In the first comments of their kind by any San Mateo County elected official, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo has sharply criticized the Board of Supervisors, in particular, Supervisor David Canepa, for the harsh and personal rhetoric that colored a debate six weeks ago over a proposal to end county cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
“I have never seen the Board of Supervisors conduct themselves the way they did,” Eshoo said Saturday at an event for Burlingame Councilmember Emily Beach, who is running for the District 1 Board seat.
“It is really shameful,” Eshoo said, adding that the board suffered “a total meltdown” characterized by “ad hominem attacks” and “name-calling.”
“No citizen of San Mateo County should find that acceptable,” Eshoo said. “It was disgusting, and it was painful, and that has never happened before.”
Contacted later, Eshoo confirmed she was referring specifically to remarks by Canepa, who launched a personal attack on Supervisor Ray Mueller. He had proposed an amendment allowing county cooperation with ICE in instances of persons convicted of serious and violent felonies.
Eshoo also took the rest of the board to task for not objecting to Canepa’s comments. Eshoo served on the Board of Supervisors from 1982 to 1992, when she was elected to Congress.
“I’m deeply disappointed that other members of the board didn’t speak up,’ she said. By their silence, “a majority of the board says it is OK to act this way. I don’t remember a time (when) that ever took place in the board chambers. It’s not OK. It’s not OK.”
At the late-April board meeting when the board considered Mueller’s proposed amendment, Canepa called it a “dog whistle,” an accusation that Mueller was consciously appealing to racist attitudes.
“Where you live in Menlo Park, it’s the Latino communities, it’s all these other communities, that make your kale salad. When it comes to the white linen tablecloths where you eat, they’re preparing your food, or picking your produce.
“You come up here and you use your privilege and you use it for an amendment that never should have happened,” Canepa continued. “I’m disappointed in you as a person, I’ve lost respect for you. … You’re dividing the Latino community. ... You’ve misled people, you’ve lied to people. … I’m disappointed in you. I am disturbed by you that you would use communities by dividing them.”
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Canepa referenced an ancestor who immigrated from Mexico, and described himself of Italian and Mexican descent. “I cannot sit idle and listen to your rhetoric and your godlessly condemning people,” Canepa said.
None of the other board members directly addressed Canepa’s comments. Board President Dave Pine did defend Mueller, asserting that he is not a racist, but he did not object to Canepa’s comments.
Eshoo, who has endorsed Beach, also urged her to speak out on this matter during the campaign. Beach then referenced the board meeting incident and said, there is “no place” for this kind of conduct, calling it “disrespectful.”
ADDING TO THE FIELD: Millbrae Councilmember Gina Papan has indicated she will formally declare her candidacy for the District 1 seat later this month. The prospect of running against Papan, known for hard-nosed politicking, and in the wake of the tough campaign waged by her sister, Diane Papan, in winning an Assembly seat, has got Beach telling supporters she is “bracing myself.”
Asked to elaborate, Beach said, “I think it’s going to be a tough race. It’s going to be very competitive. I’m running against an opponent who has a well-known last name.” Asked if she expected a campaign as tough as the Assembly race, Beach said, “Many people are cautioning me. I have to go in with my eyes wide open and demonstrate what I can do.”
A FAMILY AFFAIR: Also on Saturday, state Sen. Josh Becker kicked off his campaign for reelection to a second term at an event in Palo Alto that drew Eshoo, U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin, both Papans, Beach, Assemblymember Marc Berman and local elected officials from Pacifica to Cupertino.
Becker said he felt warmly embraced by a crowd he described as “my mishpucha,” a Yiddish term of endearment that means “my family” or “my folks.”
Host Owen Byrd offered a quintessentially Peninsula reference in asking the crowd to donate heavily to Becker. He asked for a “yoga donation — in which you have to really stretch.”
Formal remarks were preceded by an impressive vocal performance of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” something not normally seen at these kinds of events.
Becker may be the Legislature’s leading proponent and author of bills to address climate change — he has had six such bills signed into law.
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.
Frankly - I had not expected that rebuke from Eshoo. Fortunately, there are still some Democrats with a lick of sense. Are voters even aware that Mr. Canepa's wife is the Salvadoran Consul in SFco? Is there a bias present in his off-the-wall arguments? Clearly, the Salvadoran government does not need more of their criminals back. Their President Bukele has actually said so during TV interviews. Can't blame them but why burden us with these convicts. We need to connect the dots, folks!
Interesting point about Canepa's wife being Salvadoran Consul. Thomas of SCOTUS took flak over his wife's job. As they used to say in journalism - "all news is local."
Hats off to Anna Eshoo! The Board of Supervisors owes a public apology in writing at the next supervisors meeting for the vicious, personal attacks by Canepa and Corzo on a fellow supervisor. Slocum, rather than condemning their behavior, chose to slam those who wrote letters in support of Mueller's position. PIne, to his credit noted he had not seen this behavior in a supervisors meeting. The public deserves to hear opposing and minority opinions in a respectful manner. It is time to repent and move on.
The Progressive wing of the Democrat party is reckless. Look what they did to SF. Peninsula voters need to ask direct questions of their candidates regarding public safety or our County will go down in flames. Let's support Ray Mueller. Ms Eshoo needs to call out the doners and kingmakers who help these local radical candidates win elections. They move on the State. Scott Weiner is a perfect example.
Thank you, Congresswoman Eshoo, for calling out the reckless and frankly embarrassing behavior of the City Council as a whole with regard to the very sensible proposed amendment requiring cooperation with ICE for released felons convicted of rape, child molestation and other violent crimes against people. I wrote a letter to the SMDJ objecting to Supervisor Canepa's position on this matter and irresponsible comments. As the adoptive father of a young man who was serially and horrifically abused by a parent for years who was living in San Mateo County with a green card, subsequently convicted of felony assault and then released back into the community one mile from our home, I was disgusted. I had to called ICE to report his whereabouts and yes, he was deported. The very reasonable amendment is not a dog whistle - it is common sense! The Council needs to get a clue. And until they do, these convicted felons need to be released into their communities, preferably close to their homes.
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(7) comments
The San Mateo Board of Supervisors failed to act in the best interest of its residents.
The specific meeting was one of the worst examples of governance at full display for the following reasons:
1/ No data was shared regarding recidivism rates.
2/ The meeting devolved into name-calling, virtue-signaling and showing zero regard for resident concerns.
3/ Residents who spoke up and emailed about common-sense safety were labeled as white supremacists.
Voters need to remember these events before casting their next vote. Who we vote for has safety implications on all of us.
Frankly - I had not expected that rebuke from Eshoo. Fortunately, there are still some Democrats with a lick of sense. Are voters even aware that Mr. Canepa's wife is the Salvadoran Consul in SFco? Is there a bias present in his off-the-wall arguments? Clearly, the Salvadoran government does not need more of their criminals back. Their President Bukele has actually said so during TV interviews. Can't blame them but why burden us with these convicts. We need to connect the dots, folks!
Interesting point about Canepa's wife being Salvadoran Consul. Thomas of SCOTUS took flak over his wife's job. As they used to say in journalism - "all news is local."
Hats off to Anna Eshoo! The Board of Supervisors owes a public apology in writing at the next supervisors meeting for the vicious, personal attacks by Canepa and Corzo on a fellow supervisor. Slocum, rather than condemning their behavior, chose to slam those who wrote letters in support of Mueller's position. PIne, to his credit noted he had not seen this behavior in a supervisors meeting. The public deserves to hear opposing and minority opinions in a respectful manner. It is time to repent and move on.
Don't get between Canepa and a TV camera if you value your life.
The Progressive wing of the Democrat party is reckless. Look what they did to SF. Peninsula voters need to ask direct questions of their candidates regarding public safety or our County will go down in flames. Let's support Ray Mueller. Ms Eshoo needs to call out the doners and kingmakers who help these local radical candidates win elections. They move on the State. Scott Weiner is a perfect example.
Thank you, Congresswoman Eshoo, for calling out the reckless and frankly embarrassing behavior of the City Council as a whole with regard to the very sensible proposed amendment requiring cooperation with ICE for released felons convicted of rape, child molestation and other violent crimes against people. I wrote a letter to the SMDJ objecting to Supervisor Canepa's position on this matter and irresponsible comments. As the adoptive father of a young man who was serially and horrifically abused by a parent for years who was living in San Mateo County with a green card, subsequently convicted of felony assault and then released back into the community one mile from our home, I was disgusted. I had to called ICE to report his whereabouts and yes, he was deported. The very reasonable amendment is not a dog whistle - it is common sense! The Council needs to get a clue. And until they do, these convicted felons need to be released into their communities, preferably close to their homes.
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Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
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Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.