August 18, 2004

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Publication Date: Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Sequoia Healthcare District: Reluctant candidate goes to court to stay off ballot

By Renee Batti
Almanac News Editor

The man who inadvertently filed candidacy papers for a Sequoia Healthcare District board seat he doesn't want is going to court to try to keep his name off the November ballot.

John Oblak, the president of Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, had intended to file papers to run for a two-year seat on the district board. That would have allowed him, with voter approval, to remain in the seat he had been appointed to on August 4 by the board majority, he said last week.

He was caught by surprise, however, when the San Mateo County Elections Office declared him a candidate for a four-year seat after the filing period closed on August 6. Mr. Oblak described his filing for the wrong seat a "stupid error."

Three terms will expire in November: two four-year seats, now held by board president Kathleen Kane and vice president Malcolm MacNaughton; and a two-year seat to fill the unexpired term of Dr. Gerald Shefren, who resigned just months after his re-election to the post in 2002.

Both incumbents are running to keep their seats, with Libertarian candidates Warren Gibson of Belmont and Sonya Sigler of San Carlos trying to unseat them.

Unless a judge grants Mr. Oblak's request to keep his name off the ballot, he will also officially be in the race for one of the two full-term seats.

Meanwhile, no one filed candidacy papers for the two-year seat, and County Counsel Tom Casey said it's now up to the county Board of Supervisors to appoint someone to the post.

The board shuffle

Dr. Shefren, the board member elected to a four-year term in 2002, resigned the following April, and the board soon after appointed Dr. Ed Katz to fill the position. Because Dr. Shefren's term wasn't to expire until 2006, Dr. Katz would have had to ask voters this year to let him retain the seat for the two remaining years.

But Dr. Katz resigned his post two months ago, which led the way to the appointment on August 4 of Mr. Oblak, one of eight applicants for the position. The board voted 3-1, with Jack Hickey opposed, to appoint Mr. Oblak, with the expectation that he would seek election to the post in November.

More confusion

As if all the shifting and shuffling since April 2003 isn't confusing enough, the elections office on August 10 reversed its August 6 decision to extend the filing period for the two-year seat to 5 p.m. August 11.

A filing period is extended if any one of the incumbents whose term is expiring doesn't file for re-election. Because both Ms. Kane and Mr. MacNaughton are standing for re-election, the filing period for the four-year terms closed August 6.

The elections office announced an extension for the two-year seat, however, because the "incumbent" had not filed papers for the seat.

After learning of the extension, several people -- including Dr. Kenneth Steele, one of the eight applicants for the appointment to replace Dr. Katz -- began the process to run for the two-year seat. They were turned away, however, after County Counsel Tom Casey ruled that the extension was in error.

Because Mr. Oblak had not yet been sworn in as a board member, Mr. Casey said last week, there was no incumbent for the seat, so by law the filing deadline had to remain August 6.

Mr. Casey said there is no elections office mechanism to appeal the decision not to extend the filing period. "If people feel that the decision is legally erroneous, they can go to court," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Oblak said he expects a judge to rule soon on his request to keep his name off the ballot. Until then, he won't decide whether to vie for the two-year seat when the Board of Supervisors puts out the call for applicants.

He does plan to be sworn in as an interim board member to serve at least until December, he said last week.

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