San Mateo finally picks a mayor after routine appointment dissolves into turmoil

In San Mateo, choosing a mayor is normally a routine process.

The five council members elect one of their colleagues to lead the city — traditionally, the longest-serving member.

This year, Amourence Lee was in line for the job, as the only one who had been on the dais before November.

But after an eight-hour meeting on Dec. 5 and a five-hour meeting two days later, the council deadlocked.

It took another five-hour meeting on Monday to finally appoint Lee.

Underlying the conflict appears to be a long-running rift over housing in the Bay Area city of more than 100,000 residents, where the average home price is above $1.4 million.

Lee and another council member, Adam Loraine, were endorsed by a group advocating to build more housing. Pro-housing activists describe Lisa Diaz Nash and Robert Newsom Jr., the two council members who initially declined to support Lee for mayor, as preferring slower growth.

Nash and Newsom said they wanted to fill a vacant fifth seat before picking the mayor.

With political turmoil exploding from the Los Angeles City Council chambers to the U.S. Capitol, the conflict in San Mateo became yet another manifestation of how we just can’t get along.

As the days dragged on without a mayor, people around the Bay Area took notice, with some using words such as “filibuster” and “insurrection.”

“It’s a power grab move in defiance of good governance,” said Zac Bowling, an East Bay housing advocate and local government watchdog whose TikTok videos explaining the situation drew more than 300,000 views.

Some wondered whether Lee’s race was a factor — she is half Chinese in a city that is 26% Asian and had never had an Asian American female mayor. But the issue never came up in the council debate, and Nash called Lee “a very capable woman” in a television interview.

Local political observer Jordan Grimes pointed to the balance of power on the council, as city officials work out a state-mandated plan to zone for more housing.

If the mayor had been appointed before the vacant seat was filled, she could have broken a tie on who would be the fifth council member.

“What this really boils down to is a conflict between two political factions,” said Grimes, 30, political director for the Peninsula Young Democrats and a lifelong San Mateo resident.

Lee grew up in Boston with five adopted sisters from China. Her dad is Chinese, and her mother is Russian German and Jewish. After working at UNICEF and a social service agency for immigrants, she moved to San Mateo 13 years ago, becoming a stay-at-home mom as her husband worked in the tech industry.

After working as a community volunteer and running a school board campaign for a friend, Lee was appointed to the San Mateo City Council in 2019. A year later, she successfully ran for a full four-year term.

“I always imagined myself as being the woman behind the woman,” said Lee, 44. But “everyone just kept pointing at me and saying no, we’re asking you to step up.”

On Dec. 5, Lee wore a flower lei as her family, including her two children, looked on.

Loraine’s motion to appoint Lee as mayor failed repeatedly, with Nash and Newsom voting no.

Newsom, who is a second cousin of Gov. Gavin Newsom, did not respond to a request for comment, and Nash declined an interview.

For the do-over on Monday, dozens of Lee’s supporters packed the council chambers. A pro-Lee high school student, who said she was speaking at the council meeting instead of studying for a final, told Nash that she “expected better.” Another resident said the city deserves “honesty and transparency” from its officials.

First, the council discussed filling the vacant seat.

Lee said, repeating a claim she made at the Dec. 7 council meeting, that she was approached by two residents who said she could be mayor if she voted for a specific candidate for the vacancy.

That candidate, she said, pulling out an envelope, was Cliff Robbins, an attorney and member of the city’s sustainability and infrastructure commission.

Robbins angrily told the council that Lee’s allegation put the city at risk of a defamation lawsuit.

Newsom made a motion to pick Rich Hedges, the chair of the city’s sales tax measure oversight committee. Lee joined Loraine and Newsom in voting for Hedges, with Nash voting no.

The council then unanimously appointed Lee as mayor for one year. The mayor and council members each serve for a salary of $600 a month.

Lee said she believes the city charter may need to be reformed to avoid a similar situation from happening again.

“I needed to hold space for this experience in the API community and the Jewish community and so many other marginalized communities who don’t have representation and are told to wait in line and then their turn doesn’t come or they’re told to wait more,” she said of what unfolded over the last week.

Still, she thinks the city can get to a better place.

“I believe there’s a way that we can all move forward to redeem ourselves as a city, to redeem ourselves and our reputation as a council,” Lee said. “I hope that starts today.”