Rich Hedges

I am a former San Mateo City Councilmember. I moved to San Mateo with my wife Linda to take advantage of the educational opportunities in the Bay Area. I am a lifelong union and Democratic Party activist now serving as Treasurer of the San Mateo Central Labor Council and as a representative for 28 years of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). When I left the UFCW, I worked for Congressmember Tom Lantos, serving as his alternate to the San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee.

 

I am a trained community organizer with the Foundation for Urban and Neighborhood Development founded by Saul Alinsky and worked to desegregate swimming pools and the apartment house in which I resided in San Mateo.

 

I hold a Master’s Degree in American Urban and Immigrant History. I serve on the San Mateo County Transit Authority Citizens’ Advisory Committee; on the board of the San Mateo County Housing Leadership Council; the San Mateo County Housing and Community Development Committee; and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Policy Advisory Council. I am dedicated to developing reliable public transit and affordable housing for both the unhoused and the underserved working class.

 

I am a life-long member of the Methodist Church and a 30-year member of the San

Mateo Central Labor Council. Through these community-based organizations in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank and Samaritan House we distribute food to those in need.