An inevitable surprise

The news release announcement contained some slightly ambiguous language that Hale “suspends campaign” and “wind(s) down” the campaign. Later in the announcement, the language says more concretely that she “withdraws from the race.”

Ah. Not quite. Hale remains on the ballot. Her withdrawal does not change the legal fact that she is one of two nominees in the general election. There is no mechanism for removing her name from the ballot, or substituting another candidate.

As for facing the inevitable, Hale barely made it into the general, squeaking past Republican Mark Gilham by about 300 votes. Papan got twice as many votes as Hale. A Hale campaign in which she defeats Papan would have to defy gravity.

And, of course, Hale faced the prospect of a continued pounding by Papan and the special interests — led by the California Apartment Association and the California Association of Realtors — that spent nearly $1.5 million attacking her in the primary in a relentless stream of negative mail and online ads.

Since her first council campaign in 2018, Hale has been the target of an unusual level of enmity. From the beginning, she has been the target of a hardcore group of Redwood City residents who see her as the embodiment of everything they dislike about how the city has changed.

Hale has been a prolific user of social media, often featuring her two daughters in largely nonpolitical contexts. But even her most ardent opponents should be sympathetic over the toll the negative onslaught must have taken on her children.

GNAW ON THIS: There is much to chew over in the wake of Hale’s withdrawal.

In the 2018 Redwood City Council campaign, the CAA launched a similarly hard-hitting attack on Diana Reddy, creating such a backlash that some say it helped Reddy win. This time, they essentially knocked Hale out of the race, making the CAA a formidable presence in future elections.

Papan also is seen as having waged a tough, bare-knuckles campaign against Hale — some say in the finest traditions of the Papan family. Now, she is regarded as a leading, and, yes, formidable, figure in Peninsula politics.

The race for the 21st AD, in the words of one insider, “eclipsed” the race for the 15th Congressional District. Under any other circumstances, a congressional race would be the premier campaign on the ballot.

Now, with the Assembly race all but over, attention should shift to the 15th CD, and the two races for the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.

Meanwhile, there is no word yet on whether Hale can turn around and run for reelection. There are clear restrictions against someone holding two offices at the same time. It is less clear if someone can run for two offices at the same time. I asked Hale via text message if she would run for a second term on the council, assuming she could. “No decision on reelection,” she replied.

ELSEWHERE: City council races are exploding across the county. Two longtime Belmont council colleagues, Julia Mates and Warren Lieberman, are both running for the newly hatched position of directly elected mayor. … Rumors abound that community activist Rudy Espinoza Murray, who you may have seen on these opinion pages, will run for the Redwood City Council. He had no comment.

BRAVE NEW WORLD: I am a manchild in a technological land.

Last week, I ran an item taking Assemblymember Kevin Mullin to task for continuing to use his legislative campaign account to run ads about his Assembly activities, but that indirectly boost his 15th CD candidacy. In this instance, I said, it was commenting on the Roe v. Wade decision. 

Well now. Mullin’s Assembly office was a sponsor of a Daily Journal seniors event. Part of the sponsorship included some free ads in the paper and online, paid out of his Assembly campaign fund. He is prohibited from using his official account, or his congressional account. One of the online ads — a bare-bones photo and his name — popped up in the midst of my column about the overturning of Roe. When I copied the ad, I copied part of the column. 

Confusion is one of my default positions. I find it reassuring

FINALLY: Anyone have a good recipe for goose, free-range out of Foster City?

Mark Simon is a veteran journalist, whose career included 15 years as an executive at SamTrans and Caltrain. He can be reached at marksimon@smdailyjournal.com.