Election feeding frenzy

Church’s district includes a wide swath of north and mid- county and there are no shortage of candidates announced, saying maybe, or let it be known they might. To date, Dave Pine, member of the San Mate Union High School Board of Trustees has said he is definitely interested. Marc Hershman, district director to Supervisor Jerry Hill and former Millbrae mayor is a maybe. Millbrae Councilwoman Gina Papan is testing the waters. Burlingame Councilwoman Ann Keighran has expressed interest. Other possible contenders include South San Francisco Vice Mayor Kevin Mullin; Hillsborough Mayor Christine Krolik; Cary Wiest, president of the Highlands Community Association; and Burlingame Vice Mayor Terry Nagel. (For the record, your columnist also lives in Mark’s district but is not a candidate).

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Pine joined the school board not as a stepping stone to another office but because his expertise and leadership were needed at a time when the high school district was in financial and morale decline. Today, because of Dave and several other trustees, the district has a new superintendent and is doing well (except for the current state financial crisis). He has been an advocate for district elections and electing rather than appointing when there is a vacancy. He is a member of the county charter review committee as is Cary Wiest. He is independent and not one to "go along” to "get along” if it is an issue he feels is important. In that respect, he has challenged the county’s political elite, even though he has campaigned and endorsed many of them. That might cost him the support of the county’s political leaders (the supes and some influential councilmembers) in a future race. On the other hand, the high school district includes all of the cities in Church’s district, Pine is relatively well known, respected and liked.

When Hershman left his law firm to work for then Supervisor Jerry Hill, it was anticipated that Marc had his eye on his Millbrae colleague’s county seat when Church was termed out. Marc now manages Hill’s district office. Marc is part of the county’s political establishment. He served on SamTrans and C/CAG (City/County Association of Governments) when he was a councilman and is much admired by county leaders. He is best known in Millbrae, but his work for Hill has brought him into contact with many in the community.

Papan, a current Millbrae councilwoman, is well known in the county. She has run for state-wide office and is the daughter of the late assemblyman Lou Papan, a beloved figure in parts of north county. Gina serves on C/CAG and works in the state attorney general’s office in San Francisco. She has a fan base in Millbrae and Daly City and in the Greek community.

Keighran is one of the newer members on the Burlingame council. Her base is primarily Burlingame where she is popular. She would be a long shot in a race with many well-known contenders but she could run just to get her name out there for the future and still hang on to her Burlingame seat (If the election is held in 2010, most if not all of the potential candidates will have a free ride. They will not have to give up their current positions to run).

Mullin is a young man with a promising political future. He would be an easy bet to fill the Assembly seat his dad, Gene, once held that is now occupied by Hill. He worked for Jackie Speier when she was in Sacramento. He is part of the political elite and could expect strong support from county leaders. Whether he will decide to go for the Board of Supervisors first is an unanswered question, but he would no doubt be an exceptionally strong candidate.

Krolick is a good friend of Jackie Speier and it is said that the congresswoman has been encouraging her to run for higher office. Whether it will be a run for Church’s seat or something else remains to be seen. Nagel has made a mark in Burlingame and is currently a major force in those cities worried about high-speed rail. She is a former newspaper reporter and now works for a nonprofit organization. Even though she, too, challenges the political elite from time to time she was able to win a seat on the county transportation authority because she is well respected by her council colleagues. Weist may not be a serious candidate but people in the Highlands would love to have their own representative on the board.

Assemblyman Ira Ruskin has decided not to run for Slocum’s seat and has endorsed Church. Mark is a lucky man. Ruskin would have been a tough competitor. Instead, Ira is concentrating his efforts on running for the state Senate when Joe Simitian is termed out. It looks like Church will be a shoo-in for the post while the real action will be on who will be his successor.

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One thing is sure. The Board of Supervisors is unlikely to make an appointment to fill the vacancy. The county charter review committee has a recommendation from the civil grand jury to hold a special election and not appoint in these cases. The supes have received flack for not holding an election to fill Hill’s seat. But elections are expensive so the county review committee is trying to determine whether it would be legal to hold a mail-only ballot to fill a vacancy. That is much cheaper than holding a traditional election. As for district elections, that is a major subject for the charter review committee. Their recommendations don’t go to the board until June and then have to be voted on by the public, perhaps in November. That would be too late to affect an election in 2010. But it could change things in 2012. One can only speculate what candidates would be helped or hurt if Church’s seat were to be filled by district and not the county as a whole.

Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs every Monday. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.