Politics & Government

Local Officials Jolted by McGlashan's Death

Supervisor is hailed as a visionary leader who fought for his environmental convictions before his untimely death.

Government officials across Marin and beyond reacted with a mix of sadness and admiration to the untimely passing of Marin County Supervisor Charles McGlashan, who in the North Lake Tahoe area.

McGlashan, 49, left an indelible imprint on local, county and regional government, according to a number of elected officials and local residents who worked with him over the years. They credited McGlashan for pushing forward a wide range of issues in his seven years on the board, from the Marin Energy Authority’s hard-fought launch of Marin Clean Energy in May 2010 to seemingly smaller but innovative initiatives like the Muir Woods shuttle, the plastic bag ban, non-motorized transportation projects and curbside composting.

Mill Valley City Councilwoman Shawn Marshall was with McGlashan and a small group of friends when he died. McGlashan suffered a heart attack in the back of a car parked outside Marshall’s Tahoe Vista home after a weekend of skiing at Northstar-at-Tahoe, and the valiant efforts of his friends and paramedics from the North Tahoe Fire Department were unsuccessful.

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Marshall said McGlashan had no complaints of ill health at all and although he was an advanced skier and “attacked the slopes,” there was no indication of any ill health at all before he slumped over in the back seat of a car in her driveway.

Marshall met McGlashan six years ago at an endorsement meeting for her first campaign for City Council. She said there was an immediate connection in their ideals and that bond developed into a close personal friendship.

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“We realized straight away that we had tremendous alignment in terms of our political views and philosophies,” she said. “A friendship was born right then and there.”

The two teamed up on a number of local projects over the years, the boldest of which was the Marin Energy Authority, where they both served on the board.

“Charles had the courage of his convictions and his passion to fight for the things he believed in," she said. "MEA was by his own admission his crowning achievement. He really believed in what we were doing. He fought the hard battles to get there and he took a lot of shots. We were just getting to the place where it was working.”

“He was a dear friend of mine and we had a daily working relationship, so the loss for me is in all realms,” Marshall continued. “Charles had that amazing combination of deep intellect, personal connection and total commitment to what he was doing, and as a result he affected people deeply and was a natural leader.”

The San Rafael City School board meeting adjourned in McGlashan's memory last night. "I just remember his passion for everything green," Board President Linda Jackson said. "It took someone with the eneregy and the drive to make what he did happen...And he died right in the middle of his work."

Mill Valley Mayor Ken Wachtel said McGlashan “did a Herculean amount of work” in his time in county government.

“It’s a loss that I don’t know how we’re going to fill,” said Wachtel, who has worked with McGlashan in recent years to strengthen ties between the city and the county. “He pursued his issues with his heart and he was dedicated to our community. He was just an amazing guy. For a county supervisor, he was larger than life.”

Councilman Andy Berman said McGlashan left incredibly large shoes to fill, a void exacerbated by the fact that he was a Mill Valley resident who cared deeply about the city in which he lived.

“This is a guy who really had Marin in his heart and was pushing for the right things for Marin,” Berman said. “A good man died too young. But you’re thankful for the time he spent on this Earth making where you live a better place.”

Former longtime Mill Valley City Councilman and Mayor Bob Burton knew McGlashan for more than 15 years, dating back to when McGlashan and his wife Carol Misseldine, the city’s sustainability advisor, lived next door to the Burtons on Hazel Avenue.

“I’m just wiped out by this,” Burton said. “He was an absolutely fabulous public servant. For one supervisor, he’s been involved in more forward-looking initiatives in a relatively short period of time than anyone I can remember. It’s a terrible loss and it will take us a long time to recover.”

Burton noted that while McGlashan was devoted to his environmental convictions, he had the ability to build consensus among the board of supervisors.

“I never thought of Hal (Brown) as much on the leading edge as he became in the past few years, and I think that is a credit to Charles,” he said.

State Assemblyman Jared Huffman said he was stunned by the news.

“This is terribly sad news – the kind of news you just can’t quite believe because Charles was so full of life,” he said in an email. “Those of us who knew and worked with him will always remember Charles as a vibrant, engaging and brilliant person with authentic environmental values. He will be hugely missed.”

Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, whose district includes all of Marin, said in a statement that she was “heartsick over the sudden death of my friend,” calling McGlashan “a good man and a dedicated, visionary public servant who represented his community with uncommon diligence and decency.”

“He brought to the Board of Supervisors a fierce commitment to environmental causes and an acute sense of right and wrong,” she continued. “He embodied the very best of Marin County's spirit of progressive activism."

Marshall observed that McGlashan’s star was on the rise beyond Marin, as he’d been mentioned as a possible representative for Marin at the state and national level.

“He had way more to do on this earth than his body would allow,” Marshall said. “He died happy and we will carry on in his honor, but the loss is devastating.”


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