First money and then endorsements

This is no surprise. Simitian has been a close friend and political ally of Eshoo’s for decades. Simitian’s wife, Mary Hughes, has been an Eshoo campaign manager and advisor even longer. Simitian earlier published a list of endorsements from 150 current and former city councilmembers from within the district. This includes four of the seven members of the Palo Alto City Council, of note given that two current councilmembers — Julie Lythcott-Haims and Greg Tanaka — also are running for the congressional seat.

And, following up last week’s questioning whether money can influence this tight race, key endorsements could be the answer in the form of mail to voters touting key and influential support.

In that vein, a slate of key endorsements were announced Wednesday by the San Mateo County Central Labor Council — these come with money, precinct workers, phone banks and official mailings to union memberships.

In the congressional race, the labor council endorsed Assemblymember Evan Low.

In the two races for the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, the labor council endorsed former U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, running for the District 1 seat being vacated by Dave Pine due to term limits; the labor council endorsed East Palo Alto Councilmember Lisa Gauthier in the race for the District 4 seat being vacated by Warren Slocum due to term limits.

It is always hard to tell how much impact endorsements have, particularly in a normal campaign timeframe. Over the years, a handful of names have had significant influence — most do not. Candidates try to amass as many as possible in the hope that volume will carry the day, or that voters will scan the list and find someone they know and respect. Or it may just be something everyone does because it makes the candidate feel good, and it feels like an accomplishment.

Not to overlook the possibility that an endorsement may come with access to the money connections of a well-established official or individual.

As already noted here, undoubtedly ad nauseam, the race for the 16th Congressional District seat is unfolding in a timeframe so compressed as to bring on the bends. So, this may be the rare campaign where endorsements could matter given that the March 5 primary is in 55 days and voter attentiveness is expected to be low.

SPEAKING OF DISTRICT 1: Speier’s opponent, Millbrae Councilmember Ann Schneider, this week launched her campaign website and we can safely say it is interesting. It appears to have been put together entirely by the candidate.

For a brief time, the website said the election is on May 5. Only off by two months. This was quickly remedied, but Schneider appears intent on tapping into voter discontentment.

Schneider says, “Congress and Sacramento have failed you.” Unfortunately, she is not running for office in either of those places. At one point, the site also said she is “environmentally friendly” (yes, but is she recyclable?). That appears to have been excised.

Schneider’s website is largely her ballot statement, which concludes with this: “As your county supervisor, I won’t wear fancy jewelry, I won’t accept a dime in salary and I won’t ever vote to raise your taxes.”

For the sake of the permanent record, wearing fancy jewelry is not a formal requirement of the job.

Running against the establishment may be Schneider’s only choice. Speier has announced a long list of endorsements including the aforementioned Eshoo; U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin, who succeeded Speier in Congress; state Sen. Josh Becker and Assemblymember Marc Berman; Supervisors Pine, Slocum and Ray Mueller; Sheriff Christina Corpus and District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe; and nearly 60 other elected and former elected officials.

A FEW SHORT ONES: The Half Moon Bay Review and Pacifica Tribune, recipients recently of $40,000 in county funds, courtesy of Mueller, announced they will cease providing a print edition and will go entirely digital in February. This makes the Daily Journal the only printed newspaper in the county. … I see several candidates campaigning with the email address of offices they currently hold. This is a dubious practice and quite possibly illegal. … Some cities are moving to codify the rotation of councilmembers into the mayor’s spot. Here’s why this might be a bad idea: Not every councilmember should be mayor. Some people lack the qualities of consensus building, for example.

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.