The race for the open District 2 seat on Marin’s five-member county Board of Supervisors has turned topsy-turvy. One of the leading candidates, past California Assemblymember Marc Levine of Greenbrae, just withdrew from the race.
The Second District encompasses Ross Valley, San Anselmo, Fairfax, Larkspur, Ross, West San Rafael, Greenbrae and Kentfield. The election will be conducted as part of the March 5 presidential primary. It’s a nonpartisan contest where the top two candidates will face-off in the November general election. Filing opens in just 10 weeks, on Nov. 13, and closes Dec. 8.
When incumbent Supervisor Katie Rice announced that she would not seek an additional four-year term representing the district, a flock of well-qualified candidates popped up to compete for the rare open supervisorial seat.
With $150,000 in campaign cash stashed from his prior runs and available to be used in the supervisorial campaign, plus instant districtwide name recognition, Levine was in a strong starting position. His dropping out leaves a void.
So far, the candidates in alphabetical order include former San Anselmo and current Councilmember Brian Colbert, Larkspur Mayor Gabriel Paulson, Ross Valley School District Trustee Ryan O’Neil and past Kentfield School District trustee Heather McPhail Sridharan. In addition, San Anselmo mayor and Democratic Party mover-and-shaker Steve Burdo is pondering a run.
Colbert picked up a crucial endorsement when Rice endorsed him to be her successor.
None of the remaining candidates has an advantage when it comes to raising campaign cash. From the get-go, their effort was to match Levine’s bulging war chest. Levine, a past San Rafael councilmember and unsuccessful Democratic candidate for state insurance commissioner, indicates that for the time being he’ll not seek an elected office or political appointment. Levine can retain his accumulated cash if he decides to return to electoral politics.
It’s naive to ignore the political reality enjoyed by McPhail Sridharan. California voters of all parties tend to trust and support women who run for local offices. Being the only woman in the Second District supervisorial race, a fact that could change before filing closes in December, could be powerful.
Likewise, Colbert is one of the few African Americans ever elected to a Marin city or town council. In some parts of America that could be a hurdle. In politically “deep blue” Marin, where diversity in all categories is a popular goal, it’s a positive factor that will boost the San Anselmo councilmember’s districtwide profile.
A narrower field puts pressure on the candidates to distinguish themselves from their competitors.
The district has multiple hot topics. They include the longstanding struggle to take meaningful action to control the Ross Valley’s propensity for flooding, locating sites to meet state housing mandates, calls by tenants for more intense rent control, wildland fire fears and perpetual traffic congestion.
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This coming Tuesday, Tiburon will conduct an all vote-by-mail special election to select a replacement on its Town Council after Councilmember Noah Griffin resigned due to his wife’s serious health issues. Two candidates have filed: Stefanie Cho and Isaac Nikfar.
Cho, a UCLA graduate, is a retired tax adviser and an independent investor. Nikfar, a member of the town’s Parks, Open Space and Trails Commission and a San Francisco State grad, works in business development for Google. Griffin has endorsed Nikfar.
As both campaigns are low key with little in the way of election expenditures, and given the election’s odd date, a low voter turnout is predicted. The winner will be determined by which candidate can mount the best effort to get their supporters to cast mail ballots that are postmarked no later than Tuesday.
