Dear Martha Poyatos,

We urge the LAFCO Commissioners not to support the recommendation for dissolution of the San Mateo County Harbor District.

We were dismayed to read in the San Mateo Daily Journal recently that Supervisor Horsley is recommending the Harbor Commission become an appointed board.

The spread of democracy around the world has been a significant achievement of our times. Elections sit at the heart of this, making possible the act of self-determination. Abraham Lincoln said it best in his Gettysburg Address speech, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.”

We do not support appointed or elected advisory boards as a substitute for an elected Special District board.

The myth of America is that the country is one gigantic melting pot in which every citizen has a voice and a vote, and the government is a direct representation of the people. But there are signs of change.

We support diversity on elected boards and the amount of diversity represented on the board of Harbor Commissioners is impressive.

Commissioner Mattusch is the first Hispanic person to be elected to the Harbor Commission.
Commissioner David is the first openly bisexual candidate to run for a countywide elected office in San Mateo County, and highest-ranking openly bisexual elected official in San Mateo County.
Commissioner Brennan is the first openly lesbian candidate to run for a countywide elected office in San Mateo County and the highest-ranking openly lesbian official in San Mateo County.
Commissioner Bernardo is the highest-ranking Filipino and openly gay official in the US, and past Grand Marshal of the San Francisco Pride Parade.

Please include this letter as a comment on the LAFCo Municipal Service Review of the San Mateo County Harbor District.

Sincerely,

Jule Lynch and John Lynch

Half Moon Bay