Fremont fisticuffs

Fremont mayoral candidate makes 'no developer money' pledge; Two Oakland chiefs of staff file for open District 7 seat; About that Coliseum deal, county supes meet today to discuss lawsuit

Fremont mayoral candidates: Raj Salwan and Vinnie Bacon.

ELECTION 2024

84 days to Election Day

FREMONT MAYOR

—OPEN SEASON—It’s only August and the campaign for Fremont’s open mayoral seat is in full battle mode.

—In fact, Fremont Councilmember Raj Salwan and former Fremont Councilmember Vinnie Bacon have been trading barbs on social media for most of the summer.

—Bacon’s campaign thus far has been about rehashing a stump speech that has work well for him over the years, calling out opponents who accept money from housing developers.

—The strategy worked well a decade ago, but with a chronic housing shortage in Fremont and all over the Bay Area, portraying housing developers as boogeymen has lost some potency.

—It didn’t work so well during Bacon’s bid for county supervisor four years ago.

—But Bacon’s incessant linking of Salwan to housing developers and calling out Salwan, himself, as a big-time local landlords, appears to have unnerved his opponent.

—Last week, Salwan announced a “no developer money” pledge. In the announcement, Salwan said he had not accepted campaign contributions since 2016.

—Nonetheless, the move counts as a small victory for Bacon.

—Conversely, Salwan’s move potentially takes Bacon’s well-honed campaign stump speech off the table.

PRICE RECALL

—PODCAST PREVIEW—Look out for the next episode of the East Bay Insiders Podcast on Wednesday with our special guest Brenda Grisham, the co-leader of the DA Pamela Price recall.

—We sat down with Grisham in San Leandro to talk about the recall, how it began, her interactions with Price, and why the recall effort has resonated with the public.

—411 on the 510—Become an East Bay Insiders subscriber today and get full access to the inside scoop every weekday morning at 6 a.m. It’s what the insiders read.

MORE INSIDE:

• ELECTION 2024: Candidates begin flocking to suddenly open Oakland D7 seat

• Bas’ supe campaign locks down Berkeley’s biggest endorsements

• It safe again for candidates to tout police union support

• Who pulled papers on Monday as the filing deadline is extended to Wednesday

• Campaign finance by the numbers: Oakland official gives himself a big donation

• COUNTY NEWS: Supes closed session involves lawsuit that could block county’s sale of Coliseum to A’s