Parmer-Lohan stakes claim to San Mateo County’s District 3 seat

Growing up in Southern California, Parmer-Lohan spent much of her childhood exploring the outdoors with her family. Their backpacking trips through the Sierra Mountains and strolls along the San Diego beaches lent her a deep appreciation for nature, she said.

Parmer-Lohan’s outlook on life was formed, in part, during high school. While playing tennis, Parmer-Lohan said she grasped the value of collaboration, noting that while the sport is often played individually, she always sensed a feeling of teamwork. And her passion for civic engagement was instilled upon her by a history teacher, motivating her to begin voting as soon as she turned 18.

Parmer-Lohan said she was also fortunate to grow up in a loving home with parents who always encouraged her to do her best for herself and her community. They also encouraged her to pursue her dreams, having left their own careers — her father a mechanical engineer and her mother an accountant — to start a small business selling rare books in the voyages and discovery genre.

“There was a philosophy in our family of being a good person, doing good works, being of service. Those are some key tenets that have always been with me,” she said.

After graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a Bachelor of Arts and earning her master’s degree at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Parmer-Lohan went on to build a more than two decade marketing career in the medical device industry.

She and her wife, Kathy, went on to build a comfortable life in San Carlos where they raised their two boys, ages 20 and 18, and where Parmer-Lohan would serve on a Single-Family Housing Advisory Committee before winning a seat on the council in 2018. But public service as an elected official wasn’t always in the plans, Parmer-Lohan said, noting she always thought her wife would be the one to take that path.

It was her youngest who sparked Parmer-Lohan’s interest in running for public office, having come to his mothers with grave concerns about the implications of climate change. Parmer-Lohan had witnessed herself the effects of climate change occur in the county that’s grown drier and more prone to wildfires over the years.

“Hearing my son’s concerns about the future of our community gave us pause and I believe in that moment I knew there was something more I could do to create a better future,” Parmer-Lohan said. “I was staring at my young kids and thinking about what kind of future have I created for them.”

While on the council, Parmer-Lohan has helped implement all-electric building reach codes, funded programs aimed at reducing wildfire fuel in high-risk areas including open space and near residences and voted in favor of the city’s Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Plan that lays out 10 goals and 45 strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing increased climate risks.

If elected to represent District 3, which largely encompasses unincorporated coastal and wooded rural county land, Parmer-Lohan said she feels confident she can scale that work up to address those similar issues across the county.

On her list of priorities is a focus on increasing connection to emergency services in rural and unincorporated parts of the county, bolstering mutual response needs in cities, addressing coastal erosion caused by climate change and reducing traffic congestion exacerbating environmental issues through greenhouse gas emissions, and supporting mental health and housing initiatives.

Parmer-Lohan also noted she’s also the only candidate to publicly endorse a tax measure that would help the county fund climate adaptation programs.

“I got a clear call to action from the community that we need swift and bold action. We can’t afford to wait any longer to address these issues,” Parmer-Lohan said about her support for the measure.

The candidate is running against Steven Booker, political director and community affairs liaison for the local chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union; Virginia Chang Kiraly, San Mateo County Harbor District board commissioner and Menlo Park Fire Protection District board member; and Menlo Park Councilmember Ray Mueller. Each will also appear in a profile of their own and in issue-specific stories still to come.

But Parmer-Lohan argues she’s the best fit to fill the seat, pointing at her experience crafting land-use policy while on the council and running a small business while being a working mom, noting that if elected, she would be the first working mother on the board in recent history.

The district’s outgoing supervisor, Don Horsley, agrees with Parmer-Lohan, having endorsed her in her run to replace him. As has Rich Gordon, former state assemblymember and District 3 supervisor.

“They sat in the District 3 seat and they know the work the best,” Parmer-Lohan said.

Among Parmer-Lohan’s other endorsements are outgoing Supervisor Carole Groom, a number of former county supervisors, Parmer-Lohan’s colleagues on the San Carlos City Council, the Redwood City Firefighters Association, Service Employees International Union, Local 521 and the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Community support for Parmer-Lohan has helped her accumulate about $190,000 in campaign contributions.

Parmer-Lohan expressed appreciation for those who have supported her race and pledged her commitment to addressing the challenges facing the county through unity.

“Life, as we all know, has its ups and downs and I’ve always been someone who has kind of set a goal or vision of what’s next and worked toward that and the challenges were something to be accepted and addressed,” Parmer-Lohan said. “It’s really the journey that’s to be celebrated.”

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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