AC Transit candidate didn't know what areas his district represents; questioned his opponent's Asian-ness

SD10: Lily Mei has been “dodging” public candidate forums

AC Transit District 3 candidate Stewart Chen

ELECTION 2022

Days until Election Day: 34. Days until ballots are mailed: 5

AC TRANSIT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

—WRONG DIRECTION—As an Alameda Councilmember Stewart Chen was known for a periodic verbal gaffe. It was a matter of time before Chen’s run this November for the AC Transit Board of Directors was hampered by similar mistakes.

—During a candidate forum this week, Chen mistakenly described the Asian American enclaves of Chinatown and Little Saigon in Oakland as being part of the Ward 3 seat he is seeking.

John Knox White (Alameda City Councilmember) @JKW4Alameda

Alameda (and Oakland and San Leandro) voter alert! At a candidate's forum last night, AC Transit D3 Candidate Stewart Chen showed that he is totally unaware of where the district he wants to represent is located! youtube.com/clip/UgkxYrtvR… #alamtg #OakMtg #SLmtg

youtube.com✂️ Stewart Chen doesn’t know where the district he is running for is.11 seconds · Clipped by John Knox White · Original video “Senior and Disability Transit Candidates Forum” by SrDisabilityAction

—Ward 3 represents all of Alameda, San Leandro, and about half of Oakland. Chinatown and Little Saigon, however, resides in Ward 2.

—Previously, Chen claimed a historical lack of Asian American representation on the AC Transit board. However, as Alameda Councilmember John Knox White noted on Twitter, Chen’s comment is incorrect and omits several notable Asian American AC Transit boardmembers, including Alameda County Superior Court Judge Dennis Hayashi.

The area Stewart Chen described as being in Ward 3 is within the boundaries shown in the upper left corner of this map.

—Far more disconcerting is a comment Chen made last month at a private endorsement meeting. Chen described his opponent Sarah Syed as not being Asian. Syed is Pakistani-American, but describes herself as Asian American on her campaign website.

10TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT

—DEBATE DODGER—For such an important race as the 10th State Senate District, it’s surprising that Monday was the first time voters could see the two candidates answer questions at the same venue. Mei and Wahab met earlier this year during the June Primary season, along with other candidates.

—The reason is because Mei has repeatedly turned down requests to participate in candidates forums hosted by a number of civic groups.

—“I haven’t dodged a forum,” Wahab said during Monday’s forum held by the local League of Women Voters.

—In recent months Mei has avoided appearing at several Democratic clubs and Muslim-American-hosted forums.

—They include the South Alameda County Young Democrats, South Alameda County Progressive Democrats, Tri-Cities Democratic Club, San Francisco Bay Area CAIR, Muslim Community Association and the housing group Fremont for Everyone.

—Mei decision to participate in Monday’s forum may have been informed by the League of Women Voters historically organizing quite mundane sets of questions and typically forbidding any type of campaign fisticuffs. In short, their forums are boring.

MORE INSIDE:

**Below is campaign finance reports from the Sept. 24 filing deadline. Today the section includes, campaigns in Berkeley, Emeryville, Albany, Livermore, Pleasanton, and Dublin. Check back on Thursday additional campaign finance reports from other county and special district elections. Plus, today’s daily campaign finance data.