Originally published by the San Mateo Daily Journal
My freshman year in the U.S. House of Representatives has been, to put it kindly, “eventful.” While not totally surprised by witnessing the lack of decorum and polarizing dysfunction on display in the U.S. Capitol, I have been taken aback by the sheer prevalence of questionable behavior, much of it (but not exclusively) on the House Republican majority side.
There have been personal attacks, baseless censures, impeachment attempts and angry physical confrontations, including the former speaker of the House allegedly elbowing a fellow Republican in the kidneys who had voted to remove him. In the “upper house,” a U.S. senator threatened to physically fight a witness during a committee hearing. Performative political extremism is flaunted regularly on social media specifically to get attention in the form of clicks, likes and campaign contributions from supporters. And as we approach the 2024 election cycle where democracy itself is on the line, the former president uses the term “vermin” when describing his opponents.
As a nearly three-decade political practitioner in our county, I’m no stranger to the rough and tumble, “hardball” nature of politics and governing. As speaker pro tempore of the California Assembly, I was tasked with maintaining decorum during debate on the Assembly floor, with an imposing portrait of Abraham Lincoln watching over the proceedings. I’ve learned that the beating heart of a functioning democracy is civil discourse and respectful debate. This ethos was emphasized in an extraordinary joint message from 13 presidential libraries, Republican and Democratic, from Hoover to Obama, calling for a recommitment to our country’s bedrock principles stating, “Debate and disagreement are central features in a healthy democracy. Civility and respect in political discourse, whether in an election year or otherwise, are essential.”
That said, the need for returning to our principles is not exclusive to the national or statewide stage. We are also hearing and reading of an emerging divisiveness and lack of decorum in our own local politics and governance here in San Mateo County, albeit still a world away from Washington. To be clear, an abundance of good things are happening locally. Local government leaders continue to innovate and collaborate and address emerging issues in a progressive and thoughtful way, but recent high-profile situations make me question if we are seeing a fraying of our traditional civility and bending very subtly toward national trends.
On a few of our local governing bodies, we are seeing surprising personal invective, false accusations and threats of divisive recall elections. Over recent years there have been multiple examples of councilmembers being “skipped” in the annual rotation for the position of mayor for personal reasons, where the hurt feelings can fester for years affecting cooperative governance. And now, after a raucous public meeting, one of our cities is suing the county over a project to proactively address homelessness when it should be seeking collaboration.
For practical reasons, we, in our county, simply cannot afford to be at sharp odds with one another within and among our governing bodies. San Mateo County and our 20 cities are too small to compete effectively for regional resources against our larger neighbors (San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose), especially when there is dissension within our ranks. The “San Mateo County Way,” speaking with one voice when fighting regional battles has proven successful more often than not (the most recent test being the Caltrain governance fight).
Democracy has never been easy — it tests us all every day when we realize that while we have every right to our opinion, our neighbor, our colleague or our adversary has the right to a diametrically opposed view. The goal should be a respectful and earnest debate followed by seeking a consensus when possible, in service of the greater good. As the Peninsula continues to evolve and we leave behind the outdated and obsolete, let’s remember to bring forward the best elements of our civic and governing traditions — what makes this place unique.
At a time of demagoguery and rising hate speech in America, and social media algorithms that exacerbate our own echo chambers and distrust of opposing views, let’s be an example here of where divisions and past grievances can be healed and a politics of the common good can prevail, and appeal to as Lincoln said, “the better angels of our nature.” The future of democracy in our county, as well as our country, depends on it.
Kevin Mullin represents District 15 in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district includes the Bayside of San Mateo County from Daly City to East Palo Alto and the southeast side of San Francisco.