May 20, 2008

Church faces one challenger

Highlands resident wants better county fiscal discipline

By Shaun Bishop / Daily News Staff Writer

The only person standing between Mark Church and a third and final term on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors is a candidate who concedes the incumbent is the clear favorite.

"I'm pretty realistic about what the results are going to be," pilot and aircraft mechanic Demetrios Nikas, a San Mateo Highlands resident, said in a recent interview. He has not even done any fundraising.

Nikas, 60, said he decided to run for the District 1 seat anyway out of belief that the board should be more fiscally conservative to avoid problems such as the county's estimated $25 million structural deficit.

"We do not have the right to be the third largest employer in the county," Nikas said. "They (board supervisors) have the power to deny or approve, and I don't see any denials so far."

Church represents parts of San Mateo and South San Francisco, Hillsborough, Burlingame, Millbrae, San Bruno, and unincorporated areas including Burlingame Hills, Highlands/Baywood Park and San Francisco Airport.

While each supervisor represents different parts of the county, San Mateo County residents get the chance to vote for candidates in all districts.

The incumbent says he is focused on implementing programs that will improve the quality of life for county residents and save money at the same time.

He said the work of a Blue Ribbon Task Force to expand health care coverage to thousands of adults should check the skyrocketing cost of indigent care at the county-owned San Mateo Medical Center.

The county is also planning to build a new jail and overhaul its rehabilitation programs to keep offenders from committing more crimes.

"I think voters are supportive of those types of programs, and we have continued to work in those areas and we have more work to do," Church said.

Nikas said he is also irked that residents have been asked to pay hundreds of dollars for sewer infrastructure repairs, and wants supervisors to pay better attention to their concerns.

"I'm sort of a one-man team," Nikas said. "I'm not a politician. I'm just a concerned citizen, just an ordinary guy that felt somebody needed to take a little charge."



E-mail Shaun Bishop at sbishop@dailynewsgroup.com.