San Mateo County Supervisor Rich Gordon will not walk unopposed into his third and last term like his fellow supervisor Jerry Hill will. Both are up against a three-term limit set by law.
Two challengers to Mr. Gordon, Libertarian Jack Hickey of Emerald Lake Hills and Green Party activist Jo Chamberlain of Half Moon Bay, want their voices heard in this election to a position where, increasingly, there is no competition.
Mr. Hickey, a retired research scientist and taxpayers advocate, is a familiar name on county ballots. He has run for numerous public offices, and in 2002 was elected to the board of the Sequoia Healthcare District, which he wants to eliminate.
One of Mr. Hickey’s key proposals is for the county to detach from the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, and build up to five revenue-producing golf courses on former open space preserves. “Open space should he self-supporting,” he said.
Ms. Chamberlain, an environmental educator and former co-chair of the National Green Party, wants the county and the coast to be far greener than the county is requiring. She lives with her husband in Lobitos Canyon, in a house they built, with a “small herd of rescued feral cats.”
Revisions to the Local Coastal Plan, currently under consideration by the county Board of Supervisors, allow too much growth in the mid-coast, Ms. Chamberlain said. In addition, the board is approving “McMansions” on prime agricultural land, wetlands and ridgelines. “Rich (Gordon) is approving them,” she said.
Mr. Gordon noted that the new Local Coastal Plan (LCP), which will cone to the county supervisors for final approval in July, allows far less building than is currently allowed. “The new LCP is much stronger in terms of coastal protection than the current plan,” he said.
Mr. Gordon said in his first two terms on the board he has had a “good record of trying to make government accountable and delivering what people need the most.”
Mr. Gordon cited his record in housing, transportation, environment, and children’s issues. He has served on the Transportation Authority, which hands out sales tax funds for local transportation, since 1999.
He has been a leader in the “Healthy Kids” program, which provides health care to kids who slip through the cracks of other programs. And he chairs the Housing Trust, which is helping provide housing for children and working families.
“I have strong environmental credentials,” Mr. Gordon said. He cited the acquisition of Mirada Surf, near Pillar Point; this 49 acres of coastal bluff was slated to become a subdivision until the county bought it for a park. “This was the first new county park in a decade,” he added.
Mr. Gordon said he didn’t just work on big issues. “I also worked on smaller quality-of-life issues, such as the Alameda streetscape.”
