Politics & Government

Local Attorney Andrew McCullough Plans to Run for City Council

The politically moderate Andrew McCullough is known for building consensus.

Although the deadline for filing paperwork to run for public office is weeks away, local attorney Andrew McCullough announced that he intends to run for San Rafael City Council.

McCullough, a political moderate, has a reputation as an intelligent consensus-builder with experience in municipal law and litigation.       

A graduate of Hastings Law School, McCullough works as the executive vice president and general counsel of San Rafael-based Syufy Enterprises, LP., which leases theaters and parking facilities.

Before moving to San Rafael in 1997, he served as deputy city attorney in San Francisco, where he worked with major departments, including the transportation, education and public safety. In 2004, McCullough was also president of the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce.

“There are no easy answers to the city’s fiscal constraints and its infrastructure needs," he said, "and that’s why San Rafael needs someone familiar with the issues and committed to solving them collaboratively and over the long term.”

Of filipino descent, McCullough was born in Berkeley and spent part of his childhood in Singapore and London. If elected, he would be the first ethnic minority to sit on the council.

He lives with this wife, Theresa, and their three daughters in the Glenwood/Peacock Gap area.

“Andrew is an outstanding candidate,” said Gary Phillips, current chairmen of the Chamber of Commerce and in the race for the mayor’s seat.

To Phillips, McCullough’s intelligence, respect and imagination place him high on the list of candidates. “He’s very good at building consensus,” he said. “We’ve got some issues we need to work through and we’ll need that.”

On June 2, Mayor Al Boro and endorsed Phillips to replace him. Soon after, council member Greg Brockbank , freeing up his seat on the council.

McCullough intends to run for Brockbank’s seat.

“I’m concerned about an imminent shortage of experienced leadership at City Hall,” he said.  “Most of our council members are either retiring or planning to run for higher office.”

Some neighborhood leaders are skeptical of McCullough despite his education and experience.

“The chamber and business communities he knows,” said Steve Patterson, head of Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods. “But when it comes to neighborhood issues, I’m not sure we can count on him.”

According to Patterson, McCullough’s competition could be Whitney Hoyt, assistant principal at San Rafael High School, who is rumored to run.

If she does, “it promises to be a real horse race,” Patterson said.


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