbarino.

“Our city should be cared for and improved through bold action,” said Coleman, who committed to aggressive action on progressive policies such as climate change, universal child care and broadened internet access.

Garbarino, meanwhile, shared his appreciation to his longtime colleagues and constituents before signing off from office after more than 20 years.

“It has really been a pleasure,” he said.

Matsumoto also departed from the South San Francisco City Council after a similarly long term. One of the few Japanese women to have served as mayor in the Bay Area, Matsumoto cited development of the Centennial and Bay trails as well as construction of the city’s new Caltrain station among her proudest achievements.

“I’m grateful to have helped, met and learned from others,” she said.

The remaining councilmembers reorganized during the meeting as well. Mark Addiego was appointed mayor and Nagales will serve as vice mayor for the coming year.

Austin@smdailyjournal.com