Did Fremont Mayor Lily Mei approve new police and fire contracts because they maxed out contributions to her state senate campaign?
Barack D. Obama is running for Alameda mayor; Kaplan becomes a mother; Alameda County places Ag land-use measure on the fall ballot
CITY NEWS
FREMONT
—BUDGET HOLE—Fremont officials last week approved large salary and benefit increases for its police officers, firefighters, and several other city employee unions without a clue how they would balance the budget in the near future.
—Fremont police officers and firefighters, alone, last week received a 17 percent salary increase spread out over the next three years. The estimated cost, according to city staff, totals $12 million.
—But city leaders, including Fremont Mayor Lily Mei, offered no ideas for how they intend to balance the budget, either through cuts to city services or deferring some planned spending.
—Fremont Councilmember Jenny Kassan continually pressed her colleagues, specifically Mei, to offer solutions. “It just seems to me the public deserves to know what their elected officials plan to cut,” Kassan said. The sentiment was also expressed by Councilmember Teresa Keng. Kassan later hinted two new positions at the police department and a new fire company could now be on the chopping block.
—Mei largely sidestepped the question and placed onus on city staff to identify potential budget strategies.
—Kassan continued to press Mei, saying she was concerned the new labor contracts, adding millions to the budget, were approved without taking into account a potentially serious recession on the horizon. “It sounds to me like you’re saying you haven’t given any thought to what we would cut,” Kassan told Mei.
—The onslaught continue after Kassan suggested Mei supported the new contracts because each group—unions representing Fremont police officers and firefighters—maxed out contributions to Mei’s state senate campaign last spring. “Is that appropriate to be negotiating when they have given you money for your senate campaign?” Kassan asked.
—Annoyed, Mei said the contributions were not pertinent to the council’s decision. “I certainly have thought about what are the areas, but not seeing the complete picture yet, I don’t think it would be my place to decide which areas,” Mei responded.
—Fremont City Manager Karena Shackelford, however, said cuts to some areas of the recently approved fiscal year budget can be expected. “I have not come to any conclusion on those items yet,” Shackelford told the council, but added, “I have no doubt, let me say, that we will be able to balance the budget, but it will very likely be at the expense of some things that we were anticipating happening.”
OAKLAND
—BABY MAKES THREE—Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan and her wife Kirthi, welcomed an addition to her family on Monday. “We are overjoyed to welcome our wonderful daughter,” Kaplan said on social media. It will surely be a hectic next few months for the couple. In addition, to a newborn, Kaplan is also running for Alameda County Supervisor this fall.
—MONKEYPOX—As the Covid-19 pandemic is winding down, Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan has consistently urged for incremental steps toward normalcy, for example, regarding the relaxing of indoor mask mandates. Kaplan is applying the same medical prudence to monkeypox.
—In an open letter last Friday, Kaplan, along with other East Bay and LGBTQ+ officials, called for state and federal agencies to make the monkeypox vaccine more readily available to the public. Kaplan worries public sentiment is implying the spread of monkeypox only affects LGBTQ+ communities.
—“We must avoid repeating some of the same mistakes which took place early in the AIDS pandemic,” Kaplan wrote, “in which some communications suggested that only LGBTQ+ people were at risk, and thus, exacerbated prejudice and discrimination, while also worsening the spread of disease since others were given the impression they did not need to take precautions."
DUBLIN
—DISTRICT-BASED ELECTIONS—Dublin is about to become the latest city to move from at-large council elections to the district-based variety. The potential final iteration of five proposed council districts comes before the Dublin City Council on Tuesday night. If approved at the Aug. 16 meeting, the changes will go into effect starting with the November 2024 elections.
—Some of the proposed maps would put two current councilmembers in the same council district. These maps are centered in the western half of the city that includes Councilmembers Jean Josey, Shawn Kumagai, and Michael McCorriston. Josey is up for re-election to the council this fall, and Kumagai would have been, but is instead running for the 20th Assembly District.
COUNTY NEWS
UNINCORPORATED ALAMEDA COUNTY
—A planning change for Alameda County’s agricultural areas, long sought by Supervisor Nate Miley, will come before voters this fall. Measure D, a land-use initiative approved by voters in 2000, was intended to limit growth in the agricultural areas near Castro Valley and eastward. The ballot measure this fall will more than double the floor area ratio allowed under Measure D from 0.01 to .025, if approved by voters.
—Specifically, the ballot measure appears geared toward expanding the size of one type of building—equestrian arenas—and a single local insider. Chuck Moore, the owner of unincorporated Castro Valley’s Graceland Equestrian Center, who has long pushed for amending Measure D, would benefit from the change in land-use rules.
—Moore is a large donor to Miley’s re-election campaigns and holds an annual fundraiser for Miley at his property. Moore is also a member of the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council, a quasi-government body whose members are hand-selected by Miley.
—Oddly, the Sierra Club, which has been a big player in this discussion for nearly a decade, is currently not taking a position on the ballot measure. The county’s planning commission unanimously backed placing the Measure D amendment measure on the fall ballot.
—“It’s been a long, long journey to get to this point,” Miley said. Measure D has constrained agriculture in Alameda County, Miley added. “This allows them to be competitive, but does not open the areas to development,” he added.
—Supervisor Keith Carson was the lone opposition to placing the measure on the ballot, while raising questions about whether equestrian arenas should be defined as an agricultural use.
ELECTION 2022
DRESSING DOWN: Alameda County District Attorney candidates Terry Wiley and Pamela Price on Monday addressing the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club in Oakland.
—SIGN-UPS—The November filing period opened on Monday. Some early birds have already filed. In Alameda, incumbent Councilmember Tony Daysog filed, as did, former Councilmember Jim Oddie, and newcomers Paul Beusterien and Bill Pai. Two at-large council seat are available this November
—AUDACITY OF NOPE—This feels like big news. Barack Obama is running for Alameda mayor. Obviously, it’s not the 44th president of the United States because Alamedans would have already complained about traffic created by the secret service. This candidate is Barack Denzel Obama Shaw, according to a filing with the Alameda City Clerk’s office on Monday. A quick LinkedIn review shows he’s a political consultant. Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft is running for a second term in office this fall.
—LIFE OF BRYAN—San Leandro Councilmember Bryan Azevedo has long waited for the opportunity to official file for mayor. Azevedo posted news of his filing on Monday. For context, the first-term councilmember formed a campaign committee way back on Sept. 13, 2021. In the meantime, Azevedo’s campaign yard signs have littered the city for nearly as long.
