Our Town: Winning easy

When Rose Jacobs Gibson was the unanimous choice to be appointed to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors in January, a lot was made of how she was the first African American, as well as the first East Palo Altan, to serve on the county board. Almost a year later, things have worked out well all around.

Jacobs Gibson, up for re-election next year, won't have to do very much to win back her post. Because nobody filed to run against her in the March primary, Jacobs Gibson's name will appear alone on the spring ballot. A write-in candidate could always emerge, but chances are that Jacobs Gibson won't face a runoff in November. In effect, she has already been re-elected.

When she was a candidate for appointment a year ago, Ira Ruskin, a Redwood City councilman, was considered her top rival for the seat. After Jacobs Gibson was appointed, Ruskin said he might consider a run against her in 2000.

Instead, Ruskin was one of the people who signed her nomination papers. So was East Palo Vice Mayor Sharifa Wilson, who had considered applying for the post a year ago and said at the time that she might run in 2000.

But no challenge to Jacobs Gibson ever emerged.

An early indication of how she was doing came in June, when Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, held a fund-raiser for Jacobs Gibson in Eshoo's Atherton home. The other four members of the county board all showed up to show their support.

During seven years on the East Palo Alto City Council, including two as mayor, Jacobs Gibson established a reputation for being both popular and effective. The same thing is happening now on the county board.

"She makes everyone feel welcome and listens very attentively," said Supervisor Jerry Hill, who also joined the county board in January. Hill said Jacobs Gibson's experience in problem solving as a city councilwoman means "she brings a lot to the table" as a county official.

"She's done fabulously in her first year," said Supervisor Mike Nevin, whose counsel Jacobs Gibson often seeks.

Having someone from East Palo Alto on the county board was important to Nevin and others. "We're not a full democracy unless the whole county is represented, and we were missing a link," Nevin said.

Jacobs Gibson was so well-liked in East Palo Alto that, a city official once said, she was the one to send into the room when the city needed to win a friend.

"She's a warm, gracious person," Nevin said. "She lends a warm grace to the process."

When she was getting ready to run for election, Jacobs Gibson made a list of the issues she had worked on for the county since January. She was surprised at how long and varied the list was, ranging from youth, transportation and housing issues to environment, health and crime prevention.

Serving on the county board also means learning land use issues in other parts of the county. While she represents East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City and the unincorporated community of North Fair Oaks, she votes on everything.

Among other things, she said, that means getting to know the Coastside area. There are a lot of development issues on the coast, Jacobs Gibson said, and some of the decisions of the county Planning Commission are appealed to the Board of Supervisors. "There are people there fighting against anything that comes through," she said.

Traveling around the county and meeting people has been what Jacobs Gibson calls one of the best parts of the job. But the position also often requires a lot of meetings and long hours. When you're a member of the county board, there's no shortage of people and interest groups who want your attention and vote.

"Sometimes you literally have to work seven days," and the fatigue can set in, she said.

Although Jacobs Gibson and Hill are the two junior supervisors on the five-member board, they are pitching in to offer some leadership. "Jerry Hill initiated a visioning process, of where we are and where we want to go," she said. "It's important to identify our values and what's important to us. It turns out we have a lot of agreement."

Jacobs Gibson also keeps on eye on East Palo Alto. She likes the city's continuing progress and success but is disturbed to see housing costs escalate so quickly, limiting choices for many longtime residents. "I would never have expected it to be this bad," she said.

No one did.

Don Kazak is the Weekly's senior staff writer.

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