|
 August 31, 2026
|
|
|
Dear Friends,
With Labor Day approaching, the unofficial end of summer is almost here. It’s been a very busy summer for San Mateo County filled with good and bad news, from the opening of a new coastal park to the completion of affordable housing units, to the continuing fiasco around the vehicle license fee funding. I’ll start with the bad news.
|
|
California’s broken promise
I’m not going to sugarcoat how dire the county’s and its cities’ financial situation is. The State of California owes San Mateo County and its 20 cities $226 million for fiscal year 26/27. It also still owes us $77 million from the last two fiscal years. This is taxpayer money our residents already paid and through a complicated, broken and outdated formula is supposed to come back to us to fund critical services like fire, police, health, and education. Without this funding, about 1,000 county and city employees will lose their jobs. It will have devastating impacts on everyone in San Mateo County. I am red hot mad at the state for stealing our money. The Department of Finance’s claim that this money is discretionary is laughable and offensive. For 22 years, the state fulfilled its obligation to pay these funds and suddenly they became discretionary? As I said during a press conference on August 13, it’s time for Governor Newsom to take the cotton out of his ears and listen to us. We will continue to fight until we are paid what we are owed.
 |
You can read Supervisor Mueller's and my opinion piece, A broken promise could cost some California counties and cities millions of dollars, on CalMatters.
You can also do a deep dive into the impacts on our cities by watching the study session on VLF that the board hosted on August 13.
|
|
Unite for Good, the 2026 Rotary Message
I shared this bad news with the San Mateo Rotary Club and they were as outraged as I am. Their number one question during my visit at the Coyote Point Yacht Club was, why is the state singling out San Mateo County and punishing us when we have delivered on every priority of the Newsom administration – affordable housing, homelessness, mental health and safe streets. Out of 58 counties in California only three don’t receive this funding: Alpine (population 1,200), Mono (population 12,000) and San Mateo County (population 740,000). We are asking for nothing less than fairness.
 The Rotary’s 2026 international presidential message is “Unite for Good.” It is so desperately needed in our country with the constant chaos and divisiveness on the federal level. I couldn’t help but apply this message to the VLF situation and conclude that we would expect this kind of treatment from the Trump administration, but not from the Newsom administration.
The good news is that our California delegation is fighting with and for us. We are deeply grateful to Senators Josh Becker and John Laird and Assemblymembers Diane Papan and Marc Berman for getting the county and its cities a partial payment of $80 million for last year and for continuing to work with us on a long-term fix.
20 Million Organ Donors Saved 600,000 Lives
While I was in Sacramento advocating for San Mateo County’s VLF funding, I also celebrated the milestone of legislation I authored in 2005 when I was in the State Senate. SB 689 required the DMV to offer applicants the ability to register as an organ or tissue donor during the driver's license and identification card process. Twenty million Californians have done so and saved or healed 600,000 lives through organ, eye and tissue donations. It is remarkable that one person’s donation can save up to eight lives and improve another 75 lives. I was so proud to stand with the team who made this happen. You can go here to register.
|
|
County Ordinance on E-bike Safety Passes
On August 25, the board unanimously passed Ayden’s Ordinance to improve e-bike safety. I’ve been working on this legislation for a year and have no doubt that Ming Fang helped bring it across the finish line. Mr. Fang is the father of Ayden Fang, a four-year old boy who was tragically killed in a chain reaction accident in Burlingame on August 8, 2025. During the first reading of the ordinance on August 11, Mr. Fang shared the heartbreaking loss of his son.
It was Supervisor Lisa Gauthier’s wonderful idea to name the ordinance after Ayden. The ordinance identifies existing California Vehicle Code requirements for e-micromobility devices, clarifies the Sheriff’s Office enforcement of these state laws, and addresses gaps in state law. It will go into effect January 1, 2027. You can read it here.
|
|
Gates Open at Don Horsley Park
A once private stretch of coast between Half Moon Bay and Pescadero is now open to the public. The 58-acre Don Horsley County Park at Tunitas Creek Beach has breathtaking overlooks, picnic areas, interpretive exhibits, accessible trails and direct access to a mile of sandy beach. I was truly blown away by the beauty of this newest addition to our county parks when we cut the ribbon on August 13. I remember the late Don Horsley complaining about the trash left behind after raves littered the beach. He would be so proud and pleased to see the transformation and know that this jewel is now accessible to all county residents and visitors.
 Moving into Affordable Housing Units
Housing is the single most expensive cost our residents are facing. Rents and housing prices are so exorbitant that some people are forced to leave the county. The housing department and its non-profit partners have prioritized building affordable units. We have 5,122 units within 72 projects completed or in the pipeline.
This month I visited three of them and met some of the residents. Eucalyptus Grove in Burlingame has 69 units that are occupied by 179 residents, 18 of them veterans. I met Cordele Brandon who served in the Army for 20 years, earned his bachelor's online while deployed and later earned two master’s degrees online. Still, he has not been able to find employment and has no income. Through the VA he received a transitional housing voucher for his one-bedroom apartment. Abode, the non-profit managing Eucalyptus Grove, is working with him to find employment.
Middlefield Junction in Redwood City has 179 units that are occupied by 553 residents, 65 of them seniors and 107 extremely low income. The two buildings are gorgeous with nicely equipped units, playgrounds for kids, and a spacious community room for the public. The community room has been rented out every weekend for birthday parties and other gatherings.
|
|
|
Our last stop was in East Palo Alto at Colibri Commons. It has 136 units and 452 residents. What is unique and tailored to the East Palo Alto community is that Colibri has four-bedroom units that allow multigenerational families to live there. The outside space has a great playground for people of any age to enjoy.
 While more affordable housing is needed in the county, I was impressed to see the progress we are making to make sure people in need have a roof over their heads.
|
|
Disaster Preparedness Day
I was thrilled to attend the 22nd annual Disaster Preparedness Day at the Event Center on August 1. Former Supervisor Adrienne Tissier and I started this event in 2004 while I was chair of the Senate Insurance Committee and realized how ill-prepared we were for disasters. The event is now organized by the county’s Emergency Management department and provides lots of information, resources and training. Samaritan House added its annual backpack giveaway to the day and this year handed out 3,000 backpacks to elementary, middle and high school students, with a little help from yours truly.
|
|
|
I also spent some time at my office’s resource table talking to constituents about county resources and upcoming events, including Seniors on the Move, which I will get to in a minute.
And last but not least, I participated in an Emergency Medical Services drill pretending to be a disaster victim with two broken wrists in a pile of rubble. The EMS staff found me, escorted me to the medical tent and then triaged me for appropriate treatment. This is a great exercise for your mind and body to prepare for the unknown.
I was told later that a gentleman saw me in the medical tent on the gurney and was concerned about my wellbeing. Let me assure him, I was fine!
|
|
Seniors on the Move
Fasten your seatbelts, Senior on the Move is BACK! Join us on September 17. I am so excited to relaunch this conference after an eight-year hiatus. We have a fantastic lineup, including ABC7 reporter Spencer Christian, NBC Bay Area reporter Chris Chmura, Stanford Center on Longevity founder and researcher Weston Ballard, Kaiser geriatrician Dr. Aruna Chinnakotla, and District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. There is still time to register for the event here. You don’t want to miss out on the programming and all the fun.
|
|
Before I Go…
|
One of my favorite quotes is this one from Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” That was true for the transformation of a small plot of land in San Mateo’s Central Park to a community native plant garden created by a group of students. I had the pleasure to visit the parklet last week and meet Sean Yau, one of the creators.
I also learned that the Arboretum has a plant sale there every weekend from 12 -3 pm. It’s a great place to get good deals on native plants.
|
|
 |
I look forward to seeing you around the county.
All the best,
|
|
|
|
|
