It's time for a supervisor election in this county
By Dave Pine
Opinion Piece in today's San Mateo Daily Journal
If you're having a hard time remembering when the last seriously contested election for a seat on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors was held, it's not because your memory is failing you. The fact of the matter is that the last meaningful election occurred more than a decade ago when Supervisor Rich Gordon was elected to office in 1997. And over the last 20 years, only three of the 30 supervisor races on the ballot have been at all competitive. Without elections, San Mateo County voters are deprived of the opportunity to vet candidates and engage in a dialogue about important county issues that affect their lives.
The supervisors are now considering how to fill a soon-to-be-vacant seat on the Board of Supervisors resulting from Jerry Hill's election to the state Assembly. The supervisors must choose between appointing a successor or holding a special election. With a number of serious candidates already expressing interest in the seat, this is the time to hold an election and use the democratic process to complete the important task of selecting a supervisor.
The shortage of competitive supervisor elections in San Mateo County is an unfortunate by-product of San Mateo County's unique way of electing them. Only one other county in California shares San Mateo County's approach of selecting its supervisors in countywide elections rather than through separate district elections. That means a candidate has to appeal to approximately 380,000 voters as opposed to 76,000 to win one of the five seats on the Board of Supervisors. Most potential viable candidates are not prepared to take on such a daunting task, and they are even less inclined to do so if they have to face an incumbent. It is not uncommon for incumbents to be unopposed and they almost never face a true challenge. The last time an incumbent supervisor lost was almost 30 years ago when the well-known Jackie Speier was elected.
Without any real possibility of an incumbent supervisor being voted out of office in San Mateo County, if the supervisors fill the current vacancy by appointment they will be essentially locking up the seat for 14 years: The two remaining years in Supervisor Hill's term plus three four-year terms following which the incumbent would need to step down due to term limits. Why should we forego this rare chance to have an election and deny voters the opportunity to decide for themselves who should represent them?
Some contend that the cost of holding an election, which is estimated to be approximately $1.6 million, justifies filling the supervisor vacancy by appointment. This expense is not trivial during these difficult economic times, but it needs to be put into perspective. The cost of holding a supervisor election equates to approximately one tenth of 1 percent of the County's $1.6 billion budget or one tenth of each cent spent by the county. Given today's economy, all levels of government are forced to make hard choices and set budget priorities. Allowing this miniscule percentage of the budget to stand in the way of holding an election would equate to saying that it is impossible to cut or reallocate one-tenth of 1 percent of the county's current spending and that the value of holding an election ranks below every other item in the budget. Democracy and citizen involvement in our county deserve better.
If the relatively modest price tag of holding a supervisor election presents an insurmountable barrier, another alternative would be to appoint a qualified person who would agree to serve only through the next regularly scheduled supervisor election in June 2010. At that time other races will be on the ballot and the county's election costs will be substantially less. There is ample precedent for this approach both locally and nationally. In 2005, a member of the County Board of Education passed away while in office and the vacancy was filled by an appointee who agreed to serve until an election for the position was held in November 2006. In Delaware, the same strategy has been adopted to fill the Senate seat that Joe Biden is leaving to become vice president.
Holding an election to fill the vacant supervisor seat would encourage a rigorous and thoughtful debate on county issues, allow the voters to choose who will represent them, and energize our local democracy. To do otherwise would be a disservice to the citizens of San Mateo County.
Dave Pine is a member of the San Mateo Union High School District Board of Trustees. The opinions expressed above are his own. He lives in Burlingame.
– Written by Joanne
Leave a Reply