The race for the District 2 seat on the Marin County Board of Supervisors is heating up as Brian Colbert and Heather McPhail Sridharan, two Ross Valley residents, prepare for a runoff election Tuesday.
Neither candidate won a majority of votes in the March primary election, with Colbert securing 43% of the vote and McPhail Sridharan winning 26%.
Colbert, who earned a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, has served on the San Anselmo Town Council since 2017 and served as mayor during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
He is a member of the boards of the Transportation Authority of Marin and the Marin County Transit District. His was the first African American family in his hometown of Bethel, Connecticut and, if elected, he would be the first Black supervisor in Marin County.
Marin native McPhail Sridharan spent the pandemic years keeping educators on track as the president of the Kentfield School District board. Prior to that, she worked as director of business development for Ticketmaster. She studied political science and government at UC Berkeley and earned a master’s degree in Latin American Political Economy at University of Oxford.
While both candidates share similar policy priorities, such as addressing housing issues and supporting wildfire prevention, their approaches reveal key differences.
Colbert would like to see multi-family workforce housing positioned near transit hubs, while McPhail Sridharan calls for a diversity of solutions, including incentives for accessory dwelling units and other options to meet the increasing housing demand for Marin’s older adults and people with disabilities.
The Marin County Public Works Department manages the Flood Control and Water Conservation District in the Ross Valley/Corte Madera Creek watershed. Voters approved a special 20-year fee in 2007 to generate revenue to pay for flood control projects, such as clearing creeks, building levees and culverts and maintain pumping stations.
(L-R) Heather Sridharan and Brian Colbert candidates in the November runoff election for the Marin County Board of Supervisors District 2 seat. (Heather Sridharan; Brian Colbert via Bay City News)
The city of San Anselmo voted in the March primary to exit the district when the fee expires in 2027 via Measure F, with proponents of the measure arguing the funds were not effective.
McPhail Sridharan argues for a financial audit of the flood district’s spending and recommends restructuring into a joint powers agreement between multiple agencies, similar to the county’s Wildfire Prevention Authority.
Colbert supports the city’s withdrawal from the flood zone but wants to see a threatened pedestrian bridge in downtown San Anselmo removed using the remaining funds.
Colbert stands against rent control expansion, contending that California’s existing rent caps are sufficient. McPhail Sridharan, however, sees room for stronger rent control policies at the county level to help renters, especially as housing availability becomes more critical.
Colbert is endorsements include by the Marin Independent Journal, the Sierra Club, the North Bay Leadership Council and several unions, including SEIU 2015 representing long-term caregivers and the North Bay Building Trades union.
McPhail Sridharan is supported by San Anselmo Mayor Eileen Burke, Larkspur Mayor Scot Candell and Vice Mayor Catherine Way, former Fairfax Mayor and Marin Water director Larry Bragman, the Marin County Young Democrats and Planned Parenthood.
