The Fremont City Council has chosen planning commissioner David Bonaccorsi to finish out the remaining two terms of Lily Mei, who vacated her seat after being elected mayor in November. Bonaccorsi was one of eight applicants in the running, but he almost didn’t get through. Only after an initial tie and several failed motions did the council select him for the seat.
The East Bay Citizen explains how the final decision occurred.
The likelihood of Bonaccorsi winning the seat appeared remote after the initial vote featuring weighted votes for the top three candidates of each council member. The tally delivered only a pair of third-place votes for Bonaccorsi by way of Mei and Bacon.
Fremont activist Kathryn McDonald and Craig Steckler, a former Fremont police chief, both received a pair of first place votes, but also split the four remaining councilmembers.
The effort began looking hopeless—so hopeless, in fact, that Councilman Bacon joked about flipping a coin.
As the possibility of a deadlocked council neared, Bacon then motioned for Bonaccorsi and gained the vote of Jones to break the tie, 3-1. Salwan voted no.
The council’s newest member has served on the Planning Commission for the past 10 years, but had reached the end of his term. This was his second attempt at a council appointment.
Read more about Tuesday’s vote with actual tallies here.