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BY AMELIA BISCARDI
Daily Post Staff Writer
East Palo Alto Mayor Antonio Lopez leads his opponent in fundraising in the head-to-head battle to replace Warren Slocum on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.
Lopez, a member of the city council and this year’s mayor, is facing a colleague on council, Lisa Gauthier, to represent a district that not only includes EPA but also part of Redwood City, part of Menlo Park and the unincorporated North Fair Oaks neighborhood.
Lopez raised $126,472 during the first half of the year compared to $76,388 for Gauthier, according to campaign finance forms.
While Gauthier is behind in the money race, she is backed by Slocum, whose endorsement is arguably the most important one in the race.
Most of Lopez’s donors were employees of Meta, Apple, Google and Adobe as well as a number of people in education.
Gauthier’s list of donors read like a Who’s Who of county politics. They include several mayors, Supervisors Slocum and Dave Pine as well as city council members and city officials. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo donated $1,000, Pine gave $250 and Redwood City councilwoman Diane Howard donated $250.
Gauthier, 58, has been on the East Palo Alto City Council for 10 years. Gauthier was raised in East Palo Alto by her single mother. She is a senior vice president of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a lobbying organization for tech companies.
When she was mayor in 2023, the city hired a new city manager and police chief, got speed bumps installed on a road after a hit-and-run death and voted down a controversial law called the Opportunity to Purchase Act that would have allowed the city or a nonprofit to buy homes on the market by matching the price offered by a buyer.
Lopez, 29, was elected to council in 2020, saying he was inspired to run while watching residents deal with the hardships of Covid. He grew up in East Palo Alto and was the first in his family to attend college.
Lopez says he has been attending Stanford to get his doctorate in modern thought and literature.
After being elected, Lopez worked with county officials to increase the vaccination rate in East Palo Alto, which was far behind its neighboring cities.
He was a swing vote on the Opportunity to Purchase Act, initially voting “yes” on the ordinance before changing his vote to “no” at a subsequent hearing.
Lisa Gauthier is devoted and outstanding! I had a problem that she managed to handle with speed and proactive care. Was very impressed.
It is time for a change in the leadership of San Mateo County…our cities and counties are at a crossroads, facing challenges and opportunities that require innovative solutions. Our younger generation is passionate, informed, and ready to lead. They bring with them a deep understanding of the technological, social, and environmental landscapes that define our world today
Jim Lawrence. Didn’t you back the new sheriff of San Mateo county? I notice that you don’t really speak very highly of her anymore and all her photos have been removed from your Fixin website. Maybe you shouldn’t tell us who to vote for?