Notes, quotes and dust motes

On to the profane, mundane and occasionally unconstrained.

WHERE ELSE TO START? Given who we are and, unfortunately, are likely to remain, we begin with local politics and the prominent races for San Mateo County supervisor.

In District 1, where Councilmembers Gina Papan from Millbrae and Emily Beach from Burlingame are running to replace the termed-out Dave Pine, campaign finance reports were filed in my absence (the nerve). They show Beach with a significant lead, sort of.

In the first half of the year, Beach reported raising more than $168,000 to Papan’s $117,000; Beach spent more than $45,000 from to Papan’s $14,967; and Beach finished the fundraising period with $129,000 on hand to Papan’s $102,000.

The first round of fundraising typically relies heavily, as you might expect, on a candidate’s strengths in political and personal connections.

Beach, in her second term on the Burlingame council raised more than 63% of her funds from donors who listed a Burlingame or Hillsborough address. Beach ran for Congress last year and finished fourth in a seven-candidate primary, but she demonstrated that the Burlingame-Hillsborough axis is a formidable fundraising base and a good launching pad for her next effort.

Papan’s deep ties to a loyal Greek community have proven an important base for her candidacy. More than 27% of her funds came from donors with Greek surnames, including two of the most prominent Democratic donors in the state — developers George Marcus of Palo Alto and Angelo Tsakopoulous of Sacramento. Also, high-profile support continues from Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis.

Beach’s money lead may not be quite what it seems, which, apparently Papan, convinced she needed to, could not wait to point out.

Both candidates raised money for the March election, but also collected money that can only be spent if there is a runoff election next November. Beach raised quite a lot — more than $31,000 in runoff dough that cannot be spent in March; Papan raised $10,000.

Subtract that from their totals, and Beach raised $137,000 for the March election and Papan $107,000. So, Beach’s lead in money that can be spent right now is not $51,000, but $30,000, which would seem big enough if it had not appeared bigger. But, if you look at cash on hand as of June 30, and subtract the money that is unavailable for March, Beach had $98,000 and Papan had $92,000.

In any case, Papan starts the race with a decided edge based on the family name. Her dad, Lou Papan, was a widely known legislator for decades. The election last year of her sister, Diane Papan, to the same legislative seat shows the name still carries some clout with voters. And with potential donors. Papan received money from longtime associates of her father, including former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. Also kicking in were Diane Papan and current legislative colleagues.

DISTRICT 4: In the race to replace Supervisor Warren Slocum, East Palo Alto Councilmember Lisa Gauthier reported raising $34,000 in the first half of the year; she spent $10,000 and had $31,000 in cash on hand. One opponent, criminal justice advocate Paul Bocanegra, raised $8,600, including a $4,000 loan he made to the campaign; he spent $1,100 and had $7,500 on hand.

Perhaps because Gauthier’s fundraising is off to a slow start, or perhaps because the North Fair Oaks area is emerging as a political counter to East Palo Alto, another candidate has entered the race — Maggie Cornejo, former aide to Slocum and now director of Finance and Government Relations for the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula. … Not incidentally, Slocum has endorsed Gauthier, as have Diane and Gina Papan and Assemblymember Marc Berman.

OH YEAH, HIM: Supervisor David Canepa appears a shoo-in for reelection in his northern District 5. He currently is unopposed and he has raised only $17,500. On the other hand, he appears to be campaigning everywhere in the county in a frenetic manner remarkable even for the peripatetic Canepa. This prompts speculation on what office he might seek in 2026.

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.