State Assembly races is shaping up as a East-West contest
New sheriff's substation being planned; Dublin discusses Building Trades agreement
—ELECTION 2022 UPDATE—A top-tier candidate from the newest portion of the redistricted 20th Assembly District announced his intentions to run the open seat in Central and Southern Alameda County. Dublin Councilmember Shawn Kumagai declared his candidacy for the June primary on Tuesday morning. He joins Alameda County labor leader Liz Ortega-Toro and Jennifer Esteen, a progressive first-time candidate.
“I’m running for Assembly because we need trusted leaders who have the experience and judgment to take on our community’s biggest challenges and find solutions,” said Kumagai. ”From issues such as fully funding education, the housing affordability crisis, health care and child care, to criminal justice reform and helping our local businesses recover from COVID-19, I have worked on these issues as a Councilmember and Policy Advisor in the California Legislature.”
Much can be gathered from Kumagai’s press release. He plans to feature his Naval service, the potential to be the district’s first LGBT assemblymember, the new 20th District’s roughly one-third Asian American demographic, and that Kumagai is currently the only elected official in the field. He is also district director for 16th District Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan.
There is a growing sense that the race in AD20 to replace the retiring Assemblymember Bill Quirk might come down to a contest between Ortega-Toro and Kumagai. Such as race would set up an often divisive East-West battle between Ortega-Toro, who is likely to reach out to the large percentage of Latino voters in the San Leandro-Hayward-Tri-Cities portion of the district, and Kumagai, who represents new district voters in the Tri-Valley.
In addition, interest in the seat from Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez and former San Leandro Councilmember Ed Hernandez appears to be waning, and no other big-name potential candidate is known to be exploring a run.
CITY & COUNTY NEWS
Alameda County is in the early stages of identifying a site to build a new Eden Township substation and dispatch center for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department. The substation, which is basically the police station for unincorporated Alameda County, is currently located on 1500 Foothill Boulevard. But the facility was built in 1953. “It’s antiquated. It’s old. We need a new facility,” Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley said on Tuesday.
The Alameda County Board of Supevisors approved a programming study for the project worth $181,000. Miley strongly urged that the new substation should remain in the unincorporated areas, which could be constructed in the five years. Miley hinted he has a preferred site in mind, but did not elaborate on its locaction.
AGENDA NOTES
FREMONT
—GPS DARTS—Few city governments in Alameda County give more deference to their police force than Fremont does. Even before the perception that crime is on a steep rise, Fremont police have typically been allowed unfettered use of almost every tool in the proverbial toolbox. On Tuesday, comes a new tool for Fremont Police. The council is prepared to use $193,000 in Citizens Option for Public Safety (COPS) grant funding to purchase from StarChase, LLC, 29 police car-mounted cannons that shoot GPS darts a fleeing vehicles. The device theoretically cuts down on often dangerous police pursuits. But there are serious questions about the device. One being reports in other cities that the darts don’t always successfully attach to the intended target. The other is suspects have gotten wise to the tactic and simply remove the GPS dart. There is also a significant question of privacy, including whether police are allowed to attach GPS devices without a warrant. As was the case with surveillance technology, including the approval years ago of video cameras at freeway entrance and exit points, the issue of privacy is almost always a superfluous discussion in Fremont. Don’t expect much public pushback tonight.
DUBLIN
—UNION AGREEMENT—A Community Workforce Agreement between the City of Dublin and the Building and Construction Trades Council of Alameda County comes before the city council on Tuesday. The pact, negotiated since late 2020, covers public works projects valued at $1 million or more. The Community Workforce Agreement has been controversial in Dublin. In addition, city staff has balked at the cost of an estimated $1.25 million over the life of the five-year agreement… Dublin councilmembers will also finalized a legislative platform for 2022. Among the items is staff recommending resistance to district-based elections. The five-person Dublin City Council, like Alameda and Hayward, has avoided making the move to district-based elections that Union City and Livermore were recently forced to make.
DATEBOOK
—FIRST LOOK: ALCO DA—Alameda County District Attorney virtual candidate forum hosted by Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA), Wednesday, Jan. 12, 6 p.m. Register for the webinar here.
NEWS BRIEFING
—MADDEN PRAISED—NFL great and Pleasanton resident John Madden was honored in Congress on Tuesday, KTVU reports. Rep. Eric Swalwell, who represents Pleasanton, led the appreciation for the beloved coach. A public memorial for Madden will be held for Madden in Oakland on Feb. 15.
—COVID IN SCHOOLS—More than 500 Hayward students have been infected with Covid-19, leading the school district to institute remote-learning, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Last week, Oakland school teachers held a “sickout” to protest of the lack of protective equipment and protocols for the variant.
—TEST-KIT ALERT—State Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a consumer alert over the weekend following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order on price-gouging involving Covid-19 test-kits. The order prohibits sellers from offering the test-kits for greater than 10 percent the price offered on Dec. 1, 2021. Steep price increases are occurring as demand for the test-kits have skyrocketed following the significant spread of the Omicron variant.