Black Fremont councilwoman said mayor's Black History Month snub was political payback
Alameda County's 'new normal' Covid-19 era is here quicker than anticipated; Bonta’s tough talk
—BLACK HISTORY SNUB—Fremont Mayor Lily Mei’s is gaining a reputation for alienating minority groups. First, came the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee formally repudiating Mei for past anti-LGBT votes, now the African American community is upset with her. Mei was harshly criticized by a number of African American speakers at a Fremont City Council meeting on Tuesday who said she snubbed the lone Black councilmember’s attempt to put a Black History Month resolution on the council’s agenda.
—Amid a call to action prior to the meeting for African American groups to voice their discontent with Mei’s decision to ignore Councilmember Teresa Cox’s resolution, Mei, instead, read her own Black History Month resolution on Tuesday night. Afterwards, Cox criticized Mei, saying the mayor received her resolution on Jan. 31, and was subsequently ignored. While Mei’s resolution was a fairly general resolution, Cox’s specifically referenced Ohlone Community College and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. “It was very rude to not be responded to after all this time–this is not acceptable,” Cox said. Mei claimed she responded to Cox’s request, but Cox said she did not. Cox also asserted on Tuesday night that Mei purposefully ignored the resolution request as payback for Cox recently endorsing Mei’s state senate opponent, Hayward Councilmember Aisha Wahab.
—The controversy appeared somewhat minimized for Mei until two councilmembers, and the city’s interim city attorney repeatedly interrupted Cox as she described grievances with Mei’s handling of the resolution. Councilmember Yang Shao twice interrupted Cox by calling for a point of order. Councilmember Rick Jones then abruptly called for a recess. None of requests were answered by Mei. Interim City Attorney Debra Margolis, however, forcefully asked Cox to discontinue her comments. Margolis claimed the issue had not been agendized.
—A number of speakers repeatedly focused on the council’s treatment of Cox. Sara Prada, a Hayward school boardmember, dressed down Mei and the council, calling their actions against Cox disrespectful. “It’s shameful to see the Fremont City Council act like this toward your only Black councilwoman. I understand how that feels as a Black woman in politics and you need to do better,” Prada said. “I really hope that Mayor Mei can really do some deep thought and reconciliation, especially if you want to go for higher office. You need to respect a representative of the Black community on your council and I hope you all really think about that.”
MORE IN THIS ISSUE: ALCO’s Masking Change of Heart | States Support Berkeley’s Natural Gas Ordinance | OUSD Gets An ‘F’ | Alex Lee’s New Bill | Badass Bonta | Datebook |
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to East Bay Insiders Newsletter to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.