San Mateo County’s Board of Supervisors could become more ethnically diverse, now that voters have approved a measure to elect supervisors by district. In the past 50 years, voters have elected only one Latino to the county board, and no Asian Americans -- even though those groups make up half the county’s population.
 
But that may change now that voters have approved Measure B.

Before Measure B passed last Tuesday, voters elected countywide supervisors, but starting in 2014, supervisors will be elected by district. Mounting an “at-large” or countywide campaign can be much more expensive than a district election.

David Pine was the only county supervisor to support Measure B. "There will be a lot more communication between candidates and voters", he said, "and a lot more people standing for election because the barriers for running for office are significantly reduced."

San Mateo is the last of California’s counties to move to district supervisor elections.