The two candidates running for San Mateo County superintendent of schools on the June 5 ballot, Gary Waddell and Nancy Magee, have each raised more than $100,000 as they vie for a job that pays about $250,000 a year.
Campaign finance reports filed on May 24 show Magee has raised more than $122,000 in cash, non-monetary donations and loans while Waddell has raised more than $115,000.
As of May 24, Magee had spent more than $95,000 of the money raised, while Waddell had spent more than $90,000. Both have loaned their campaigns a considerable amount of their own money — Waddell $10,000 and Magee $35,000. Waddell’s campaign has also borrowed $5,000 from retiree Jean Holbrook of San Mateo.
Waddell and Magee both work in the San Mateo County Office of Education, Waddell as deputy superintendent and Magee as associate superintendent. Both started campaigning in 2017 to take the job held by their boss, Anne Campbell, who is not running for a third four-year term as the county’s superintendent of schools.
The county superintendent manages a $90 million budget and a staff of 450 while overseeing the 23 school districts in the county. Campbell’s salary this year is $235,428.
Here is a list of some of the major donors to each campaign, as detailed in the state-required campaign finance reports.
At is.gd/Alm_supes see a more complete list of donors on AlmanacNews.com.
Nancy Magee
• $5,406 – David Magee and Affiliated Entities, Santa Barbara.
• $3,132- non-monetary for a fundraising event, Yay! Paella Catering, Santa Rosa.
• $2,450 – Christine Villanis, Redwood City, deputy director of probation services, San Mateo County.
• $1,777 – Bill Woods, Pacifica, director of public safety, San Mateo County Community College District.
• $1,600 – Robert Magee, Santa Barbara, retired.
• $1,500 – Keet Nerhan, Half Moon Bay, owner KN Properties.
• $1,355 – (includes non-monetary donations) Kristine Cannon, Burlingame, retired.
• $1,276 – Lisa Rosenthal, Burlingame, freelance writer and editor, Rosenthal Communications.
• $1,000 – Suzanne Flecker, San Mateo, retired; Johnson Construction, Burlingame; Joseph Cotchett, Burlingame, attorney Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP; Alan Talansky, San Mateo, executive, EBL&S Development; Daniel J. Ullyot, MD, Burlingame, retired; Kathleen Wright, Bonita, school facility leadership, Grossman Union High School District; and Claire Cunningham, attorney, San Mateo County.
Gary Waddell
• $10,600 – non-monetary in mailer, Better Citizenship Association, sponsored by the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) teachers association, San Mateo.
• $9,250 – non-monetary in video production, Mark Wieser, Montara, videographer, treehousedv.
• $8,677 – (some is in non-monetary contributions and loans) Jean Holbrook, San Mateo, retired.
• $4,130 – Timothy Eicher, San Francisco, software, Barkeep.
• $2,600 – Pace for California School Employees Association Small Contributor Committee.
• $3,978 – Adele Berg, administrator, San Mateo County Office of Education.
• $1,048 – Sue Wieser, Montara, assistant superintendent, San Mateo-Foster City School District.
• $1,000 – non-monetary in mailers, Sequoia District Teachers Association, Redwood City; and San Mateo Elementary Teachers Association PAC, San Mateo.
• $1,000 – Kevin Mullin for Assembly 2018; Gordon for Board of Equalization 2018.
• $968 – Marilyn Loushin-Miller, San Carlos, retired.
