San Mateo County

Mullin points to a package of statewide laws he wrote in 2017 that have made it easier for school districts to build teacher housing and that allow local governments to create affordable housing authorities, which can set aside property tax dollars to build affordable housing projects. In Congress, Mullin pledges he will work to secure a significant amount of federal funding for his district.

Canepa says the pandemic caused an affordable housing “crisis on steroids” for the county. He touts his role as a county supervisor in working to allocate over $100 million for affordable housing, including more than $12 million for the Midway Village project in Daly City, which he says will be the largest affordable housing project in the history of the county.

Mullin notes his support of California’s new universal transitional kindergarten program, which will spend $2.7 billion to provide preschool education to every 4-year-old in the state. In Congress, he vows to push for funding to expand apprenticeship programs in the construction trades, along with skills-training programs to help workers shift from industrial jobs to employment in the clean energy sector.

Canepa touts his backing of a $2 million grant to the San Mateo County Community College District to cover tuition for 500 new students. He says in Congress he will push for more funding for after-school programs, community colleges and early childhood education.

Corzo is calling for the county to invest more money in affordable housing. In 2016, she volunteered for the campaign to pass Measure Q, an unsuccessful ballot measure to enact rent control in the city of San Mateo. More recently, she has worked with Faith in Action, a nonprofit that advocates for tenants.

Stone says the county needs to “get serious about densifying the transit corridor along the El Camino Real and along the Caltrain line,” with a focus on building more affordable housing. He has touted his role in helping Belmont meet its state-mandated requirements for the development of new housing.

Corzo acknowledges that San Mateo is “uniquely vulnerable when it comes to sea-level rise” and says “folks that are most directly affected are usually low-income people of color who do not have a voice in terms of what their needs are.” She opposes the express lane expansion on Highway 101 and says the government should be focusing instead on investments in public transportation. As supervisor, she would advocate for more resources for firefighters and conservationists in the county’s rural areas.

Stone touts his work passing local building codes in Belmont that require most new apartment buildings to be all-electric, surpassing state energy-use mandates. As supervisor, he wants to pursue similar initiatives through the county’s Office of Sustainability. And he thinks the county can become a leader in climate policy by providing its cities with legislative templates, because “all of our local cities are run by folks who are overworked and underpaid.”

Parmer-Lohan says she is committed to creating a civilian oversight committee with an inspector general with subpoena power. “Many community members do not feel that ‘Protect and Serve’ applies to them,” she says. Parmer-Lohan touts her recent push for a $350,000 federal budget allocation to the Sheriff’s Office to to help train deputies to respond to mental health crises.

Mueller also supports the creation of an oversight committee, saying “I think it’s important going forward for the Sheriff’s Office to build trust with the community.” He wants to see law enforcement in the county walking beats and “actually interacting with community members.” Mueller touts his record, as council member, of working closely with local law enforcement. He specifically points to an ordinance he crafted in collaboration with the Menlo Park Police Department that limits its ability to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Parmer-Lohan says reliable public transportation needs to extend south of Half Moon Bay. She also promises to improve bike and pedestrian safety and access in the district. “We need to make sure that our bike and pedestrian infrastructure is safe and motivates people to get out of their cars,” she says. She points to similar improvements she pushed for in San Carlos that resulted in more residents biking and walking.

Mueller is calling for more coastal transit shuttle options to help mitigate tourist traffic. He says the county should start planning for new ways to alleviate traffic on Highway 92 between Interstate 280 and Half Moon Bay, such as a gondola going over the hill. “We’re going to have to be creative, we’re going to have to think outside the box in that way,” he says.