Here at the Voice, we love election season. The pomp and circumstance of the filings, the mailers, the signs, the debates and the counting on November 5th or perhaps even longer keep everyone engaged. With our messed-up district election changeover it's not quite as exciting as before and we certainly have each lost 80% of our say in who gets elected. But you play with the roster you have, not the roster you wish you had (hat tip Donald Rumsfeld). The filing deadline was last Friday, so the DJ has assembled the roster as follows:
Burlingame Councilmember Andrea Pappajohn, who was appointed earlier this year to replace Ricardo Ortiz in the District 1 seat, is now running to complete the term, which ends November 2026. (i.e. unopposed, so she is in).
There’s a crowded race for the Burlingame City Council’s District 2 seat: business owners Rachel Ni, Hadia Khoury and Nirmala Idumalla Bandrapalli, as well as scientist and educator Desiree Thayer are all in the mix.
Current Burlingame Mayor Donna Colson is running to hold on to her District 4 seat against senior transportation engineer Tony Paul.
Nirmala ran back in 2015 garnering 20.9% in a four-way race to finish out of the money in third place. The rest of the challengers are newcomers. That means we have our work cut out for us vetting the challengers and evaluating Donna Colson's record to date. Should be fun!
The Daily Journal followed up the next day with a more detailed piece on the candidates that can be found here.
What to make of this D2 race? Have any of them been visible in town except for the Rat Lady? Nirmala vaporized for a decade.
Posted by: resident | August 14, 2024 at 08:31 PM
Who is the Rat Lady?
Posted by: Paloma Ave | August 15, 2024 at 10:00 AM
Hadia says Collaboration with Recology to increase pickup frequency and tackle rodent control behind restaurants for over a year taking a proactive approach to implementing measures to more effectively manage waste disposal, she helped mitigate rodent infestations and improve overall cleanliness in the area.
Posted by: resident | August 15, 2024 at 12:51 PM
Can someone tell me how many people we need/allowed to vote for in our district? Confused
My understanding is there are 3 seats to fill on the Burlingame city council. And there are now 5 districts
in Burlingame...
Any info would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Posted by: Ann | September 07, 2024 at 04:04 PM
You have one vote. That's it. Three of the five districts are up for election as Brownrigg and Stevenson have two more years to go. Andrea Pappajohn is unopposed. Donna Colson has one person running against her.
The big race is in district 2 where there are four people running for the seat. Nirmala, Desiree, Rachel and Hadia. It all sounds like a girl band from the '90s huh.
Posted by: resident | September 07, 2024 at 04:10 PM
Got it! Couldn't find this info anywhere. And this is new for us. Thank you very much.
Posted by: Ann | September 07, 2024 at 04:45 PM
One other tidbit is that the State Voter Information Guides will be mailed no later than September 26th per the County Clerk's website:
https://smcacre.gov/elections/november-5-2024-election-calendar
I don't see when the Sample Ballots will be mailed, but the real ones will be mailed by October 7th.
I have also heard that the Candidate's night is September 25th at City Hall and webcast. Hopefully there will be another one for District 2 also since that is the real race.
Posted by: Joe | September 07, 2024 at 05:05 PM
I was reminded about the random alphabet drawing to determine the order of the names--drawn on August 15th. My take is the order will be:
Desiree
Nirmala
Hadia
Rachel
https://www.sos.ca.gov/administration/news-releases-and-advisories/2024-news-releases-and-advisories/secretary-state-shirley-n-weber-phd-announces-results-randomized-alphabet-drawing-november-5-2024-general-election
Top spot is often considered to be worth +5-7%.
Posted by: Joe | September 07, 2024 at 05:14 PM
I have a deep appreciation for Colson and Nirmalla. From my interactions, they come across as hardworking, intelligent, and strong women. As for the others, I haven't had enough experience to form an opinion.
Posted by: Timothy Hooker | September 08, 2024 at 05:14 PM
Would you please describe what your interactions with Nirmalla have been. I have not seen any thing from her in more than five years since she ran the last time. Thank you.
Posted by: Mom | September 08, 2024 at 07:47 PM
What a great opportunity. Thank you. I will let her resume speak for itself. She is a team player and strong woman. I am a versatile, high-performing, and results-oriented professional who employs creativity, leadership, and teamwork to design and implement customer-value-creating solutions. I am also a passionate advocate for diversity, inclusion, and women's empowerment, and I serve as a founding board member of Leadership Council San Mateo County and the president of the Commission on the Status of Women. Through these roles, I inspire, connect, and educate established and emerging leaders from the business, nonprofit, and government sectors to positively transform San Mateo County and find solutions for the biggest issues facing our communities.
Posted by: Timothy Hooker | September 09, 2024 at 03:22 AM
Are you running or is she?
Posted by: Mom | September 09, 2024 at 03:40 PM
That all sounds like consultant blather to me. And why do we care if she's on the commission on women when she is running AGAINST THREE OTHER WOMEN?
Posted by: resident | September 09, 2024 at 05:57 PM
Good point resident!
Posted by: Paloma Ave | September 09, 2024 at 08:00 PM
The council has been female majority (3/5ths) for at least as much time as not for the last 30+ years. The next council will also be female majority. The question is who cares? I cannot think of a single issue or vote that had a gender component. Can Nirmala?
Posted by: Phinancier | September 10, 2024 at 12:30 PM
ZZZZZ
Posted by: Timothy Hooker | September 13, 2024 at 02:21 AM