Mike Nevin, a former San Mateo County Supervisor, Daly City councilmember and San Francisco police inspector, died of cancer Saturday at the age of 69, according to local officials.
Nevin served 12 years on the Board of Supervisors following his election in 1992, before serving as executive director of the nonprofit Service League.
County officials remembered him as an effective, caring, intelligent leader with an engaging personality, county spokesman Marshall Wilson said.
"Mike had a vision for a more caring, a more just and a more compassionate world," said Adrienne Tissier, president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and a fellow Daly City resident. "What made him such a great leader is that he made you feel that, together, you could bring about such a world," Tissier added.
The initiatives Nevin championed during his time in office included a plan, now enacted, to provide health care coverage for all of San Mateo County's children, Wilson said.
"It is a disgrace that San Mateo County, one of the most affluent, sophisticated counties, has over 20,000 uninsured children," Nevin reportedly once told an audience. "Whether it is in good times or in bad, San Mateo County must do better for its children, and we will all work together to do so."
Nevin, a former police officer, also advocated for the provision of medical marijuana to the seriously ill, Wilson said.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo) called Nevin a "giant in politics in San Mateo County."
"His passion was unbridled, his compassion boundless, and his love for those without, inexhaustible," Speier said, describing Nevin as someone who would speak for understanding on behalf of ex-offenders "literally with tears in his eyes."
"He was wise. He was iconoclastic. He was a leader by example," she said. "I loved him and admired him greatly."
Nevin is survived by his wife Kathy and his children Michael and Michelle.
- Bay City News
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