Questions follow former Fremont city manager’s charges of embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds
Last East Bay Republican mayor dies
CITY NEWS
FREMONT
—CHARGES—Former Fremont City Manager Mark Danaj was charged with embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds. The Alameda County District Attorney’s office filed the charges last February and he was arraigned on Mar. 9, both events were first reported on Wednesday by the East Bay Times.
—Danaj was abruptly fired last September from the city manager post he had held in Fremont since 2019. The Fremont City Council’s reason at the time for the Danaj’s dismissal was muted. Around the same time as his dismissal was news reports of Danaj’s arrest in San Francisco for alleged domestic violence. The two events allowed some to link them. The domestic violence case was later dismissed.
—Danaj made more than $18,000 in unauthorized purchases using a city credit card, according to the DA’s office. The transactions began just after his hiring in 2019 through March 2021.
—A number of questions are being raised about the new charges against Danaj. First and foremost, what about the nearly $300,000 severance package the city council approved for Danaj following his dismissal last fall? Danaj’s contract stipulated he would receive a one-year severance package only if fired by the city council. However, the city suggested at the time that Danaj had offered his resignation.
—What was Fremont councilmember’s rationale for offering the severance when the allegation against Danaj posed such a threat to the confidence of the public? Did they know at the time? Fremont Mayor Lily Mei is also a candidate for the open 10th State Senate District seat his June. What was her involvement in this process? Why did Fremont councilmembers hire Danaj in the first place when it was known he had been recently fired in Manhattan Beach?
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