Meet Mary Sackett, Candidate For Marin County Board Of Supervisors

MARIN COUNTY, CA — Mary Sackett is vying for one of two seats on the Marin County Board of Supervisors.

County elections officials will begin mailing ballots by May 4, in which voters will decide between seven candidates running for the board of supervisors seats, including one being vacated by Eric Lucan who opted to run for the state Assembly.

Sackett is running for the District 1 seat, which covers San Rafael and the surrounding unincorporated communities.

Learn more about Sackett’s goals for Marin County:

Educational background: BA from University of Iowa and JD from West Virginia University

Professional background: Attorney and County Supervisor

Age: 50

Why are you seeking a seat on the Board of Supervisors? To represent the residents of District 1 in County decision making.

What do you think are the top three issues for voters in this election, and how do you plan to address them?

Protecting the Santa Venetia community with a floodwall

Supporting the creation of affordable and workforce housing by thoughtfully investing County Housing Trust Fund dollars while improving County streets and roads for bicycle and pedestrian safety through our Vision Zero strategy and capital improvements plan

Ensuring proactive, transparent communication on all decisions by communicating via community meetings, newsletters, social media, and report-outs at Board of Supervisors meetings

Why are you a better choice than your opponents?

I am connected to the community, and have built relationships and communication channels across neighborhoods and across generations so that I can bring the community voice into County government.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I have served in this role since December 2022 and these are a few of my accomplishments:

1. I have delivered solutions to constituent concerns such as investments in the County Affordable Housing Trust Fund and an e-bike safety law for youth safety across Marin limiting Class 2 throttle e-bikes to age 16+ and requiring helmets for all ages.

2. I was selected by my peers to be Chair of the Marin Housing Authority, Marin Transit, and Great Redwood Trail Agency, and I am Vice-Chair of the Transportation Authority of Marin and Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART).

3. I am being honored by Ritter Center this April as the ‘Shining Star Honoree’ for my work on homelessness solutions and housing.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? My mother was an Iowa Appellate Court Judge.

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

I am currently the Marin County Supervisor serving District 1, first elected in June 2022.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know?

I want to hear from voters including when they have ideas, suggestions, and input on how Marin County can thrive.

What is one specific change you would support to improve public safety in your district?

I’d like us to explore automatic enrollment in AlertMarin for folks who have given their phone number to one of our County Departments already, such as the Elections Department. While we can contact anyone’s phone that pings in the area via Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), it is a high threshold to issue a WEA and AlertMarin gives us more flexibility in our ability to send messages to deliver potentially life-saving instructions. We have the opt-in model today to build trust and because understandably people don’t want messages they don’t sign up for and have the right to not receive such messages. However, registering as many people as we can (with an opt-out option) would enable us to reach more people regarding emergency events.

What specific actions should the Board of Supervisors take to address homelessness, and how would you evaluate whether current efforts are working?

The county’s biennial Point In Time Count is going down, that is a result of building relationships with people on the streets so that they will accept services, connecting them to supports, and then supporting them when they get into housing so that they stay housed. The model is Housing First. The model will be tested as federal housing vouchers are cut back by the federal government. My focus is on keeping those folks that we have housed in housing, as we continue to get unhoused people off the street. Marin’s CARE Court has been a tremendous success in providing court-supervised support for individuals who meet the eligibility criteria of a severe mental health diagnosis. Each unhoused person’s needs and circumstances to get stably housed are unique, and it takes many tools from case management to mental health resources and available housing.