Then There Were Six - San Mateo County 2012 Supervisors Race Expands

A sixth candidate has entered the race to replace terming out Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson. Newly installed Menlo Park Mayor Kirsten Keith has taken out the necessary paperwork with the San Mateo County Elections Office to run for the seat.

Keith is a relatively new name on the county political scene having only been elected to the Menlo Park City Council for the first time in November of 2010. But apparently 14 months into her first elective office is enough to consider the next jump.

Keith joins an already crowded field of candidates including East Palo Alto Councilmembers Carlos Romero and David Woods, Redwood City Planning Commissioner Ernie Schmidt, San Mateo County Board of Education Trustee Memo Morantes and Redwood City Elementary School District Trustee Shelly Masur.

Keith joins Romero as a late entrance as Romero took out papers just last week. Both have some catching up to do as Masur and Morantes have captured significant lists of endorsements each, leaving fewer available political bonafides. But the race is still in flux and the more candidates who enter the less certainty for any one.

Keith does have at least one significant challenge in that her most significant public exposure recently came in the form of a bizarre political drama in Menlo Park in which the cell phone of Keith’s husband was discovered underneath a political lawn sign that had been placed in a neighbors lawn and “relocated” to a resting place under a tree in the neighbor’s side lot.

The odd political tempest caught the attention of the local press with numerous articles published following the coincidence and even caught the attention of a local television station.

Another factor that could play into the election for Keith is the fact that she has served on the council to which she was elected for just 14 months and is now making a bid to depart. Such a move could come with a backlash from even staunch local supporters who put in effort to see her elected to city office. But such is the calculation of politics and ambition.

The first round of the supervisorial election will be held on June 5.

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The Race: South SMC 2012 Board of Supes Race Begins

The field of candidates who have expressed interest in succeeding terming out Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson has just grown from a likely four to a likely five with the entrance of East Palo Alto Councilmember Carlos Romero. Romero officially took out nomination papers for the county office this week according to the County Elections Office Web site.

Romero joins at least four other candidates who have also publicly expressed interest in being the next county supervisor, including his own colleague on the East Palo Alto City Council David Woods.

Romero’s potential candidacy could be bad news for Woods, who will be vying to carry the standard for representation of East Palo Alto, which is among the smaller and less affluent communities in southern San Mateo County contained within Supervisorial District 4. With Romero in the race, Woods can no longer occupy that political space alone. But Woods may not be the only one to have to share political territory with Romero.

Among the other candidates in the running there are now three who will make a strong bid for votes in the Latino community: Redwood City Planning Commissioner Ernie Schmidt; San Mateo County Board of Education Trustee Memo Morantes; and Romero.

The fact that there are three Latino candidates in the running for supervisor is unprecedented in San Mateo County and a sign that there may be a political shift in the making. But with three candidates, no one individual candidate would benefit from any possible electoral advantage.

Thus far, according to a press release from her campaign sent February 1, 2012, the candidate who has raised the largest amount of campaign funds in the race in the second half of last year ($28,202) is Redwood City School District Trustee Shelly Masur. According to her campaign Web site, Masur has also garnered an impressive list of endorsers, including San Mateo County Supervisors Dave Pine and Don Horsley, as well as Assemblywoman Fiona Ma – the only legislator to have made an endorsement in this race.

With four men running against her, Masur may also have the field to herself among women voters – or at least the opportunity to make a direct appeal to them as a woman.

A crowded field usually complicates an election, though it can also change the dynamic to favor a candidate or two. Romero’s entrance into the race would seem to benefit Masur.

The first round of the supervisorial election will be held on June 5 and, while there is remarkably little time left between then and now to begin and run a credible campaign, other potential candidates may yet come forward.

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