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Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies overnight. Low 57F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Updated: June 16, 2026 @ 1:45 am
And, then, finally, it was over. All the election posts are gone. Most of the campaign signs have been taken down (some just a little ahead of schedule). We are left to sift through the wreckage.
YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION: Vote-by-mail has had a dramatic impact on elections and campaigns.
Campaigns now are even more of a marathon for the candidates and the voting public. Election Day no longer is an event. It is just the beginning of what has become officially The Fortnight of Agonizing Wait for Results.
The benefit of vote-by-mail, combined with even-year and district elections, was supposed to be a dramatic increase in voter participation. The verdict is decidedly mixed.
San Mateo County elections pooh-bah Mark Church projected a 60% turnout; countywide we came in at 58%, more than 8,600 votes short. Certainly, that is better than the last pre-mail election in 2014, when turnout was a disgraceful 46%. But in 2018, the last nonpresidential statewide election, turnout was 72%. Where did everybody go? Making it easier to vote apparently fails to make it more interesting.
GEN Z, Y OR ONE OF THOSE GENS: Nationally, young, more progressive voters, showed up in substantial numbers this election and, it has been argued amid much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments at Fox News, they provided the margin of victory in key races won by Democrats.
Here, too. Maybe. Really, who knows? I think that can be asserted in Noelia Corzo’s win in Supervisor District 2, but just as much has to be ascribed to a shrewd campaign that got her voters to the polls. Oops. Not polls. Mailboxes. Although, getting your voters to the mailbox does not carry the same rhetorical zip. Sigh.
HELP ME HELP YOU: Yes, I did it again — threw out the word progressive, right there in the previous segment. It has become a convenient journalistic shorthand for a columnist limited by space. But shorthand for what? I was asked the other day what progressive means. Beats me. I have looked it up several times and I still cannot tell you. This is complicated by the fact that everyone (except for the minimal number of Republicans still roaming free), including almost every local elected official, claims the label.
What do you think it means? Really. I am asking.
I would love to use the term with some level of confidence that I know what I am talking about — a departure, I know, from my customary practice — and who might fit the description. Send me your thoughts to my email below. And my conservative friends who often argue with each other on the Daily Journal posting place, please do not send me some silly definition filled with contempt for wokeness, socialism and Bernie Sanders. This is a semi-serious pursuit of knowledge and understanding. Later, I am going to get a lamp and roam the countryside (and if you get that reference, take a bow).
ONCE MORE INTO THE BREACH: In our last episode, I listed the people I thought would be the new power in the county and I ran out of space before I mentioned Sheriff-elect Christina Corpus. She comes into her office with a mandate for change and a set of expectations that could prove overwhelming. But it is clear she wants to make the Sheriff’s Office into an outward-facing organization with widespread impact and respect. … Of all the organizations that endorsed candidates this cycle, it certainly looks like the county Central Labor Council was the most successful, proving that it remains the most impactful. … San Mateo County real estate interests also had an impactful year — not as sweeping as the Labor Council, but unmistakable in its efforts in 21st Assembly District June primary, and in Ray Mueller’s win in the race for the District 3 supervisor race.
There were a surprising number of losing candidates who had the backing of some of the county’s highest-profile officeholders. And, sorry for singling him out, but it was a tough year for South San Francisco Councilmember James Coleman, who ran poorly in the Assembly primary and then saw his child care initiative lose handily in November. Maybe, when you cannot convince two colleagues to put something on the ballot, it could be a sign that the idea is lacking widespread support. Just because someone disagrees with you does not make them wrong.
ALWAYS DEAD, NEVER GONE: To wrap it all up, here is particularly snippet from a well-known local band: “Sometimes the light’s all shinin’ on me/ Other times, I can barely see/ Lately, it occurs to me/ What a long, strange trip it’s been.
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.
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(5) comments
Statism
Not sure I would go that far, Ray. Mr Simon seems to be looking for something to write, like he was scratching the bottom of the barrel. He does take some effort to be an educated voter. Most voters rely on the tube or the San Mateo Daily Journal, which isn't much if you ask me. As for the term progressive I believe it means any idea that circumvents any problem, sounds sexy, creates boondoggle, spends a ton of money and never achieves any solution. Now that's progression. Cheers, Mr Fowler
Hi, Richard
Maybe different paths to the same mountaintop? Mark asked for feedback via email, and I responded, in part, with the following, "Progressives are committed to change that yields government control of the economy and social programs. Progressives have been working to bring about those changes for a long, long time. However, I don’t believe your garden-variety Democrats or even Democrats with a decidedly liberal political bent agree with the progressive agenda, but they do seem to yield to the loudest voices in the room and those voices come from progressives."
I think your summary fits progressives to a T... maybe your summary can be better described as "crossing the T."
Re progressive: one who thinks the state has a monopoly on progress.,
Good question, Mr. Simon, “progressive” isn’t defined in a consistent manner, even by the multitude of dictionaries out there. Being “progressive” has become a label that can be used or abused by anyone, depending upon their agenda. By that same token, “progressive” can be interpreted depending upon their agenda. To me, it doesn’t matter what people call themselves it’s more about their past actions, or lack thereof, what they’re trying to accomplish, and whether it’s for everyone’s benefit. More context than just labeling someone a “progressive” is needed. As for taking a lamp and roaming the countryside, I hear the “countryside” is usually a basement, filled with munchies (assuming I’m catching your drift).
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