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Redwood City – Dave Pine has altered the landscape of San Mateo County and the Bay Area – physically and politically.
When Pine delivered remarks when he first became president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors in 2014, he vowed to focus on a global issue that, at first glance, a small county could seemingly do little about: sea level rise.
“Sea level rise is one of the most serious consequences of climate change and it will have a profound effect on San Mateo County, which has more people and property at risk from the rising sea than any other county in California,” Pine said at the time.
Ten years later, Pine has put San Mateo County at the tip of the spear on two connected fronts: delivering carbon-free energy to 295,000 customers by creating Peninsula Clean Energy and developing local solutions to defend against rising seas by launching OneShoreline.
Tackling the cause of sea level rise and managing its effects are among the cornerstones of Pine’s legacy.
“The challenge of climate change is really a major issue of our time,” Pine said recently, “and we need to do everything we can at the local level to address these challenges.”
Pine is widely seen as a leader who transcended the limited powers of local jurisdictions to encompass regional and wider solutions to drive change.
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