9) Fremont City Races
In Fremont, the Bay Area’s fourth largest city, seven candidates will be running for two seats on the City Council in the November election. One of the seats belongs to Suzanne Lee Chan, who is termed out at the end of the year. Councilman Vinnie Bacon, whose seat will also be up, is seeking re-election to a second term. In addition, Bill Harrison will seek re-election to the Mayor’s office against Lily Mei, who hopes to become the city’s first female mayor and the first of Chinese descent.
The Candidates:
Mayor:
-Bill Harrison, Mayor of Fremont
-Lily Mei, City Council member, Vice Mayor
City Council:
-Vinnie Bacon, City Council member
-Marty Froomin, software developer
-Kathy Kimberlin, Human resources administrative assistant
-Laurie Manuel, operations manager at an SF mortgage company
-Raj Salwan, veterinarian
-Rakesh Sharma, President of Indo-Americans for Better Community
-Cullen Tiernan, former Marine and communications representative
The Numbers:
Total Voters: 100,205 (47% Dem., 15% Rep., 36% Indep.)
Racial Make-up: 29% Asian, 11% Latino, 14% East Indian
What are we watching?
City Council Elections:
The City of Fremont often gets lost in the conversation about Bay Area cities with most of the attention paid to San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Palo Alto. Situated on the perimeter of Silicon Valley, the city has become a destination for commercial growth with the recently announced Tesla factory expansion being a prime example. The health of the city’s finances is relatively positive compared to others in the state. The city’s general fund carries a $386 million debt for city worker pensions and retiree health care, yet the past five years has seen a 37 percent improvement in the debt through commercial expansion and more prudent budget management. (East Bay Times).
This year’s city council race finds seven candidates vying for two seats, including the seat made vacant by term limits for Suzanne Lee Chan. Vinnie Bacon will seek a second term on the council after an impressive showing in his 2012 bid. In 2012, Mr. Bacon made two promises to constituents-to reject campaign donations from developers and to reject new residential developments if nearby schools cannot adequately meet expectations. (East Bay Times) Thus far, Mr. Bacon has made good on these promises and his campaign is centered on maintaining a pragmatic and transparent approach. He currently boasts endorsements from Fremont Unified District Teachers Association, Fremont Police Officers Association, Fremont Firefighters, and the Northern CA District Council of the ILWU among many others. Unless there is a major surprise, Mr. Bacon should easily achieve re-election in November. (Vinnie Bacon)
With Mr. Bacon’s re-election chances looking almost assured, that leaves six candidates vying to fill Ms. Lee Chan’s open seat. Among the six are two candidates with experience in city council elections and an ex-Marine with unexpected political leanings.
Raj Salwan is the current chairman of the Fremont Planning Commission and served previously on the city council form 2013-2014 as an appointed replacement after Bill Harrison was elected Mayor. He lost his 2014 bid for election to the council by a mere 868 votes. Mr. Salwan’s campaign is centered on addressing the improvement of public safety by investing in technology to assist police and firefighters, continuing to attract business and improving collaboration between development and the school district. (East Bay Times)
Joining Mr. Salwan is fellow Indian-American Rakesh Sharma. 2016 will mark Mr. Sharma’s fourth attempt at the city council as he fell short in 2004, 2012, and 2014 (he finished 8th out of 10 candidates in his most recent attempt). Mr. Sharma is a former member of the city planning commission and was integral in the creation of the city’s General Plan 2030. (East Bay Times)
The last candidate to keep an eye out for in the city council race is Cullen Tiernan. Mr. Tiernan is a former Marine who spent time in Iraq’s Al-Anbar province but aligns politically with Bernie Sanders. Mr. Tiernan is focusing on improving transparency in government, investing in renewable energy and preserving green spaces in the city. He has been endorsed by Vinnie bacon and the pair recently ran into issues when it was found that Mr. Bacon had violated campaign finance rules by donation to Mr. Tiernan’s campaign. (East Bay Times)
Mayoral Race
The race for the Mayor’s seat features two faces familiar to Fremont residents with diverging views on how development has shaped the city. Bill Harrison was twice elected to the city council before winning the Mayor’s seat in 2012 by 1,412 votes (a 2.2% margin of victory). Mr. Harrison measures his first term a success due to the development of major projects that are slowly creating a downtown that the city has lacked since its founding. He also makes the point that his re-election will enable him to secure additional funding for the city from regional and state organizations. Mr. Harrison’s campaign has not been shy about the fact it will accept donations from developers and he is adamant that it will have no impact on how he governs. “For anyone that thinks a campaign donation is going to sway me on a vote, or decide how I’m going to vote, not going to happen,” he told the East Bay Times. The Police Officers and the Firefighters Union, Fremont Chamber of Commerce and Congressman Eric Swalwell have endorsed Mr. Harrison.
Facing off against Harrison is the city’s Vice Mayor, Lily Mei. Ms. Mei says that she was motivated to run due to the negative impact that development has caused the community. Among the problems Ms. Mei points to are overcrowded schools and increased traffic congestion. She advocates for “responsible and measured growth” where business development is balanced with the needs of the community. Should Ms. Mei win, she will become the first Asian American and the first woman to lead Fremont in the city’s 60-year history. Unlike Mr. Harrison, she has said she will reject any campaign donations from developers and instead rely on small donations from residents. School board president Larry Sweeney, school board treasurer Yang Shao, and councilmember Vinnie Bacon (among others) have endorsed her. (East Bay Times)