Stone campaigning for San Mateo County supervisor seat

Stone is running against Noelia Corzo, a San Mateo-Foster City School District board trustee, to replace outgoing Supervisor Carole Groom in representing District 2, a dense part of the county straddled by the Bay and hilly wooded areas containing the cities of San Mateo, Foster City and parts of Belmont. Each candidate for a local election will have or have had a profile of their own published in the Daily Journal with additional issue-specific stories still to come.

Born and raised in the county, Stone has lived in a number of Peninsula cities with his mother, an educator and devoted union member, and his father, a professional musician. From a young age, Stone said he remembers his parents never shying away from exposing him to difficult discussions, purchasing him newspaper subscriptions when he was 8 years old and spending many evenings together discussing national, state and local politics at the dinner table.

And while his parents were not the type to run for public office, Stone said they were dedicated participants in the public process, often taking him with them to city council and school board meetings and on one occasion, keeping him home from school when union negotiations were going poorly and potentially leading to a strike.

Those experiences influenced his own judgment of justice, inspiring him to stick up for other students who were unfairly accused of wrongdoing and eventually leading him to study political science at the University of California, San Diego, before attending law school at Santa Clara University.

“I remember being fundamentally offended at the notion of injustice at that moment,” Stone said about seeing a quiet classmate routinely take the blame for something they did not do. “It wasn’t his fault and at that moment, I kind of fell in love with the notion of fighting back against injustice and advocating for those who couldn’t or wouldn’t advocate for themselves.”

Like his parents, though, Stone said he had no interest in public office but found himself growing more involved in community work as his own daughters began attending public school in Belmont.

When financial constraints meant librarians were “on the chopping block” when his eldest daughter entered kindergarten, Stone began volunteering as a librarian — an act his own father did decades before — and he was appalled to find that financial issues were left unimproved over the years. In response, Stone joined the education foundation board in 2011, began supporting the Parent Teachers Association at his daughters’ school and lent his support to a tax measure, which showed him how little the City Council collaborated with the school district.

“It was more like two fists pounding together than two hands being aligned and I didn’t like that,” Stone said.

Displeased with a number of decisions made by the council at the time, who Stone described as not being family-friendly and lacking an understanding of working families, he decided to throw his hat into the ring for a seat on the council and was elected in 2013 alongside his friend and former councilmember Eric Reed who died in 2017.

Since then, Stone said he and his colleagues have helped turn the city around, sticking to their promise that a new sales tax would be used for road and stormwater drain improvements and building a stronger relationship with local school districts.

Stone also noted Belmont is one of the only cities in the county on track to meet its housing goals set by the state, which requires a jurisdiction to usher in a specific number of low-income and very-low-income housing.

“Belmont became the town of how do we say no to things instead of how to say yes,” Stone said. “We were successful, I think along with an incredible team of colleagues, in creating a culture of how we get to yes, how do we move Belmont forward.”

But not every step the council took was well-received, Stone admitted, pointing to an attempt at zoning changes that caused the community to worry massive houses would begin popping up in their neighborhoods. Ultimately, Stone said public pushback resulted in the zoning changes being reversed to allow for a more open and thorough public process to be held.

Having gone through that process, Stone said he learned the value of being a good listener, showing empathy toward people with different viewpoints and being able to disagree amicably.

“If you want to make big changes you have to make sure you bring the people along with you,” Stone said.

After nearly a decade on the council, however, Stone said it’s time for him to get out of the way to allow for new blood, instead, turning his eyes to the county level. If elected, Stone said three key issues rise to the top of his priority list, expanding the county’s affordable housing stock, improving public transportation — a continuation of his work on the Caltrain Board of Directors, and addressing climate change — an extension of his work as a founding member of Peninsula Clean Energy.

Among Stone’s list of endorsements is U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo; U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto; former state Sen. Jerry Hill; supervisors Don Horsley, Dave Pine and Warren Slocum; the San Mateo County Labor Council; and the Service Employees International Union, Local 521, which represents thousands of county and local employees.

Stone said he was humbled to have such notable figures and groups endorse his campaign, noting the broad support has heightened his commitment to serving all residents across the county, regardless of their background.

“I love this county deeply and I’m called to try to make it better for future generations. For me, this is about my children’s future and all of the children of San Mateo County’s future,” Stone said. “I want to be a part of making sure we don’t fail at [our goals] and that’s what I think this county is about when you pin it down.”

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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