On May 3, via unprecedented mail-in special election, San Mateo County residents will choose a new member of their Board of Supervisors. Ballots will be sent April 4, giving voters 29 days to decide who, among official candidates Terry Nagel, mayor of Burlingame; Gina Papan, Millbrae city council member; Dave Pine, San Mateo Union High School District trustee; Richard Holober, San Mateo County Community College District trustee; dark horse options Michael Stogner, businessman and Demetrios Nikas, San Mateo resident and repeat candidate, they would like to fill the District 1 seat vacated when former supervisor Mark Church became county chief elections officer and assessor-county clerk-recorder.

So far, it looks like Papan and Pine have emerged as front-runners. Over the past month, both candidates have garnered endorsements from key city, county and state groups. Pine, the educator, has a number of endorsements from educational leaders and environmental organizations, including the exclusive support of the Sierra Club’s local chapter. Papan, experienced in the ins and outs of city operation, has the support of cops, firefighters and transportation officials.

A quick perusal of each candidate’s dedicated web site points to Pine as the eco-candidate and Papan as the nuts-and-bolts government wonk. For the real estate industry – and for the buyers and sellers of homes – their candidacies boil down to one simple question: which one is better for the local market?

This isn’t 2008, when candidates for two open Board of Supervisors slots could coast on leftover goodwill from the housing bubble – or aim their sights at “returning sanity to local real estate.” It’s 2011, and the economy has taken a beating for three years, due in large part to the foibles of real estate. This time, candidates’ attitudes regarding home ownership matter.

Both Pine and Papan have long histories with housing in San Mateo County. Pine has worked on the San Mateo County Housing Element plan and is a member of the San Mateo County Task Force on Homelessness. He supports the Housing Leadership Council, which has worked in tandem with the San Mateo County of Realtors (SAMCAR) to create affordable housing opportunities on the Peninsula. Papan was an elected board member on the San Mateo County Housing Endowment and Regional Trust.

Only one candidate, however, earned the endorsement of SAMCAR, which should tell you plenty about which candidate has the longer, closer relationship with Peninsula Realtors and, we can deduce, the warmer, fuzzier feeling about real estate as a means for investment and growth. How you feel about a candidate with the support of SAMCAR is up to you.

“Your profession is greatly respected in our household,” Gina Papan told Realtors in June, 2007, while speaking at a SAMCAR combined marketing meeting. Her father, the late Lou Papan, was a state assemblyman from 1972 to 1986. Before that, he was a real estate broker. SAMCAR officially endorsed Gina Papan for District 1 Supervisor on February 26.

During her term as a Millbrae city council member (she was mayor in 2008), Papan worked closely with the Millbrae Redevelopment Agency. Is it a coincidence that Millbrae saw major growth – notably, three downtown condominium developments – with Papan on city council? Unlikely.  

The good news is that San Mateo County voters have clear-cut choices for the District 1 seat. Not that Papan is an anti-environment capitalist – she has of late been advocating for a plastic bag ban in Millbrae – or that Pine is an anti-private property socialist. His Curriculum Vitae includes six years as a Redwood City Planning Commissioner, during which time he helped steer growth in Redwood Shores and the Franklin Street Specific Plan. But SAMCAR only endorsed one candidate.

Meanwhile, Terry Nagel has fallen behind the leaders heading into the final turn, which may not be bad news for Burlingame, the city she now leads as mayor. After all, with Burlingame Idol III auditions coming up on March 29, she’s going to have her hands full.