Four politicians from four different towns are running in this week’s election to fill the vacant seat left on the Marin County Board of Supervisors by the departure of Katie Rice, who isn’t seeking re-election.
Vying for the District 2 seat are San Anselmo Town Councilmember Brian Colbert, former Kentfield School District board member Heather McPhail Sridharan, Ross Valley School District board member Ryan O’Neil and Larkspur City Councilmember Gabe Paulson.
If any of the candidates earns more than 50 percent of the vote, they will replace Rice when she departs in January 2025, otherwise the top two vote-getters will face each other in a runoff in the November 2024 general election.
Candidate 1: Colbert
Colbert was first elected to the Town Council in 2017 and says on his website that he played a key role in the Reimagining Creek Park project, which “which successfully transformed a flood mitigation project into a new community park that invigorated the historic downtown.”
He is endorsed by Rice and District 3 Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters, among other local elected officials.
Colbert’s priorities as supervisor would be emergency planning, especially for wildfires, protecting and expanding parks and open spaces and developing transportation networks that are bike- and pedestrian-friendly, among other things.
Candidate 2: McPhail Sridharan
McPhail Sridharan sits on the Board of Directors of McPhail Fuel Company, a family-owned propane supply company that serves several Northern California counties.
She served nine years on the Kentfield School Board, is currently president of the Kentfield-Greenbrae Historical Society and is endorsed by Ross Mayor Elizabeth Brekhus, Kentfield School District Superintendent Raquel Rose and Fairfax Town Councilmember Stephanie Hellman.
Her priorities include workforce housing preservation and production, dealing with the consequences of climate change via wildfire prevention and preparedness, and sustainable transportation initiatives, among other things.
Candidate 3: O’Neil
O’Neil, a real estate agent and former Fairfax town councilmember, has been a Ross Valley School District board member since 2018 and is endorsed by Marin County Superintendent of Schools John Carroll, former state senator John Burton and retired Marin County Sheriff Bob Doyle, among others.
O’Neil lists his priorities as wildfire preparedness, affordable housing production and addressing homelessness and public safety, and says that as a strong defender of public education. he led efforts to prevent public money being spent on charter schools.
Candidate 4: Paulson
Paulson has been a member of the Larkspur City Council since 2019 and is the founder and CEO of Paulson and Associates LLC, a custom software development company.
His endorsements include Marin County Board of Education member Greg Knell, Larkspur Mayor Scot Candell and Larkspur City Councilmember Kevin Carroll, among others.
Paulson says his priorities include developing strategies to avoid an elder care crisis, including increased elder care staffing and greater protections for elderly renters; bolstering the county’s flood control efforts by fixing old storm drains and upgrading pipelines and tackling the affordable housing crisis by, in part, allowing increased neighborhood density where appropriate and building near transit.
The supervisorial district the candidates seek to represent includes Fairfax, San Anselmo, Ross, Larkspur, the unincorporated communities of Kentfield, Greenbrae, Oak Manor and Sleepy Hollow, as well as parts of San Rafael.
