Quentin L. Kopp
Encyclopedia
Quentin Lewis Kopp is an American
politician
and retired judge
. He served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
and in the California State Senate
. Kopp ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of San Francisco in 1979 against Dianne Feinstein
. Kopp advocated for a controversial and costly extension of BART
to SFO
which was completed in 2003.
. He graduated from Dartmouth College
in 1949 and later from Harvard Law School
. Kopp is married to the former Mara Sikaters and has three children: his eldest son, Shepard, works for Mark Geragos
' law firm. His second son is a musician who goes by the name Stark Raving Brad and lives in San Francisco. His daughter Jennifer is the executive director of the Napa Valley Grape Growers Association.
Kopp was elected to a political office as an independent politician
, rather than as a member of a political party
. For a time, Kopp held a time slot as a radio talk show host on KGO-AM, a popular talk radio
station.
Kopp had his home phone number and address listed in the local phone book and was well known to answer at any reasonable hour. Personal replies to letters were common.
in 1971 and served until 1986, representing the conservative West Portal neighborhood.
, lost the mayor's race in 1975, she agreed not to run for mayor again and support Kopp's bid for mayor in 1979. However, in 1978, mayor George Moscone
was assassinated
along with civil rights
leader Harvey Milk
at City Hall, making Feinstein, then President of the Board of Supervisors, the new mayor.
In 1979, Kopp ran for mayor against Feinstein, but narrowly lost in a runoff election. This election also featured Jello Biafra
(singer for the punk band The Dead Kennedys
) and Sister Boom Boom (Jack Fertig).
) led them to financially support Kopp, who went on to win by just 1 percentage point. He won reelection in 1990 and 1994. Term limits prevented Kopp from seeking reelection in 1998.
, and afterward, Kopp, together with Mike Nevin
, helped push through the BART extension to San Francisco International Airport
with an airport station. In 1994, Kopp qualified an advisory ballot measure in San Francisco, Measure I, which advocated for a station inside the International Terminal. This resulted in the BART extension being built as a triangle, with the vertices being the San Bruno station at Tanforan Shopping Center, and not on the Caltrain
Right-of-Way, Millbrae (Caltrain terminal) and SFO International Terminal. To get to all the stations on the extension, the BART train has to reverse at least once. The alternative rejected by Kopp was single station at San Bruno, California
where the SFO People mover, BART and Caltrain
would share a common station.
The extension of the SFO People Mover across to the station was to be paid for as part of the traffic mitigation for the new International Terminal.
of "projects that CHSRA has identified...which can currently be commenced." The list omitted any requests for funds for two shovel ready projects: The Anaheim Station and Transbay Terminal extension in San Francisco, which would also serve as a key connection for transit riders arriving from the East Bay, following the decision to align the rail line through the South Bay and Pacheco Pass rather than the East Bay and Altamont Pass. Both the Anaheim Station and Transbay terminal projects had environmental review work completed based on input from the Authority.
At the 5 March 2009 board meeting of the Rail Authority in Sacramento, when it became clear that another rail authority board member had obtained a copy of Kopp's letter, Kopp tried to hastily cure the record. He departed from the Board's meeting agenda and attempted to conduct an ad hoc vote of those board members in attendance regarding a project list which was never provided to the public and without any advance notice, a maneuver that the Train Riders Association of California (TRAC) considers a clear and egregious violation of the Brown Act.
in San Mateo County, a short, urban freeway connector, was re-named the "Quentin L. Kopp Freeway". The road was previously named the Portola Freeway by California's State Legislature, after Gaspar de Portolà
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and retired judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
. He served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco, California, United States.-Government and politics:...
and in the California State Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
. Kopp ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of San Francisco in 1979 against Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
. Kopp advocated for a controversial and costly extension of BART
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...
to SFO
San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO...
which was completed in 2003.
Background and personal life
Kopp was born in 1928 in Syracuse, New YorkSyracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
. He graduated from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in 1949 and later from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
. Kopp is married to the former Mara Sikaters and has three children: his eldest son, Shepard, works for Mark Geragos
Mark Geragos
Mark John Geragos is an Armenian/ American criminal defense attorney who defended the musician Michael Jackson, actress Winona Ryder, politician Gary Condit, and Susan McDougal. He was also involved in the Whitewater scandal. He also represented Scott Peterson, in another trial that received...
' law firm. His second son is a musician who goes by the name Stark Raving Brad and lives in San Francisco. His daughter Jennifer is the executive director of the Napa Valley Grape Growers Association.
Kopp was elected to a political office as an independent politician
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
, rather than as a member of a political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
. For a time, Kopp held a time slot as a radio talk show host on KGO-AM, a popular talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
station.
Kopp had his home phone number and address listed in the local phone book and was well known to answer at any reasonable hour. Personal replies to letters were common.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Kopp was elected to the San Francisco Board of SupervisorsSan Francisco Board of Supervisors
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco, California, United States.-Government and politics:...
in 1971 and served until 1986, representing the conservative West Portal neighborhood.
San Francisco Mayoral bid
After his colleague and political ally, Dianne FeinsteinDianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
, lost the mayor's race in 1975, she agreed not to run for mayor again and support Kopp's bid for mayor in 1979. However, in 1978, mayor George Moscone
George Moscone
George Richard Moscone was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California, US from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 until becoming Mayor. In the Senate, he served as...
was assassinated
Moscone-Milk assassinations
The Moscone–Milk assassinations were the killings of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, who were shot and killed in San Francisco City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978...
along with civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
leader Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
at City Hall, making Feinstein, then President of the Board of Supervisors, the new mayor.
In 1979, Kopp ran for mayor against Feinstein, but narrowly lost in a runoff election. This election also featured Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
(singer for the punk band The Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
) and Sister Boom Boom (Jack Fertig).
California State Senate
In 1986, Kopp ran for California State Senate as an independent in a heavily Democratic district straddling south San Francisco and northern San Mateo counties. Republican distaste for the Democratic nominee (then Assemblyman Lou PapanLou Papan
Louis John Papan was a Democratic California politician. He was known as the "Dean of the Assembly" for his 20 years in the California State Assembly.-Early life:...
) led them to financially support Kopp, who went on to win by just 1 percentage point. He won reelection in 1990 and 1994. Term limits prevented Kopp from seeking reelection in 1998.
San Mateo County Superior Court Judge
In 1998, then-Republican Governor Pete Wilson appointed Kopp to a judgeship in San Mateo County. He served in that capacity until his retirement in 2004.Advocacy for BART extension to SFO
During his time in the California State SenateCalifornia State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
, and afterward, Kopp, together with Mike Nevin
Mike Nevin
Michael D. Nevin is a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of California.Nevin was educated at St. Ignatius High School, graduating in 1961, and at the City College of San Francisco and the University of San Francisco...
, helped push through the BART extension to San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO...
with an airport station. In 1994, Kopp qualified an advisory ballot measure in San Francisco, Measure I, which advocated for a station inside the International Terminal. This resulted in the BART extension being built as a triangle, with the vertices being the San Bruno station at Tanforan Shopping Center, and not on the Caltrain
Caltrain
Caltrain is a California commuter rail line on the San Francisco Peninsula and in the Santa Clara Valley in the United States. The northern terminus of the rail line is in San Francisco, at 4th and King streets; its southern terminus is in Gilroy...
Right-of-Way, Millbrae (Caltrain terminal) and SFO International Terminal. To get to all the stations on the extension, the BART train has to reverse at least once. The alternative rejected by Kopp was single station at San Bruno, California
San Bruno, California
San Bruno is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 41,114 at the 2010 census.The city is adjacent to San Francisco International Airport and Golden Gate National Cemetery.-Geography:San Bruno is located at...
where the SFO People mover, BART and Caltrain
Caltrain
Caltrain is a California commuter rail line on the San Francisco Peninsula and in the Santa Clara Valley in the United States. The northern terminus of the rail line is in San Francisco, at 4th and King streets; its southern terminus is in Gilroy...
would share a common station.
The extension of the SFO People Mover across to the station was to be paid for as part of the traffic mitigation for the new International Terminal.
Chairmanship
Most recently, Kopp serves as a member of the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA). As Chairman he has worked to lead statewide efforts to develop an 800-mile high speed train network linking northern and southern California with fast, reliable, and environmentally friendly trains capable of traveling at up to 220 mph (98.3 m/s). To help fund the project, Kopp led efforts to pass Proposition 1A in November 2008 - a $9.95 billion bond that has created the momentum that has led to the project receiving billions in federal funds. California's High-Speed Rail project is in line to be the first true HSR system to be built in the U.S.Transbay Terminal and Anaheim Station Funding Controversy
On 28 January 2009, without informing the CHSRA board, and sans any vote, Kopp sent a list on Rail Authority letterhead to U.S. Senator Dianne FeinsteinDianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
of "projects that CHSRA has identified...which can currently be commenced." The list omitted any requests for funds for two shovel ready projects: The Anaheim Station and Transbay Terminal extension in San Francisco, which would also serve as a key connection for transit riders arriving from the East Bay, following the decision to align the rail line through the South Bay and Pacheco Pass rather than the East Bay and Altamont Pass. Both the Anaheim Station and Transbay terminal projects had environmental review work completed based on input from the Authority.
At the 5 March 2009 board meeting of the Rail Authority in Sacramento, when it became clear that another rail authority board member had obtained a copy of Kopp's letter, Kopp tried to hastily cure the record. He departed from the Board's meeting agenda and attempted to conduct an ad hoc vote of those board members in attendance regarding a project list which was never provided to the public and without any advance notice, a maneuver that the Train Riders Association of California (TRAC) considers a clear and egregious violation of the Brown Act.
Quentin L. Kopp Freeway
Interstate 380Interstate 380 (California)
Interstate 380 is a short 3.3-mile east–west spur Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California, connecting Interstate 280 in San Bruno to U.S. Route 101 near the San Francisco International Airport . The highway primarily consists of only three intersections:...
in San Mateo County, a short, urban freeway connector, was re-named the "Quentin L. Kopp Freeway". The road was previously named the Portola Freeway by California's State Legislature, after Gaspar de Portolà
Gaspar de Portolà
Gaspar de Portolà i Rovira was a soldier, governor of Baja and Alta California , explorer and founder of San Diego and Monterey. He was born in Os de Balaguer, province of Lleida, in Catalonia, Spain, of Catalan nobility. Don Gaspar served as a soldier in the Spanish army in Italy and Portugal...
.