Money and respect

Even in the best of times, transit systems get by on a multilayered agglomeration of local, regional, state and federal subsidies.

This leads us to the ongoing push for some kind of regional tax measure that will bail out BART, San Francisco Muni and Caltrain, each of which faces challenging funding shortfalls.

This has played out against a modicum of opposition and skepticism, and the continuing belief by public officials that San Mateo County once again is getting the short end of the stick.

It is a point I already have belabored — that the “major players” in the region treat San Mateo County like the colonies — so I see no need to pound it into submission.

It is hard to argue against the thinking behind the measure, although there are those who will be against any tax increase. But the need for regional unity is an opportunity for county leadership to assert itself, not just on the tax but on the larger grievances. San Mateo County should be treated like an equal partner in these, and all other, regional agreements.

The kind of oversight proposed by Assemblymember Diane Papan in a recent op-ed is a step in the right direction. Other people representing the county have been remarkably silent or all too eager to look good on a regional level.

We should expect more. The regional deal should include a guarantee that the partners to Caltrain — San Francisco and Santa Clara County — also will fully fund their share of operating and capital budgets, something at which they have balked year after year.

POLITICS NEVER SLEEPS: A year ago, efforts were underway for a well-financed, well-backed challenge to Supervisor Noelia Corzo’s reelection to a second term in 2026.

And then along came the controversy involving Sheriff Christina Corpus, in which Corzo showed critical leadership; any possible challenge has evaporated. Indeed, even among those who had worked against her in the 2022 election, there is widespread praise for her poise, her heartfelt presentations and her toughness as this continuing mess exploded onto the scene.

This is most apparent in the midyear campaign finance reports in which the first half of 2025 serves as a runway for those who might seek office in 2026.

Corzo reported raising $28,973, and finished June with $14,910 in her campaign treasury. Her list of donors still carries the veneer of the Peninsula’s progressives, although she has expanded beyond such stalwarts. Notable donors include: former county supervisor Warren Slocum, $135; state Sen. Scott Wiener, $100; and former San Mateo Councilmember Amourence Lee, $1,000.

No candidate has opened a committee to challenge Corzo.

Supervisor David Canepa has continued to raise money through his 2024 reelection committee, even though he is termed out on the board. The safe assumption is that the funds are a precursor to a run in 2026 for chief elections officer and assessor-county clerk-recorder. He raised $15,938 and finished June with $15,655 in cash on hand. Seven donors gave him $1,000, including his county aide, Bill Silverfarb, and Daly City Councilmember Juslyn Manalo, who already is running for Canepa’s seat in 2028. … Mark Church, the current county assessor-county clerk-recorder, has done nothing — no fundraising, no filings — since his last reelection in 2022.

The busiest race is for San Mateo County superintendent of schools between Hector Camacho, an executive in the County Office of Education, which the superintendent runs, and Chelsea Bonini, a trustee on the County Board of Education, to whom the superintendent reports.

Camacho has jumped out to a substantial lead in the money race, raising $54,269 to Bonini’s $11,869. Camacho finished June with $52,278 in his campaign treasury; Bonini had $8,598. Bonini raised her money from longtime progressive allies. Camacho’s donors represent a broader base of the county’s political mainstream. His notable donors included former South San Francisco Councilmember and North County doyenne Karyl Matsumoto, $5,900; and outgoing Superintendent Nancy Magee, $1,250 and her predecessor, Anne Campbell, $500. Corzo also gave Camacho $1,250.