City finds way to honor Gary Yates' memory

Wayne Way is named after former Mayor Wayne Hugh. David Street, which intersects the two streets, is named after the son of a Paine Webber executive, according to San Mateo Senior Engineer Gary Heap. Paine Webber redeveloped the property.

Yates, who died of heart disease in late May, was a long-time San Mateo resident who lived in the Fiesta Gardens neighborhood with his wife Linda.

Yates advocated for the passage of Measure H in 1991, which lowered height limits and density throughout the city. Yates also served on neighborhood associations and city commissions before being elected to the city council in 1993.

During his tenure, he spent one term as mayor and sought bonuses for city workers who performed above specific expectations. He also worked with fire and health officials throughout the county to establish a new emergency response system which placed a paramedic on every fire truck and dropped official fire department boundaries.

Yates also advocated for skateboarders who wanted a skateboard park somewhere in San Mateo after city officials made the activity illegal downtown and along certain portions of El Camino Real. Although there has been talk of naming a proposed skateboard park at Coyote Point County Recreation Area after Yates because of his efforts

for skateboarders, Councilmember Claire Mack said naming a street after Yates is the most fitting honor.

"It's an excellent tribute. Skate parks can come and go but streets last forever. There are streets in my neighborhood that have been here since 1912. Streets last even when the sidewalk is gone," she said.

Yates also was the only city councilmember to vote against a proposal to place a 1,834 seat theater and 380 space parking garage at the downtown Main Street Garage site. Yates voted against the proposal after listening to downtown merchants who said that parking and traffic would be too tight.

Mack, an ardent supporter of the theater proposal, said that although she and Yates were often at odds, they still had a mutual respect.

Mack first encountered Yates when he, as president of the Fiesta Gardens Homeowners Association, fought off a proposal for a new convention center at the San Mateo Fairgrounds that she supported in the late '80s.

"I wanted to punch his lights out," Mack said, who joined the city council in 1991. "But once you got to know Gary, you learned to like him."

Mack said she and Yates walked the streets of San Mateo during the Measure H campaign when she and former Councilmember Jerry Hill won seats on the City Council. Hill has since become a San Mateo County Supervisor.

Hill likes the idea of naming the street after Yates, but said he'd like to see a soccer field or basketball court named after him since Yates was often seen at neighborhood courts on Sunday.

"I think [the street] is a fitting tribute because it's so close to his home, but I hope that this is one of a number of ways to remember what he contributed to the city," Hill said.

Hill worked with Yates on the council for six years and said he could always depend on him for solid and trusted opinion.

"One thing that I'll always cherish is that Gary was always very honest and straightforward," he said. "I knew that if I had an idea I could call and run it by him and I knew I would get an honest reality check at any time. That kind of integrity and credibility you won't always find in a politician."

Yates was deputy mayor when he died and would have served this year as mayor. Yates had said he would not run for a third term.

After Yates died, the City Council named former Mayor Paul Gumbinger to the seat until a special election could be held in November. Planning Commissioner Carole Groom was the candidate in that race and was sworn in December.

Although two people have occupied Yates' seat, Mack said she still thinks of him often.

"We used to talk a lot. Our families were close," she said. "He was a friend as well as a colleague. I watched his kids grow up."

The dedication of Yates Way will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 11 a.m. on Saratoga Drive off Hillsdale Blvd. in the new Bay Meadows development.

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