What is going on in Fremont? Third high-ranking public safety officer alleged retaliation for speaking out
Oakland voters approved the right for underage voters to participate in school board elections, but the county registrar can't find a vendor to do the job
CITY NEWS
FREMONT
—WHERE THERE’S SMOKE…—A Fremont Fire Department division chief with three decades of services to the community raised concerns in 2016 over the treatment of a female trainee and was retaliated against for speaking out, according to a lawsuit.
—In a 26-tweet thread posted on Twitter last week, Diane Hendry said the city of Fremont settled her lawsuit for $2.6 million. “I am sharing what happened to shine a light on how corrupt and mismanaged city government is,” Hendry tweeted.
—“Employees rarely bring issues to light for fear of retaliation and derailing careers, which is precisely what happened to me. Rather than fix the problem, which it had every opportunity to do, Fremont settled with me for 2.6 million dollars.”
—Hendry’s lawsuit is the third known complaint filed by a high-ranking member of public safety in Fremont.
—Fremont Police Capt. Fred Bobbitt, who once served briefly as acting police chief, filed a lawsuit against the city for retaliation and racial discrimination before his death in February 2022. Bobbitt’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit last month against the city and Fremont Mayor Lily Mei.
—Also last month, Fremont Police Det. Michael Gebhardt filed a lawsuit against the city alleging retaliation by police brass after he spoke out against the illegal recordings of juvenile detainees in Fremont and their attorneys. Gebhardt, a former president of the Fremont Police Officers Association, also testified on behalf of Bobbitt’s claims against the city, he said.
—The allegations in Hendry’s lawsuit follows a similar basic theme to complaints filed by Bobbitt and Gebhardt. A high-ranking public safety official spoke out against alleged wrongdoing, the complaint placed the possibility of accountability to others in their respective departments, and a systemic strategy of retaliation against the whistleblower commenced.
—In 2016, Hendry was tasked with investigating the termination of a female fire recruit from the fire department’s training academy. After further review, Hendry determined the female recruit actually passed the tests. Two members of the training team later retired.
—“In the immediate aftermath of the discipline, forced retirements, and the female firefighter's reinstatement, I became the target of a campaign of retaliation and was widely blamed by members of the department for what happened,” Hendry wrote.
—Hendry was transferred from Fire to Police in 2018 by then-Fremont Police Chief Kim Peterson, according to the lawsuit. Hendry described the arrangement as a “safe haven” in a tweet. Numerous attempts for reinstatement to the fire department were later rebuffed, Hendry tweeted.
—“City staff doubled down in retaliating against me after I filed the lawsuit, and instead of addressing the problems in the Fire Department, they circled the wagons and made the situation worse,” Hendry wrote.
—MAYOR MEI MESS—All three lawsuits alleging retaliation by Fremont city leaders occurred during Fremont Mayor Mei’s tenure, an era in which the insular nature of Fremont’s city government has become more entrenched in secrecy and avoiding accountability and transparency.
—In Gebhardt’s complaint, he alleges Mei told him that personal photos she had sent to an Alameda County elected official was being used as extortion and blackmail against her. The complaint also alleges that then-Fremont Police Chief Peterson illegally instructed Mei to record conversations with the person who extorted her. Gebhardt not only started a criminal investigation into the alleged blackmail and extortion, but also alerted the FBI, he said in the lawsuit.
—UNANSWERED QUESTIONS—What happened next? It’s unclear. Did Mei record the conversations with the alleged blackmailer? If so, did the alleged blackmailer repeat his demand to Mei? Above all, if Fremont officials knew about this alleged incident, did they launch an investigation? Inform the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, or the FBI?
—Most worrisome, at this point, is if these alleged acts of retaliation happened to a police captain, police union president, and division chief at the fire department, then what happens to rank-and-file cops and firefighters in Fremont when they speak out to their supervisors?
COUNTY NEWS
—REGISTRAR ADDESSES SUPES—Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis has faced some serious heat in recent months. Conservatives thinks the county’s voting machines are rigged. Others have pointed out a history of inept incidents that may have had its roots in a lack of training, along with a lack of transparency when it comes to the vote-counting process.
—But the heat is noticeably not coming from Dupuis’ bosses at the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. Last week, Dupuis answered numerous questions from county supervisors, but most were leading questions placed a tee for the embattled registrar.
—Rather than take accountability for the slow vote-counting process or the growing discontent in Oakland over ranked choice voting, Dupuis characterized his office as merely a contractor in the election process. City clerks in Alameda County are election officials for each city, Dupuis said. The county registrar’s office is merely paid to conduct the election.
—Both true. But when San Leandro forgot to add a school board election to this fall’s ballot, and necessitated a second ballot for some San Leandro voters, the registrar’s office did not offered much a backstop to locate the error before it was too late.
—UNDERAGE VOTING IN OAKLAND—Two years ago, Oakland approved Measure QQ to allow 16- and 17-year olds the right to vote in school board elections. The registrar’s office, however, has been unable to deliver on the voters will.
—Dupuis said finding an election vendor with software able to allow for underage voters has been problematic. Voting machine vendors are worried that adding a module to existing software already approved by the state could put its certification in jeopardy, Dupuis said.
—Further limiting the matter, when it comes to ranked choice voting, Dominion Voting Systems is the only vendor that is certified in California to run the election software required to tabulate the unique voting system . Four Alameda County cities use ranked choice voting—Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Leandro. San Francisco County is the only other place in California that uses ranked choice voting.
—CHANGES IN 2024?—In the days after the Nov. 8 General Election, the registrar’s office had arrested the Republican candidate on the fall ballot in the 13th Congressional District. Alison Hayden, who lost to Rep. Eric Swalwell last November, had been complaining for some time about the inability of residents to gain closer access to the vote-counting process.
—Dupuis told county supervisors he hopes to supplement the number of video cameras that can be accessed by anyone who wants to monitor the voting-counting process online. Dupuis may also modify the layout of the space for better viewing. There is also some question about whether constituents like Hayden are observers or acting as auditors of the vote-counting process. Dupuis said he will ask the state Secretary of State’s office for guidance on the matter.
Program note: Starting tomorrow through Friday, I’ll break down the year that was. Also, look for an end-of-the year podcast later this week. No newsletter on Monday, Jan. 2. I’ll kickoff the new year next Tuesday.