Big recognition from a Chamber of Commerce

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Featured on the cover as Movers and Shakers are Kitty Lopez, current executive director of First Five San Mateo and previous director of Samaritan House; Dana Stoehr, CEO of the San Mateo County Event Center since 2017; Robert Webster, president and chief executive officer of Bohannon Development Company; Angela Riley, attorney Chauvel & Glatt; Saili Gosula, owner and executive director of Synergy Home Care; Chonita Cleary, partner Borel Estate Company; Brian Myers, developer; Jim Hartnett, CEO of the San Mateo County Transit District; Ross Moilan, district manager, California Water Services; Heather Cleary, chief executive of Family Service; Tammy del Bene, Recology; Gina Zari, San Mateo County Association of Realtors director of government affairs; Steve Ugur, co-owner of Pausa; Diane Papan, San Mateo City Council; Griselda Gonzalez, contracts manager CG Moving Company; Maureen Freschet, former member San Mateo City Council; Bart Charlow, executive director of Samaritan House; Rachel Meyer, executive director, CuriOdyssey; Chris Holbrook, San Mateo Marriott; and David Glancy, San Francisco Wine School.

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Recent obituaries featured the lives and contributions of several important people in our in our community. Former San Mateo County district attorney Jim Fox had the unenviable job of having to follow his friend and mentor, Keith Sorenson who was the personification of what a great DA should be and Jim earned the same accolade. Dennis Sammut, owner of Artichoke Joe’s, a local cardroom in a historic building in San Bruno. He gave back to his city and local community in many ways. Evelyn Logan, not a household name, was a special ed teacher in the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District, who cared deeply about her students. She alerted me to a child abuse victim in her class whom she was afraid to let return home. With the help of pediatrician Dr. Harvey Kaplan, the student was placed in Chope hospital for the night until the appropriate county agencies could intervene. Former Foster City mayor and councilman Roger Chinn was one of the most respected councilmembers and had a calming effect on the almost always turbulent politics of his city.

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Speaking of turbulent city politics, we will have to wait and see if the campaign to recall Foster City Councilman Herb Perez will be successful. All over Foster City you see signs for and against recall. But a recent letter to the editor from former Foster City councilmembers urging the recall of Perez could prove convincing.

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I received a letter from Quentin Kopp, former state senator, judge and San Francisco supervisor, whom I have not seen in decades. He enclosed a copy of his column in the Sunset Beacon which he said would be his last. While I often disagreed with Kopp on many issues and he often expressed his displeasure with some of my views, I always admired him for his devotion to public service. While I was on the council I attended a very small event at a church in North Central San Mateo one Saturday morning about 8:30 a.m. Kopp was state senator at the time and represented a portion of San Mateo County. And there he was, a dedicated public servant, attending an event far away from home one early Saturday morning.

Kopp won his Senate Seat as an independent in a highly contested race with the late Lou Papan, then a state Assemblyman. The two remained on bad terms until much later on when according to the Papan daughters, the two now older gentlemen, decided to make peace and even become friends.

Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs every Monday. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.