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His opponents, Pat Gray of the Green Party, Harland Harrison of the Libertarian Party and Mike Garza of the Republican Party, should be commended for representing their party, but unfortunately, their views do not reflect the values of this district.

Return Gene Mullin to Assembly

In his first term in the Assembly, Gene Mullin has fought for education, affordable housing, child care and listened to constituent concerns.

So far in his tenure, Mullin has weathered an unprecedented gubernatorial recall, state grabs of local funds and a repeal of the vehicle license fee. He made headlines in May by unsuccessfully suggesting 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote in primary elections. Mullin promises the issue is far from dead although it may be resurrected at a different form.

During his first term, Mullin had 20 bills signed into law - 11 under Gov. Gray Davis and another nine by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. In between, he learned to juggle family life, staff and ethics.

His opponents, Libertarian Miles Gilster and Republican Catherine Brinkman, have not mounted much of a campaign and seem to be merely place holders.

Joe Simitian for state Senate

In an extremely close contest in March, Assemblyman Joe Simitian defeated former Assemblyman Ted Lempert to be the Democratic candidate for the general election.

Simitian wrote legislation that would outlaw cruise ships from dumping their waste off the coast.

Simitian has been an effective legislator who keeps his head in the district. He has recent experience passing bills in tough times. He knows the current climate in Sacramento and has the connections, will and know-how to get things done.

Simitian has built his reputation in the Assembly in four years. He fought for local schools while the economy threatened them with severe cuts.

His work shows he has a solid foundation to serve the district well. In only four years, he has established himself as a leader on education, the environment and the budget. The people of the district and indeed, the state of California, can expect great things in his four years in the Senate.

Belforte, Lempert, Cannon and Morantes for San Mateo County Board of Education

There are four open seats on the San Mateo County Board of Education and two incumbents. Both incumbents, Ted Lempert and Memo Morantes, have done a good job and should be retained. The third seat has just one candidate, retired school principal Jim Cannon. The fourth seat is open because board President Fred Leonard decided to step down.

For that seat, there are four candidates with various positions and experience they want to bring to the table. John Belforte, 74, was a school teacher and administrator for years who retired from his last job as principal at Bowditch Middle School in Foster City in 1998. Because of his lengthy experience and firm grasp of the issues, he is considered to be the front-runner. Anthony "Fel" Amistad, 44, is a business owner who has run for a seat on the board in the past. He has also run for a seat on the Peninsula Health Care District board. Sammy Goldberg, 61, is a former decathlete who has written a book called "The Fib Factory" that seeks to explain the negative side effects of aerobic exercise on non-athletes. Another candidate, Fernando Castro, is not campaigning.

Of the four, Belforte is the clear choice. His experience, ideas and solid personality should enable him to hit the ground running.

Kane and MacNaughton for Sequoia Healthcare District

Incumbents Katie Kane and Malcolm MacNaughton are fighting off a Libertarian ticket that seeks to dissolve the district. The Libertarians, Warren Gibson and Sonya Sigler want to help incumbent Jack Hickey dissolve the district and return the tax money the district collects to residents.

However, it is far from that simple. If the district were to be dissolved, the taxpayer money would not go back to residents, it would go to the county.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation is setting its sights on a new campus in San Carlos and will likely take away cardiac patients from Sequoia. Community leaders have wondered aloud if Sequoia can stay afloat if that happens.

Granted, there needs to be a serious assessment of what value the district adds to the community if it cannot keep a hospital afloat. But that assessment should be done in a very methodical and community-based way not in the scorched earth fashion the Libertarians propose. In the near future, there may be a serious community push to merge the district with the Peninsula Health Care District to the north and Sequoia needs quality leaders to ensure that merger happens in the correct way if it does.

Ullyot and Navarro for Peninsula Health Care District

Who better to understand the needs of a hospital than two physicians? Both Rick Navarro and Dan Ullyot want to lend their experience to the Peninsula Health Care District board. Navarro, anathesiologist at Seton Medical Center in Daly City, has experience serving on boards and since he works out of the area, does not have any conflicts of interest. Ullyot is retired and therefore has no conflicts of interest. Their challengers, Nylda Gemple and Anson Kwan, are well meaning but don't have the right experience.