Dear Supporters of the San Mateo Ice Rink,

As promised, we have spent the past week working with the candidates to help you understand if and how they plan on keeping the ice rink operational in San Mateo in perpetuity.  We are concerned that we will have to fight this battle yet again in the near future.  Thus, it is crucial that we identify and support the Council Members that will help us be victorious once again.

There are three seats (of five total) up for grabs on the San Mateo City Council this year.  These seats are in Districts 1, 3, and 5.  (Here is info on the newly created Districts in San Mateo.)  Unlike in previous years, City of San Mateo residents can only vote for the Councilmember representing their District.  Here is some information on the seven candidates running for office in these three Districts.  

We asked each of the candidates three questions in order to help you determine who can best protect the rink in the future:

1)  What specific steps did you take to help save the San Mateo Ice Rink after its closure was proposed in 2012?

2)  As a member of the San Mateo City Council, do you promise to do everything in your power to keep the current ice rink operational?  Please keep in mind that last time the owner offered the City up to $8 million in exchange for changing the current "ice rink" zoning and closing the rink.  Of course, the Council refused this offer, arguing that it would cost far more than this to purchase land and build a new rink in town.  Please answer yes or no and then feel free to explain why or how.

3)   If Bridgepointe is redeveloped, do you promise to do everything in your power to make sure that a new ice rink of similar utility is part of the new plans and that there is no gap in operation during the transition from the old rink to the new rink?  Please answer yes or no and then feel free to explain why or how.

We are stopping short of endorsing any of the candidates.  We encourage you to read their responses and make your own decision on who is best for San Mateo and protecting the rink.  All of the candidates want your vote and understand how important the rink is to voters.  Carefully analyze their responses and their promises.  If you have questions, feel free to email the candidates directly through the contact info on their web pages.  (Campaign websites are available through the City's list of candidates.)   

The candidates' responses can be found in this folder.  Note that there are only six documents in the folder; we have yet to hear back from District 3 candidate Sergio Zygmunt.  If he responds we will upload his answers to the same folder so please check back.  

We hope that you will take 15+ minutes to review the candidates' responses and then incorporate your analysis into your decision making on Election Day.  Your choices may determine whether we have sufficient political support to keep the rink alive next time it is threatened.  Ballots should be arriving soon!

Thanks again for your support and we hope to see you at the San Mateo Ice Rink (and ballot box!) in the coming weeks.

Mike Swire & the Save the San Mateo Ice Rink Team