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San Mateo City Council, District 5

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City of San Mateo

San Mateo City Council, District 5

This person would represent one of San Mateo's five council districts. They vote on city laws, the budget, and land-use decisions. San Mateo has about 105,600 residents. The term is four years. The council picks its own Mayor and Deputy Mayor each year. They are not elected separately.

Sitting Mayor Adam Loraine is seeking a second term in District 5. Two challengers are running against Loraine. They are pastor and golf coach Dave Johnson and former reporter Dana Yates Sahae.

The winner serves a 4-year term on San Mateo's City Council. It is one of five district seats. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this city of about 105,600 residents. San Mateo moved from at-large to district elections in 2022. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are not elected separately. The council chooses them from among its own members each year. Council races have no primary. All three candidates go straight to the November 3 ballot.

Loraine is a lifelong San Mateo resident. They previously served on the city's Sustainability and Infrastructure Commission. They center their campaign on public safety, infrastructure, downtown revitalization, and environmental sustainability. Johnson is a native San Matean and Senior Pastor at FBC San Carlos. They also coach golf at Hillsdale High School. They frame their campaign around fiscal transparency, public safety, and a lighter regulatory touch for local business. Sahae, a former reporter, centers their campaign on economic accountability, public-safety staffing, and infrastructure maintenance. Per their own campaign site, they have by far the broadest endorsement list of the three. It includes two sitting county supervisors, a retired state senator, and a retired police chief. It also includes three of Loraine's own council colleagues. They are Danielle Cwirko-Godycki and two candidates on this same ballot in their own races. Those two are Lisa Diaz Nash in District 1 and Rob Newsom Jr. in District 3. No campaign material was found in which Diaz Nash or Newsom endorses Loraine's reelection.

Adam Loraine

Adam Loraine is San Mateo's sitting Mayor and a lifelong resident of the city. Before joining the council, Loraine served on the city's Sustainability and Infrastructure Commission. They say losing their family's home in the Great Recession shaped their decision to serve.

Dave Johnson

Dave Johnson is Senior Pastor at FBC San Carlos. They also coach golf at Hillsdale High School. They grew up in San Mateo and worked as a paramedic from 2000 to 2008.

Dana Yates Sahae

Dana Yates Sahae is a former reporter. They say their journalism background trained them to ask good questions before deciding. Their site does not give their job, age, or years in San Mateo.

Your pick

A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

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