Candidate for
San Mateo County, Board Member; County of San Mateo; Supervisorial District 1

Richard Holober is the President of the San Mateo County Community College Board. First elected in 1997, he is serving in his fourth term on the board that governs Caņada College, College of San Mateo, and Skyline College. Richard was elected to the Millbrae School Board in 1993, and served four years, including a term as School Board President.

Richard has championed access to quality, affordable higher education and job training programs. He led the College Board in adopting green building standards that won the District the 2008 and 2011 Sustainable San Mateo County Awards. Richard has helped the College District to become a role model in making housing affordable, by developing 100 rental units on college campuses for faculty and staff.

Richard Holober serves as Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of California. In 2002, he co-founded Californians for Privacy Now, which was instrumental in winning the nation's strongest financial privacy law. As a leading consumer advocate, he has worked to expand health care patient rights, to protect the public from defective products and household toxics, for food and drug safety laws, for stronger protections against fraudulent sales practices, and for curbs on predatory lending practices.

Richard has served as a leader in many statewide campaigns to protect social services, reform the state budget process and curtail special interest power grabs. He managed the successful No on Prop 10 campaign in 2008 (defeating a money grab by a Texas Oil tycoon), and signed the No on 16 ballot argument (PG&E's attempt to stop local government from reducing energy costs), and Yes on Prop 25 ballot argument (simple majority to enact state budgets).

Richard spent over 20 years in leadership positions in the labor movement. In the mid-1980's, Richard served on the staff of US Senator Alan Cranston.

In 1995, Richard founded the Liveable Wage Coalition. He managed the statewide campaign that raised the minimum wage for some two million hard working Californians when voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 210 in 1996.

Richard is a graduate of the University of Rochester. His wife Nadia is a Millbrae City Councilmember. They have two sons, Reuben and Evan.