| Government Affairs |
Government Affairs Champions Honored at Committee Luncheon
On Wednesday, December 17, 2025 SAMCAR members from the Peninsula, Coastside, and Pacifica Government Affairs Committee gathered at the SAMCAR office for a special holiday luncheon to celebrate accomplishments addressing advocacy issues throughout the year.
Lee Ginsburg (Intero Real Estate), Frank Vella (Starboard Commercial Real Estate), and Judy Taylor (Compass) were honored as the 2025 SAMCAR Government Affairs Champions for their dedication to advancing private property rights and advocating politically on behalf of Realtors and housing providers in San Mateo County.
SAMCAR members from the Local Candidate Recommendation Committee (LCRC), Board of Directors, and several friends of Government Affairs were on hand to help celebrate. This year we had two special guest speakers, Rhovy Lyn Antonio, Senior Vice President of Local Public Affairs at the California Apartment Association, and Andrew Hughan, Government Affairs Field Representative from the California Association of REALTORS®. Antonio discussed the importance of continued collaboration between SAMCAR and CAA, gave a 2025 political overview, and insight into the 2026 local election season. Hughan provided an overview of the 2025 State legislative session, 2026 outlook, and discussed the importance of member contributions to the Realtor Action Fund and Realtor Action Assessment.
2026 SAMCAR President Linda Crose-Andersen spoke about Government Affairs accomplishments during the year, and opportunities to support candidate campaigns in 2026. On the political issues front, we addressed rent control, rental registries, electrification, sea level rise, tenant protections, and anti-displacement programs, to name a few.
Regionally, SAMCAR was involved in advocating for common sense solutions to policies being advanced by activist staff at the Bay Area Air District and Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Mitch Speigle of the Peninsula Government Affairs Committee spoke about how SAMCAR members rose to the occasion to mobilize against rent control and a rental registry in San Mateo, and being part of the solution in advocating for an emergency rental assistance program rather than punitive regulations. Barbara LaVey discussed how Half Moon Bay came within a whisker of overturning the very unpopular rent control and rental registry programs in that city.
In 2026 we can build on our advocacy successes and strong relationships with local councilmembers, mayors, and the board of supervisors, with another strong showing of candidate support during the election campaign cycle.
The 2025 Government Affairs Champions are:
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Frank Vella | Pacifica Government Affairs Committee
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Judy Taylor | Coastside Government Affairs Committee
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Lee Ginsburg | Peninsula Government Affairs Committee
Lee was honored for his participation on the City of South San Francisco's Anti-Displacement Community Advisory Committee. Lee contributed to the success of the commission and built strong relationships with the mayor, staff, and fellow commissioners. He helped steer the commission away from rent control and restrictive tenant protections. He faithfully attended government affairs meetings and monitored political issues in South San Francisco and San Bruno. He also took time to meet with SAMCAR staff and the South San Francisco City Manager regarding concerns about a possible proposed property transfer tax, parcel tax, and MTC's transit-oriented communities' policy.
Judy is the heartbeat of the Coastside Government Affairs Committee. She faithfully attends committee meetings and provides members with updates and information on city council agendas and issues that are important to Coastside realtors. This year Judy provided information on Seal Cove, participated in collaboration meetings on electrification with Peninsula Clean Energy and the San Mateo County office of sustainability, advocated for building relationships with our city and county representatives, attended the Smart Coast Policy Summit, and regularly reports on sea level rise, development, ADU's, Measure D, and water and sewer district impacts to Coastside communities.
Frank continues to point out the importance of advocacy and getting involved in government affairs and in communities. 2025 was very busy for those involved in government affairs. Involvement in political issues, and building relationships with our local elected officials, staff, and community partners really paid off this year, especially after our very successful 2024 election year. The local council and mayors who we supported in 2024 worked well with us, appreciated our advocacy, and had us at the table. SAMCAR worked with CAA and other organizations to address activist staff trying to tie rent control to transit funds at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, while the Bay Area Air District continues to push its electrification mandate on homeowners.
