Rachel Cyr got a big surprise in election

Lo and behold, without campaigning at all this fall, she wound up securing a rather shocking 34% of the vote, “running” opposite Peter Stevenson, the only other person listed on the ballot for the involved council district (southeastern Burlingame) post.

Stevenson had a well-organized, comprehensive campaign that included all of the normal bells and whistles of a typical election effort. Cyr did nothing after her departure announcement.

Asked last week if she would have served on the council if she had actually won the election, even with having officially left the race two months ago, she said yes.

“I would have served,” she offered. “But I’m still glad I dropped out. I am proud of the support I got. My platform must have resonated. It was a vote of confidence.”

Cyr, 37, married and the mother of two young children, said she was moved to run in the wake of several national events that occurred earlier this year.

Among the most important for her was the massacre of school children in Texas. The Supreme Court’s decision to shift abortion matters to the states was also a factor.

“As a woman,” she said, “I felt the need to move forward.” She described herself as an activist and a progressive. As a small business owner, she noted, “I want to make an impact here.”

But her timing turned out to be wrong. Too many personal issues cropped up “all at once” (including surgery) and she had to bid a belated adios to the council race.

The surprising ballot result this month has helped to reenergize her. “I will be back,” she said.

Cyr has a bit of Burlingame policymaking in her blood, albeit on the public education side. Her grandmother, Jean Richanbach, is a former member of the Burlingame School District Board of Trustees.

She was a calming, fair-minded presence on that body decades ago during a contentious period of fast-falling enrollment numbers and multiple school closures.

NEW MENU DUE AT VAL’S ADDRESS: When word began to filter out earlier this month that Val’s restaurant in Daly City was going to close in December, the first thought was: Would it be sold and continue as it is?

The answer, sadly for its many loyal customers, is no. According to a member of the Taylor family, which has owned the traditional dining spot for nearly a half-century, no one has stepped forward to keep the business up and running and it’s time for the proprietors to retire.

In a sign of the times, he said the property will soon be turned into a rental and a retail marijuana distributor will move in to take its place.

Val’s, located on the west side of Interstate 280 near Daly City Hall, has been operating in that spot since the early 1950s when the freeway wasn’t even on the drawing board. It is one of the oldest family-owned restaurants still functioning in San Mateo County, but not for much longer.

The venue hasn’t changed all that much through the decades: White tablecloths, booths and tables that resonate the old ambiance of the Eisenhower Era, attentive waiters and waitresses and a timeless menu.

The last day to order one of Val’s classic specialties — whether steak, veal, chicken, fish or pasta, among other long-standing options — is Dec. 10. It will be missed. So will its cozy bar and lounge.

NATIVITY IS CELEBRATING 150 YEARS: Meanwhile, back in the realm of enduring San Mateo County institutions for a moment, how about a tip of the hat to the Church of the Nativity in bucolic Menlo Park.

The Catholic church, founded in 1862, is observing its 150th anniversary now. Located on Oak Grove Avenue between El Camino Real and Middlefield Road, it has been a community asset since 1872.

Contact John Horgan at johnhorganmedia@gmail.com.