Four candidates vie for the District 3 seat on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors

This year, San Mateo County residents of District 3, which includes Atherton, Portola Valley, Woodside, West Menlo Park and a number of unincorporated areas, face a diverse pool of candidates on the ballot for the June 7 primary election.

It includes the political newcomer Steven Booker, an electrician and labor union representative; Virginia Chang Kiraly, who is the first Asian-American woman to serve on the boards of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District and San Mateo County Harbor District; Laura Parmer-Lohan, a San Carlos City Council member and member of the LGBTQ community; and a seasoned politician, Ray Mueller, who has served for 10 years on the Menlo Park City Council.

Each candidate is looking to represent a district that is often said to be the geographically largest and most diverse in the county, spanning from Peninsula cities to rural and coastside communities as well as large swaths of the county’s open space lands.

It’s why climate change touches upon every one of the candidate’s campaigns, as coastside communities such as Half Moon Bay continue to deal with the threat of increasing sea-level rise.

Then there’s the hot-button issue relevant to all of the Bay Area and the state: affordable housing.

In representing their home district, the elected candidate will join a board of five supervisors which oversees a $3.3 billion county budget.

The Almanac interviewed each of the candidates to talk about some of their top priorities for the district, how they hope to address some of the issues of the coastside and rural communities and what motivated them to run for the seat in the first place.

The primary election will take place June 7. The top two candidates will move on to the general election on Nov. 8.

Meet the candidates

Steven Booker: Creating a more equitable San Mateo County

Virginia Chang Kiraly: Becoming District 3’s ‘fiscal watchdog’

Ray Mueller: Running towards the problem

Laura Parmer-Lohan: Bringing swift climate action to District 3

Campaign Financing

Menlo Park City Council member leads in campaign contributions for District 3 Supervisor race – May 3