Lily Mei named in wrongful death lawsuit filed by family of Fremont police officer; Ethics complaint filed against Sheng Thao

ALCO supervisorial race heats up with Kaplan and Tam jousting over public safety; Is Bas looking in the rearview mirror?

10th State Senate District candidate Lily Mei.

ELECTION 2022

Days until Election Day: 8.

10TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT/FREMONT

—BOBBITT LAWSUIT—Fremont Mayor Lily Mei is named in a wrongful death lawsuit involving Fremont police officer Freddie Bobbitt. The complaint alleges the City of Fremont, former City Manager Mark Danaj, former Police Chief Kim Peterson, and other officials, including Mei, are responsible for Bobbitt’s death in February 2022.

—The lawsuit alleges Bobbitt was the victim of retaliation after he “corrected Danaj on his mischaracterization of the Police Department and the Police Union,” according to a press release by the Bobbitt family. Later, Bobbitt was urged to retire with a full pension. When he did not, Bobbitt was demoted, the family said.

—Bobbitt’s brother, Ray Bobbitt, who is part of the effort to bring a WNBA team to Oakland, alleged during a city council meeting this summer that Mei was complicit in his brother’s downfall, resulting stress, and subsequent death earlier this year.

—Ray Bobbitt also suggested in public comments last June that Mei helped coverup misconduct by Danaj, who was charged with embezzlement of public funds earlier this year, after receiving a $350,000 severance package from the city.

OAKLAND MAYOR

—ETHICS COMPLAINT FILED—LeAna Powell, the former Oakland City Council aide to Councilmember Sheng Thao who alleges she was fired because of her unwillingness to work on Thao’s mayoral campaign, filed a complaint last week with the Oakland Public Ethics Commission.

—In a bombshell interview with Oakland vlogger Zennie Abraham, Powell described Thao’s council office and campaign as a toxic workplace environment, and said she was instructed by Thao’s office to use unofficial forms of communication, such as the encrypted messaging app, Signal, for council and campaign matters.

—Powell’s allegations are significant. If Thao wins the Oakland mayoral race next month, the fallout from the allegations, if proven, will hover over her future young administration.

ALAMEDA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

—LOVE ACTUALLY—Lena Tam continues to press her opponent, Rebecca Kaplan, on the issue of public safety. Tam told Kaplan over the weekned that she’s “gaslighting” voters.” In one of the surprisingly few direct spats between candidates in this East Bay election season, Tam responded to a tweet posted by Kaplan, in which the Oakland councilmember rebuts criticism that she attempted to cut the Oakland Police Department’s budget two years ago.

—Kaplan, like other members of the Oakland City Council who sought to drastically cut OPD’s budget, focused on the end result of the debate which resulted in an increase in funding, and sidestepped the well-publicized proposal to cut police funding by 50 percent over a two-year period.

—“Actually,” Kaplan tweeted, “the Oakland Police budget was increased by $18 million in that budget. And, any case, county supervisors do not control police budgets. So my opponent is willing to lie—both about what happened and what supervisors actually do.’

—Tam responded, “Actually, you wanted to defund OPD by 50%. Only reason it wasn’t drastically cut was that you were on the losing side of a 5-4 vote to do so. Own your vote, @Kaplan4Oakland. if you changed your mind, say so, but don’t pretend it never happened. You’re gaslighting people.”

—Kaplan’s assertion that county supervisors do not control police budget is totally false. In fact, because the county sheriff is elected by the people, the Alameda County Board of Supervisor’s only check on the Sheriff’s Department is its budget.

—WE NEED REAL DEBATES—Why is this spirited, open-ended debate between Kaplan and Tam occurring one week before Election Day and on Twitter, and not on at a dais somewhere in late September? We need proper debates in Alameda County. Informational candidates forums favored by groups like the League of Women Voters do nothing to help voters compare and contrasts voters.

—These forums only suit incumbents and candidates with the most money and institutional support. How about creating an independent body to hold proper debates across Alameda County? Throw a few lecterns on a stage or at a local community center and let the candidates go at it. Literally sitting in the political arena in open verbal conflict is the only place where voters can truly discern what candidate believes and if they can show their true mettle under pressure.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Shawn Kumagai channeling student body presidential candidate Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite.

—VOTE FOR PEDRO—Shawn Kumagai, who is in a highly-competitive race in the 20th Assembly District, brought a lighter side to what has, at times, been a rough-and-tumble fall campaign. Kumagai canvassed over the weekend dressed as the Napoleon Dynamite character Pedro. Recall that in the movie the insurgent candidate Pedro wins the election for class president.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE NOTES

—REARVIEW MIRROR-WATCHING—For someone most insiders believed is a strong incumbent candidate, Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas has been active lately in the spending column. For context, Bas’ spending is not particularly large, but her re-election should have been a cake walk. But it isn’t and is necessitating a late push against challenger Harold Lowe.

—DRUNK WITH SPENDING—Livermore’s contentious mayoral and city council races are seeing the biggest outlays of any Alameda County city outside of Oakland. Last Friday, a group backing slow-growth candidates named Take Back Livermore unleashed some big spending. A pro-housing group named Livermore Forward, responded today in kind, although the spending is significantly less than Take Back Livermore.

—LATE BOOST IN U.C.—Union City Council candidate Vipan Bajwa’s campaign for the District 2 seat received a $10,000 boost from the candidate himself..

MORE INSIDE:

• Daily campaign finance data