Redwood City Mayor Giselle Hale Narrows Gap In State Assembly Race

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — Redwood City Mayor Giselle Hale narrowed the gap between her and Mark Gilham, who currently holds the second spot in the runoff in the November general election in the race for the 21st Assembly District seat.

As of Monday evening, Hale trailed Gilham by just 516 votes, with an estimated 42,000 ballots left to process. The deficit was near 1,800 around Election Day last week.

If Hale’s momentum continues, she would surpass Gilham and set up a matchup between two Democrats in the general election. If Gilham — a Republican — holds on, Papan would likely have an easier road in November in a deeply blue district.

Papan leads the primary with 43.25 percent of the vote. Gilham has 19.70 percent, while Hale has 19 percent.

In a game of local political musical chairs, the seat is open after Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco) announced he wouldn't seek reelection and instead run to represent the area in Congress, with Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo) stepping away from her seat after this year.

The redrawn district is similar to what was referred to previously as the 22nd District, stretching from South San Francisco to East Palo Alto.

The moves mean a majority of the Peninsula will have fresh representation in both the state Assembly and Congress for the first time in more than a decade, as Mullin has held the seat since 2012.