Councilmember Gina Papan

Three-term former Millbrae Mayor Gina Papan is unwavering in her commitment to serving the needs of the most vulnerable Californians and the people of Millbrae.

The granddaughter of immigrants who came to America seeking a better life, Gina grew up in Millbrae and graduated from Capuchino High School and the University of California, Santa Barbara, obtaining a degree in Business Economics. She earned her law degree from McGeorge School of Law and later completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government.

As your Millbrae City Councilmember, Gina champions disaster preparedness, community health, public safety, and quality of life services that protect children, families, local businesses, and economic vitality.

Gina has supported our local small businesses during these challenging times; helped bring new businesses to our City; instituted systems to help the environment and keep our local water supply safe and clean; installed more street lights and bike lanes; expanded programs for kids and Safe Routes to School; developed policies to support water efficiency; and protected our Police, Fire, Disaster Preparedness, Emergency Health Response, 211 and 911 services. She was instrumental in keeping Millbrae’s local fire stations open, obtaining land designated for a Millbrae dog park, and continues to work on restoring Millbrae’s community center for families and residents of all ages to enjoy.

Gina is a recognized leader for Millbrae’s interests regionally—fighting for the City’s fair share of resources and improving public transportation, a necessary strategy to reduce traffic. A Metropolitan Transportation Commissioner, she was recently appointed to serve on the Blue Ribbon Transit Recovery Task Force.

A California Deputy Attorney General and former Deputy Director of a state agency, Gina helped establish “Amber Alert” to locate missing children, funded programs to fight against elder and child abuse and established safe routes to schools, and worked to create legislation establishing children’s waiting rooms in courthouses to shelter and care for children whose parents come to court.  She has served on the School Violence Prevention and Response Task Force, the Child Abduction (Amber Alert) Task Force, and as a legislative adviser to the High Technology Crime Advisory Committee.

In her spare time, Gina is a Director of John’s Closet, a community nonprofit that has assisted over 20,000 underprivileged children and their families with free clothing, other basic needs, and scholarships.