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20
ou might call her somewhat
typical – shy during her teenage
years, raised in a divorced household
with family issues, wasn’t an out-
going person at all, but perhaps what
makes Mary Nejedly Piepho less
emblematic is her love for water, and
more specifically, the Delta.
When she steps out into her
backyard, it’s all she sees; Mt. Diablo
and the Sacramento-San Joaquin
waterways that serve her family as the
perfect canvas to enjoy sunsets, take
their ski boat or Sea Doo’s out for a
spin north to Bethel Island during the
summer, and watch wildlife swim, fly,
grow and thrive.
Mary Nejedly Piepho
The woman behind the supervisor’s desk
Dipping into the Delta
by Charleen Earley
Y
“Living on the Delta is so
extraordinarily unique,” says Mary.
“Waterfront communities are very
rare and typically very expensive, so
we’re very lucky that Discovery Bay
has remained a reasonably affordable
community. One thing I particularly
love is the seasons and how they
affect our local wildlife. Whether
we want to water ski or fish in the
Delta, we thoroughly enjoy the water-
oriented ambiance.”
Serving the end of her second
term as a County Supervisor serving
District III, and having reapplied
for a third term on the Board of
Supervisors (unopposed), Mary has
called Discovery Bay home for the
last 20 years with her husband David,
a firefighter for Alameda County and
daughter Mariah.
A graduate of Las Lomas High
School in Walnut Creek, “Go
Knights!” she cheers, Mary attended
Diablo Valley Community College
taking escrow, career and other
business classes while working full
time. She did title insurance work
and escrow for 12 years and then
managed a monthly, local community
newspaper called The Clipper
Newspapers.
“I did writing, ads, bookkeeping,
page lay-out, managed content
contributors, promoted it in the
community and actually co-owned it
too,” says Mary, who is daughter of
the late State Senator John A. Nejedly.
“I then worked for Assemblywoman
Lynne Leach for five years before
I ran for the Byron Union School
Board.”
While she grew up in a political
environment, she never set out to
become a Contra Costa County
supervisor. As she puts it, “I
didn’t plan on doing this; it was
encouragement, recruitment and
passion.” In this supervisor role
for the last two terms (eight years),
she’s represented the largest of five
districts, now overseeing Antioch,
Bethel Island, Brentwood, Byron,
Mary,
(holding
Lilly) David
and Mariah
photos by Steve Nosanchuk