Rich Gordon takes helm of supervisors Rich Gordon takes helm of supervisors (January 12, 2005)

By Marion Softky

Almanac Staff Writer

With a new leader and a new face, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors will face a new year full of challenges, many of them stemming from the state's budget hemorrhage.

Former Daly City Mayor and Councilwoman Adrienne Tissier replaced three-term veteran Mike Nevin at a special ceremony in Daly City January 3. Ms. Tissier ran unopposed for the seat in November.

District 3 Supervisor Rich Gordon was unanimously elected president at the new board's first business meeting January 4. He replaced Supervisor Mark Church in the rotating presidency of the board. Supervisor Jerry Hill was elected vice president.

"Our fiscal challenges are nowhere near over," Mr. Gordon said. The state's budget woes translate into less funding for county programs, ranging from health and environment to planning, building and safety, he warned. "Our resources continue to be diminished."

Mr. Gordon listed four new challenges the county will take on this year:

** Making a success out of its soon-to-be-created Department of Housing so that it will be effective in helping create new housing -- both affordable and market-rate -- along transit corridors in the county.

** Setting up a mechanism to spend new funds from last fall's Proposition 63 to improve mental health services in the county.

** Compensating for a possible loss of senior employees after new and more generous retirement benefits start in March. Mr. Gordon fears a major brain drain if many of the county's 4,000-plus employees leave. "Departures could be numerous," he said.

** Revisiting issues of campaign finance and how the board might raise its salaries. Five board members currently earn almost $80,000 a year each to manage an annual budget of $1.2 billion. Two previous efforts to raise their salaries have failed, most recently when Measure E lost in November.

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