What's a County Supervisor and Why Should You Care?

By Candace Andersen

Experience Matters - I am the candidate who brings 21 years experience on two city councils and over 30 boards and commissions.

The County's City Council Being a County Supervisor is much like being on a City Council for the entire County. For those who live in unincorporated areas such as Alamo, the Supervisor actually is their elected representative. We have 5 elected supervisors from specific districts.

I'm running for the seat in District 2, which includes the communities of: San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Walnut Creek (part), Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda. It also includes some of the smaller unincorporated areas of Saranap, Parkmead and Canyon.

Making the Tough Decisions Supervisors make land use decisions for unincorporated areas such as the Tassajara Valley. They set policies and allocate funds to many different services provided by the County including law enforcement, fire protection, jails, libraries, health services, social services, transportation, and transit. They also appoint most County department heads, provide compensation for County officials and employees, award contracts for public works, and adopt an annual budget.

County Supervisors are valuable assets to our cities; they sit on boards with City Council members and advocate for the cities in their district. Outgoing Supervisor Gayle Uilkema and I have worked together on County boards and she has endorsed me to follow her.

Experience Matters This is my second term as Mayor of Danville and I'm entering my ninth year on the Town Council. I also served on the Morgan Hill City Council in the early 1990's. For the past 21 years I have served on over 30 boards and commissions.

I have made fiscally responsible decisions to keep Danville out of debt. We have no unfunded pension liabilities and we keep over 40% of our operating budget in reserve. I've worked hard to help our local businesses grow, ensure that our roads are in good repair, better our schools, keep our hilltops free from development, and protect our urban growth boundary.

I started out my legal career as a criminal prosecutor. I know how important it is to have safe communities and that's why our County's law enforcement leaders endorsed me. They know that I will prioritize public safety to keep our County safe.

We need to address the unfunded pension liability in the County and stop pension abuses. I've proven my fiscal responsibility as an elected official in Danville, and I will do the same for Contra Costa.

As your County Supervisor, I will maintain our exceptional quality of life. Despite my years in elected office, I do not consider myself a "politician," but just another member of the community who helps out where she is needed.