Pine Sworn in as County Supervisor

After being sworn in to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors at Burlingame High School Tuesday night, Burlingame’s Dave Pine said he would prioritize preserving the county’s safety net services for children.

“I feel investing in children is one of the best investments we can make,” Pine said. “I am the only board member with children at home, so I do think I will be a strong advocate for children.”

Pine’s swearing-in ceremony had a family-friendly theme. It was held at Burlingame High School’s gymnasium, and Pine’s wife Jane swore in her husband with their two children Jack, 7, and Kevin, 10. Afterwards, the Ragazzi Boys Choir performed two songs.

Pine represents District 1 on the County Board of Supervisors, which includes South San Francisco, San Bruno, Burlingame, Millbrae, Hillsborough and part of San Mateo.

During his remarks, Pine thanked his campaign supporters, who helped him . Pine defeated Richard Holober, his closest contender, by 1,557 votes.

“It was a very close election, so everything you did made a big difference,” Pine said. 

He pointed out that one third of the county’s kids qualify for free school lunch, 10,000 county residents are unemployed and said that these are the people that rely on the county for social services.

“The challenge we face now is how to continue to provide these high-quality, safety net services in a new fiscal era,” he said.

Pine said the county must explore new ways to operate, such as consolidating services with cities and school districts.

He said a new county jail is needed, but that the prison population should be kept as low as possible.

Pine replaces Mark Church, who represented District 1 on the Board of Supervisors for 10 years before leaving to become the county’s chief elections officer.

“This is a bittersweet moment for me,” Church said. “I know Mr. Pine will do an outstanding job for the county.”

Since the election results were certified, Pine was able to take part in Tuesday’s supervisors meeting.

Supervisor Adrienne Tissier said she is already impressed. “He is very bright,” Tissier said. “He asked a lot of good questions. He is a very independent thinker and I like that.”

Pine said the voter support in south San Mateo County, particularly in San Carlos, helped win the competitive race.

Pine won more than 2,500 votes in San Carlos, nearly double Holober’s vote count.

San Carlos had a parcel tax on the ballot that increased voter turnout, Pine said, and may have helped him due to his school advocacy as a San Mateo Union High School District board member.

According to the election results, Pine actually came in second within supervisor District 1 but dominated District 3, which includes San Carlos and Half Moon Bay.

With his first day on the job behind him, Pine said he is looking ahead to adopting the county budget next month.