With less than two weeks left before the Nov. 5 election, Marin County supervisorial candidate Heather McPhail Sridharan has lost the support of some former allies.
Three members of the Fairfax Town Council — Barbara Coler, Stephanie Hellman and Lisel Blash — have withdrawn their endorsement of McPhail Sridharan.
The Skylark Tenants Association and the Bon Air Tenants Association have also revoked their endorsements. The North Bay Labor Council has decided to downgrade its support for her, although it has not withdrawn its endorsement.
McPhail Sridharan, board president of the McPhail Fuel Co., a family business, and a former Kentfield School District board member, is competing with Brian Colbert, a San Anselmo councilman, for the District 2 seat on the Marin County Board of Supervisors. The incumbent, Katie Rice, did not seek reelection.
“I deeply respect the perspectives of the two tenant organizations and Fairfax elected officials who have removed their endorsement of my campaign, and look forward to continuing the productive conversations with them if elected,” McPhail Sridharan said in an email.
Both Coler, who is seeking reelection in November, and Hellman cited a campaign text message that was issued by McPhail Sridharan’s campaign committee on Oct. 18 as one of the chief reasons for their change of heart.
“We’ve wasted millions of our taxpayer dollars on flood control, homelessness, upgrading Sir Francis Drake, and Project Homekey in Larkspur without meaningful results,” the message said. “We need new leadership.”
Project Homekey is a state program to turn vacant hotels and other unused properties into permanent supportive housing.
Coler said, “I have no hard feelings against Heather, but I just don’t feel that I want my name associated with those changing positions.”
Hellman, in an email, said: “Heather’s campaign text blast last week referring to Project Homekey as a waste of taxpayer dollars was very problematic for many of us. Heather and I had a conversation about my concerns during which I withdrew my endorsement.”
Blash did not state her reasons for withdrawing her endorsement.
“It was a personal decision,” she said. “I have communicated with Heather about my reasons for this decision.”
McPhail Sridharan, via email, said: “As someone who has served on the Citizens Oversight Committee for Project Homekey for over a year, there have been concerning implementation and operation issues.”
Coler wrote: “Heather has also changed her position regarding the importance of renter protections over the campaign — I support renter protections and brought the early versions to Fairfax in 2018 and 2019, and I support voting No on Measure I for Fairfax.”
Voters in Fairfax, San Anselmo and Larkspur will vote on three different ballot measures on Nov. 5 that will determine whether rent control is strengthened in their municipalities or in some cases eliminated.
“We were going to put Heather at the top of our ticket and make her a priority,” said Jack Buckhorn, the North Bay Labor Council’s executive director, “but with her flip-flopping on rent control, which is one of our major policy positions, we couldn’t in good conscience make her one of our top priorities.”
Buckhorn said the council had planned to put McPhail Sridharan’s picture at the top of the slate card that it sends to all its union members in the North Bay. He said that won’t happen now.
“She’s still on our slate piece, just not highlighted as we originally planned,” he said.
Buckhorn said the organization has also reduced the amount of phone banking and precinct walking it is doing for McPhail Sridharan.
Buckhorn said McPhail Sridharan voiced support for rent control during an earlier interview with the organization, but it became apparent “in subsequent candidate forums that she had changed her position.”
Richard Quinones, a founding member of the Skylark Tenants Association, said his organization had a similar experience. Quinones said McPhail Sridharan voiced her support for rent control in earlier conversations with the association.
“But in subsequent conversations, it became clearer and clearer that she did not support it,” he said. “So using us in her campaign literature would definitely be misleading.”
McPhail Sridharan previously highlighted her endorsements by the Skylark and Bon Air associations in one of her campaign mailers.
When McPhail Sridharan and Colbert met with the Independent Journal editorial board in August, McPhail Sridharan said, “I do support rent control. Yes, full stop.”
“I would like to take the lead at the county level to push for more,” she added.
During the same meeting, Colbert said, “I personally do not support rent control. I think that the existing rent control in California is sufficient as it is.”
After her comments were reported in the Independent Journal, McPhail Sridharan said they didn’t express her true position on rent control.
“I support sensible renter protections as a critical tool in a toolbox for an overall housing strategy that includes short-term rental subsidies and building affordable housing,” she said.
“Overly aggressive rent-control policies disincentivize landlords from maintaining property and discourage housing development,” she added.
In an email sent on Thursday, McPhail Sridharan wrote, “Despite pressure from some supporters, my position on rent control hasn’t changed. I have not taken a position on the rent control ballot measures in Larkspur, San Anselmo, and Fairfax and I do not believe the county should expand current state rent control.”
“I believe we have an obligation as a county to increase supply with more affordable housing and to help prevent displacement, particularly of our older adults and workforce, with programs such as short term rent subsidies and a robust renter assistance program,” she wrote.
Colbert said the retracted endorsements are “indicative of my opponent’s shifting positions.”
“I’m proud of the fact that my core values have remained consistent throughout the campaign,” he said.
Brian Sobel, a Petaluma political analyst, said he doubts the withdrawal of the endorsements will affect the outcome of the race.
“We are less than two weeks away from the election,” Sobel said. “Most people have already made up their minds, many have already voted and the few who remain probably aren’t going to be affected by the decision of these people.”
However, he said that it is “highly unusual” for endorsements to be withdrawn this close to an election.
Sobel said there is anecdotal evidence that Colbert is running well ahead of McPhail Sridharan. In the March primary election, Colbert finished first among five candidates with about 43% of the vote, while McPhail Sridharan finished second with about 26%. Sobel said he doubts anyone would be switching allegiances at this time if McPhail Sridharan were the odds-on favorite.
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“Sometimes people say, hey, I better cut my losses and support who I think is going to end up winning,” he said.
Coler said she was following her conscience when she withdrew her endorsement.
“As I told Heather yesterday,” she wrote in her email, “we have to stand up for what we believe in during campaigns even if we lose votes.”