As I have said from the start of this series on the most influential people in San Mateo County, a long-established status quo has passed and power is up for grabs.
A byproduct of this reality is a wide array of names were offered for consideration — the Others Who Made the List of Others.
I have broken this “Others, etc.” list into particular categories.
INSIDERS: These are people who are sought out as advisors to candidates and officeholders alike. They typically stay behind the scenes; they have a deep understanding of how politics works here:
David Burruto, district director to Assemblymember Diane Papan, former chief of staff to then-Supervisor Dave Pine and chair of the county Democratic Party for several years.
Joe Cotchett, one of the leading litigators in the country with an abiding involvement in local, state and national politics.
Former Redwood City Mayor and SamTrans/Caltrain CEO Jim Hartnett. Known for his legal acumen and his understanding of policy-making. He co-chaired the committee that stood by to recall Sheriff Christina Corpus, had it proven necessary.
Former state Sen. Jerry Hill. His endorsement and advice on how to win office remain valuable and his involvement in local campaigns can bestow credibility. He co-chaired the recall effort with Hartnett.
Former San Carlos Mayor Andy Klein. He remains active as an advisor to local candidates.
Karyl Matsumoto, the doyenne of South San Francisco. A role model to women candidates especially, she continues to agitate for her hand-picked candidates.
Former Belmont Mayor Charles Stone. Now in private legal practice, he has remained an active advisor to candidates and officeholders.
UP-AND-COMERS: These are people who could have broader influence, but have yet to prove themselves.
South San Francisco Councilmember James Coleman. He is, perhaps, the leader among the county’s noisy cadre of progressives, but has yet to extend his influence beyond those ranks.
San Mateo Councilmember Danielle Cwirko-Godycki. She won her first race for council without opposition in 2024 and has been focused largely on local issues, but she is seen as bright, likable and hard-working and may emerge beyond her city’s borders.
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Supervisor Lisa Gauthier. Long on the East Palo Alto City Council, she won a tough race two years ago and she is being watched closely. Her maturity and experienced manner have created the expectation that she will emerge as a countywide leader.
Redwood City Mayor Elmer Martinez Saballos. He was appointed to the council in 2022 and elected without opposition in 2024. He has a youthful, affable manner and already has shown an ability to balance the competing interests of his council.
BEYOND THEIR BORDERS: These are on the list by virtue of service on regional boards, by raising their own profile within their communities, or simply because insiders see them as broader players.
Redwood City Councilmember Jeff Gee. He is highly influential in the transit field and a seminal figure in the growing importance of the AAPI community.
San Mateo Councilmember Lisa Diaz Nash. She is, quite simply, everywhere, with an energy and drive that is unsurpassed by most of her peers.
San Carlos Vice Mayor Adam Rak. He has quietly emerged as someone insiders are watching as a potential candidate for higher office.
PERSONAGES: These are sustaining influencers.
Former Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. She happily stepped away from office in 2024, but she still has strong opinions on the conduct of public affairs, local and otherwise, and is as uncensored as ever in expressing them. She remains a sought-after endorsement.
Restaurateur Cameron Palmer, owner of Cameron’s Pub, Inn and Restaurant in Half Moon Bay: His establishment is a local landmark and his involvement in local charitable efforts has provided him a singular profile on the coastside.
Environmentalist Lennie Roberts. She is less active than in the past, but for decades she has been the queen of county environmental policies. She has more policy and ballot wins on environmental issues than can be counted, and everyone still seeks her guidance and approval on green matters.
ALSO: State Sen. Josh Becker. He is the most puzzling figure on all the lists. He has carved out a position of power and influence in Sacramento, particularly on environmental issues. He shows up everywhere people are gathered, but to little or no impact. When he was mentioned, it was to comment on his lack of a local impactful presence.
Congressman Sam Liccardo: He issues a news release seemingly every three days, but people are waiting to see whether the former San Jose mayor will have any influence on local politics.
Next week: The top 10.
(6) comments
Thank you Mark for providing a listing of those, with a few exceptions, who have made, and are still making, life in our county nearly impossible. We need a clean sweep.
100% Democrats. How's that one-party rule working out?
Wow! Thank you Mark. Honored to make the list! - Danielle cwirkogodycki
The following is a posting (yesterday) by Danielle on Nextdoor which gives an indication of what she believes and stands for.. Several comments followed about her accusations about law and government, etc. . But she does not give specific examples. "All views are my own:
As a young child in Poland, my father survived the horrors of Nazism. After the war, he dealt with the abuses of Communism and was arrested for his anti-government activism. He saw death in the streets. He felt the sting of government thugs operating with unchecked power.
Eventually, he fled to the United States in pursuit of freedom. My father is no longer with us, but I know he would be deeply saddened and enraged by what is happening today in Minneapolis, and across the country.
At the dinner table, my siblings and I learned about what authoritarianism looks and feels like, and I hate to say it, we’ve arrived. Our Federal government is operating outside of the law and growing bolder by the day. They claim they can do whatever they want and they lie with no shame. This is unacceptable.
Importantly, we must remember the jump from individual acts of violence to something much more evil and systematic is small. And in many respects, the systematic part of the project is already well underway.
We must remain civil and peaceful— this is the source of our moral authority. However, we cannot be quiet. Protest. Speak out. Demand more from your elected officials, including me.
My heart goes out to the people of Minneapolis, and I want our community to know I’m eager to hear your thoughts on how we can accelerate collective action to stop the madness. Together, the people always win.
Danielle Cwirko-Godycki
You are confused or misguided Danielle - "My heart goes out to the people of Minneapolis". The people of Minneapolis were not generally involved. These were paid, outside agitators funded by anarchists. In fact what is going on in Minneapolis is very isolated and not at all indicative of the unrelated comparisons that you quote. Apparently you have not learned much from history.
Democrats always claim they want "green", "sustainability", "equity", "education", "liveable neighborhoods", good Public Transit, Active Transportation, Safe-Routes-To-School, but somehow they are failing at all of this. Why is that?
My theory is that there are a ton of wolves in sheep clothing in this county. Luckily we always have Mark Simon to tell us who are these self-loathing Republicans in democratic outfits.
a few examples:
- Jerry Hill was of course a well-known Republican.
- Jim Hartnett - as CEO of Caltrain/SamTrans he messed up the electrification project budget and oversaw several grade separation project where they 'accidently' forgot about CA's "Complete Streets" laws. He is also one of the "blue lives matters" people fighting oversight of RCPD.
- Jeff Gee - when Jeff starts "Reimagining" things, a project always turns worse. He is the Forrest Gump of bad projects. He also hangs out too much around RWC's deliberately segregated school district.
- Elmer Martinez Saballos - was brought on by the more 'capitalistic' side of the YIMBY movement. Similar to Gee.
- All SMFCSD want safe-routes-to-schools and all endorsed the Humboldt Street Bike Lanes. Lisa Diaz Nash and Danielle Cwirko-Godycki however sided with San Mateo's extremist MAGA crowd and violated "Equity Focus Area" policies.
- So did Josh Becker's mentee Nicole Fernandez, which gives both politicians a black eye.
- Josh Becker's "green" bill has nothing to do with "sustainability" or "markets" - it is all about allowing Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE) to cast a wider network for "greenwashing" the county's electricity carbon footprint.
Whenever Mark Simon doesn't like a candidate - like James Coleman here - I would give that person the benefit of the doubt. "Noisy cadre of progressives" sounds similar to when the MAGA crowd calls Mamdani a "Communist".
I mean, how could someone expect SamTrans to run for free - when the county pays 100% of their funding already? But a "freeway" expansion - just recently done by Diana Papan - is totally not communist at all.
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