The City of Fremont, California, has recently changed from electing four at-large members to the City Council, to dividing the city in six districts and electing one from each. The districts were gerrymandered to make it easier for incumbents to get re-elected. This year, four of these districts are having elections, two of them with an incumbent at the helm.
These are our recommendations for the most progressive and best prepared candidates for the job.
José Oropeza is a young engineer married to a school teacher. He is completely new to politics and does not have links to any of the different players in the Fremont political scene, which makes him a breath of fresh air. He is progressive: voted for Bernie, supports a higher minimum wage, rent control, police accountability and smart growth. He is not taking money from corporations and developers. If elected, we believe he’ll be a free thinker and act with integrity rather than political calculation. Oropeza was endorsed by the Fremont-Union City-Newark (FUN) Progressives, the local chapter of Our Revolution.
His opponents are far more problematic. Neither seem particularly well informed or thoughtful about the issues facing Fremont. Chandrakala Siramdas seems committed to turning Fremont into a police state, her platform is all about increasing mass surveillance and police activity in the city – rather worrisome given allegations that the Fremont Police Department has been targeting the Sikh temple in town. Teresa Keng was registered as a Republican until recently and her policies – to the degree she has any – reflect this. Like Siramdas, she opposes rent control not just in Fremont but anywhere in the state and is likely to be a voice for the chamber of commerce.
Cullen Tiernan is at the heart of the progressive movement in California. After spending almost a decade in the Marine Corps, Tiernan became an anti-war activist and a volunteer and delegate for the Bernie Sanders campaign. As the chair of the Veterans Caucus of the California Democratic Party, he has led missions to Mexico to assist deported veterans. In Fremont, he serves as a member of the Human Services Commission. His agenda is uncompromisingly progressive, he favors rent control, stopping the development of luxury housing which strains on Fremont’s streets, schools and infrastructure, increasing the minimum wage and holding the police accountable. He is running a corporate free/developer free campaign. He has been endorsed by the FUN Progressives.
His opponent incumbent Rick Jones is a racist, right-wing former police officer who believes that the lives of African Americans and Latinos do not matter: when asked directly whether they did, his answer was “All Lives Matter”. He also condoned the murder by Fremont police of an unarmed Latina teenager, and of other people of color. In the Council, he has voted against civil liberties and opposes a higher minimum wage, rent control and anything that would make the lives of ordinary people better in Fremont. He is also a big friend of developers. Marshall Overlander, the other candidate on the ballot, seems MIA from the campaign trail.
Cullen Tiernan for Fremont City Council clean money pledge and campaign update.
Jenny Kassan is another uncompromising progressive. A lawyer who helps women starts socially responsible businesses, Kassan is a fierce advocate of rent control, police accountability, civil rights and liberties and environmental justice. She refuses developers money and firmly stands against allowing more luxury developments in Fremont. She has been endorsed by the FUN Progressives.
Her opponent, incumbent David Bonaccorsi is an attorney who represents developers with business with Fremont City Hall. Unlike other politicians, Bonaccorsi actually knows right from wrong – that’s clear in private conversations with him -, but he often lacks the backbone to do the right thing, opting instead for what is expedient. For example, he understands the problems of allowing the Fremont Police to dictate City policy, yet he considers their endorsement so important that he will do practically everything they tell him. Bonaccorsi has also stood against rent control and increasing the minimum wage to a paltry $15 in Fremont, even though teenage babysitters charge at least that much in this part of the Bay Area.
The third candidate on the ballot, Joseph Valenti, has also been MIA from the campaign trail.
This race for an empty seat includes three progressives, a moderate and a right-wing homophobe, creating the very real risk of a split on the vote that will have the latter win. Unfortunately, without polling, we have no way of knowing which progressive candidate is the most popular so we can only suggest that you vote for the most progressive candidate that is ready for the job.
Robert Daulton
Robert Daulton is a designer who has lived in Fremont for many years. He’s a father of a teenager attending Fremont public schools. As a community member, he organized his neighbors in opposition to environmentally-problematic developments, even to the point of hiring a lawyer to sue and stop one. He frequently attends council and other community meetings. He supports rent control, a police review board, clamping down on mass surveillance and is running a clean money campaign. He has been endorsed by the FUN Progressives.
Debbie Watanuki is a lawyer and long time resident of Fremont. She’s the former Chair of the Human Relations Commission and was on the board of the Fremont Education foundation in the past. She is an intelligent, capable and compassionate person with strong progressive values and policies very similar to Robert Daulton’s. Neither is an experienced politician and either would make a good City Councilmember. There is no compelling reason to recommend one versus the other.
The third progressive, Justin Sha, is a millennial who has recently graduated from law school. A Chinese-American gay man, Sha felt compelled to run to stand in opposition to Yang Shao’s conservative homophobic agenda. He is a strong progressive and shows a lot of promise, but he lacks seasoning and presents too much of the arrogance of youth. Still, his is an important voice and we hope to see him run again in the future.
At the other end of the political spectrum lies Yang Shao, a member of the Fremont School Board most recently universally condemned for voting against allowing sex education to be taught in Fremont elementary schools. Shao belongs to a popular Christian fundamentalist church on whose support he’s counting, and his opposition to gay marriage was even noted in the New York Times.
Finally, there is Craig Steckler, a former police Chief, who fashions himself a progressive because he has a medical marijuana card. He has remained silent in the multiple killings of people of color by Fremont police, however.
Dianne Jones is an intelligent and progressive woman, an involved parent of Fremont Unified District students. She’s served in lots of volunteer capacities with the schools, from PTA to school committees and works as a substitute teacher, which gives her personal insight into the schools. She has very progressive views on education and restorative justice at the school level. And, of course, she supports sex ed starting in elementary school – as anyone who is aware that menarche can start as young as 9 or 10 would. She has been endorsed by the FUN Progressives.
Fahria Khan
Fahria Khan is also an involved parent, with five children who are either attending or have graduated from Fremont public schools. She has also served in numerous PTAs and school committees, including the Fremont Education Foundation and two Alameda County commissions. Her work in the district’s equity commission has made her be particularly sensitive to issues of unconscious bias against students of color and she’s committed to creating more oversight over SROs at the schools. Beyond that, she holds common-sense liberal positions on teaching sex education in schools and allowing teachers to choose their curriculum. She will be a breath of fresh air in the Fremont School Board. She has also been endorsed by the FUN Progressives.
Norman Howell, a former AP Biology teacher and teacher’s union representative, would also make an acceptable choice. He has strong progressive values and he cares strongly about the schools. However, without children in the schools, he has a less in-depth understanding of the issues facing them and less personal experience with issues of equity.
None of the other candidates responded to our requests to speak. Silvia Wong is a parent who seems to be running to make sure to keep sex ed from being taught in schools. Hua Li had two children graduate from Fremont schools but does not report having volunteered in schools or school organizations. Hiu Ng is a retiree with a long history of involvement in the schools, who is running for the fifth time.
Incumbent Larry Sweeney has a terrible record of voting for censorship in Fremont schools, he voted to ban books from being taught in AP English back in 2012, and opposes sex-ed being taught to pre-pubescent children. Definitely don’t vote for him.
Oakland City Council District 2 candidate Nikki Bas speaks at at the Central Committee endorsement interviews. The incumbent in her race received the endorsement.
Welcome to the first post of my new political blog. For better or worse, we’re starting with a hyperlocal inside baseball post. The Alameda County Democratic Party has just announced their endorsements for races throughout the county and people are texting me and saying: “They endorsed him?!!! What were they thinking?!” in more than one race.
While I cannot read anyone’s mind, after 8 years in the Central Committee I can guess why most candidates were endorsed. In general, the Committee want to endorse candidates that are likely to win, so we endorse incumbents and clear front runners. We like candidates that bring us money, as a committee and as consultants, so we endorse those with ties to developers and big donors. We want to pretend we support labor, so we often endorse candidates that have labor support – though that alone is seldom enough. We like our friends, so we endorse candidates that hang out in Democratic party circles And we like to play politics – some of us are even in the business of making money from politics – so we horse trade. You’ll note that there is no “I” in “we,” not all of us play those games. But those of us who vote on endorsements based on the quality of the candidate or their values are a definite minority.
If you want to know how the endorsement process works, go to the bottom of this page. Meanwhile, here are the Democratic party’s endorsed candidates in Alameda County and my best guesses as to why we endorsed them. Note, in order to not betray anything I was told in confidence, I’m only guessing on those races in which, well, I have to guess 🙂
Alameda Mayor: No Endorsement
Assemblymember Rob Bonta has a lot of influence over the City of Alameda, both because he is an Assemblymember who lives there and because he’s the Committee’s greatest donor. If there is no endorsement on this race, it’s because Bonta doesn’t support any of the candidates. Indeed, none were nominated. Incumbent Trish Spencer incurred the wrath of the Party back in 2014 when she ran against then incumbent Mayor Marie Gilmore, which was supported by the Firefighters Union and Bonta. Her challengers, meanwhile, have fallen out of favor with Bonta. The result was that none of the candidates were nomianted. Establishment members didn’t nominate them out of respect to Bonta (or because they don’t want to get involved in Alameda politics) and progressives didn’t nominate them because all of the candidates endorsed Nancy O’Malley, and her record of supporting police brutality.
Jim Oddie, the only incumbent in the race, is Rob Bonta’s district directo and a member of the Central Committee’s executive board. John Knox White had Oddie’s support. Both were put on consent by the Executive Committee. They weren’t pulled by progressives because the candidates running against them are even less progressive.
Albany Councilmember (2 seats): Rochelle Nason and Margaret McQuaid
Both are incumbents and only two Democrats in the race.
Berkeley Councilmember – District 7: No Endorsement
No incumbent in the race. The Executive Committee had put Rigel Robinson on consent because District 7 was created as a student district, and Rigel is a recent Cal graduate with vast experience in student government, active on the campus Democratic club and very well prepared for this role. However, Ces Rosales, an older resident of the area, jumped into the race. Rosales has also been a long-time associate and alternate member of the Central Committee and she had enough friends in the Committee to block Rigel’s endorsement.
Berkeley Rent Board: James Chang, Paola Laverde-Levine, John Selawsky, Maria Poblet and Soli Alpert
Slate of incumbents plus one Democratic activist.
Dublin Mayor: No Endorsement/No Candidates Nominated
Republican incumbent. Arun Goel is the only Democrat running for this seat. However, the establishment does not support him because Arun is pro smart-growth rather than unfettered development, and he’s lost the support of progressives for his support of Nancy O’Malley. He was not nominated for the endorsement.
No incumbent in the race, 3 Democrats running. Kumagai got endorsed because he made the effort to show up at Committee meetings in the last two years and get to know the members. He is a delegate to the California Democratic Party and just a pleasant guy. I’m guessing Josey got endorsed because she is being propped up by Angela Ramirez Holmes, a “consultant” (she dislikes the word “lobbyist”) for developers in the Tri-Valley. Angela controls the tri-valley as far as the Democratic Party is concerned. Bobby Khullar, the third Democrat in the race, was not endorsed because he is running on a smart growth agenda and does not have the support of developers. Progressives were unable to pull Jean Josey from consent as the Party changed its rules to require that one of the members making the pull live in the Assembly district for the office in question.
Emeryville Councilmember (2 seats): Scott Donahue and Dianne Martinez
They are both incumbents, Dianne also serves in the Central Committee.
Fremont Councilmember – District 1: No Endorsement
No incumbent.
Three candidates are running for this seat, all new to politics. The Party’s establishment is backing Chandrakala (Chandu) Siramdas, a candidate running on a Trumpian-sounding “Make Fremont Safe Again” platform and they put her on consent. Apparently, the establishment considered her the front runner because she raised the most money. Progressives were able to pull Siramdas from the consent calendar, however, and block her endorsement because even some of the more moderate members were put off by her extreme pro-police state ideology.
Fremont Councilmember – District 2: No Endorsement
The incumbent, Rick Jones, had the support of the establishment but his challenger, progressive Cullen Tiernan, represents Ro Khanna at the Central Committee and had forged personal relationships with Committee members. Jones also made the mistake of making his racism clear during the endorsement interviews, when he replied to the question of whether Black and Latino Lives Mattered with “All Lives Matter” . He still managed to get 16 votes from Party members, but not enough to win the endorsement.
Fremont Councilmember – District 4: No Endorsement
No incumbent. The front runner, Yang Shao, is a homophobic school board member who recently voted to oppose teaching sex education in Fremont elementary schools. A No Party Preference voter, Shao has four opponents, three of whom are Democrats. Committee members wanted to be able to rally behind one candidate so as to best help defeat Shao – but they weren’t able to agree on whether to support Craig Steckler or Debbie Watanuki. Ultimately, they split the vote and there was no endorsement.
There are two incumbents in the race but only one, Sara Lamnin, was endorsed. The other, Marvin Peixoto, has a very bad relationship with his local SEIU and that particular SEIU representative is a regular at Central Committee meetings. Five other Democrats are running for that seat, and of those Aisha Wahab was endorsed because she has the longest relationship with the Democratic party, being a regular at Party events and having served as a state party delegate.
The single incumbent running is an NPP. There are three Democrats in the race and these two are likely to be the two most pro-development, Munro has gotten the endorsement of the Building Trades union (which in the tri-valley signifies support for unfettered development) and Pann is an architect. The third Democrat, Rosmary Bartsch, has a history of speaking out against developments.
This one has a long and sordid history. Four years ago, when Courtney Ruby chose to run for Mayor rather than for re-election as Auditor, the Party endorsed Brenda Roberts, despite her becoming a Democrat the day she filed her papers to run. Sharon Ball, a (now former) member of the Party who worked in the Auditor’s office, was her strongest advocate. Alas, Brenda ended up being terrible, Sharon quit her job and spilled the beans to the East Bay Express.
Oakland Councilmember – District 4: No Endorsement
No incumbent in the race. Oakland City Council member Rebecca Kaplan’s Chief of Staff, Sheng Thao, has been able to use her boss’ political capital and receive most of the endorsements out there. But Pamela Harris, an African American member of the California Democratic Party, was able to steal her thunder with far superior rhetorical gifts. Harris’ support from progressives and some African Americans, I suspect, was enough to block Sheng’s endorsement but not get it for herself.
Oakland Councilmember – District 6: No Endorsement
Incumbent Desley Brooks is not liked by many in the political establishment. A scuffle with former black panther Elaine Brown left the City of Oakland with a lawsuit it settled for around $2.2million. Her weakened position has brought her four challengers, none of whom was compelling enough to deserve the endorsement on their own.
Duncan and Gacoscos are incumbents (the third incumbent is not a Democrat). Mojadedi, meanwhile, has made alliances with the Party establishment in southern Alameda County.
Chabot-Las Positas CCD Trustee – Area 2: Linda Granger
No incumbent. Linda Granger has the stronger campaign and more experience for the job.
Chabot-Las Positas CCD Trustee – Area 3 (short term): No Endorsement
Both the appointed incumbent and the challenger had their own areas of support within the Committee and neither could get the necessary votes to get the endorsement.
Ohlone CCD Trustee – Area 1 (2 seats): Vivien Larsen and Richard Watters
Incumbents
Ohlone CCD Trustee – Area 2 (2 seats): Suzanne Chan and Lovedeep Jhamat
The single incumbent in this race was not endorsed, and the reasons for this were discussed in confidence so I cannot share them. Both Chan and Jhamat seem to have solid bases of support in Fremont.
Ohlone CCD Trustee – Area 2 (short term): Tejinder Dhami
No incumbent. Tejinder has been making the rounds of the Democratic Party for a while and he has the support of the local establishment. His opponent is well known for being a progressive Bernie supporter. Progressives weren’t able to find a fifth member willing to pull Tejinder.
This was probably the single race on which the endorsements were based on the actual merit of the candidates.
This was one of the most controversial races at the Central Committee. Instructors at Peralta community colleges are very dissatisfied with the Chancellor, whom they apparently believe is misusing money from a parcel tax. They’ve recruited a couple of candidates to run against the incumbents in the Board who, apparently, are rubber stamping whatever the Chancellor does. Labor is backing these candidates. Meanwhile, the papers have reported financial problems with the district that scream out “board negligence”. For this reason, I think the Committee members were willing to give the challengers a chance.
Corean Todd, the challenger in Area 3, seemed like a committed community member, but she came into the race late and she wasn’t able to answer those questions that required knowledge of the district. Linda Handy, the incumbent, did not come to the endorsement interviews. She sent the President of the Board of Trustees to speak for her, and while she did a very good job, she wasn’t Linda. A “no endorsement” decision on that race made the most sense and is what I voted.
In Area 5, however, Cynthia Reiss was dynamite. She spent many months reading and analyzing all the financial papers of the district and talking to different stakeholders before deciding she would run, so she was able to answer all questions expertly. She is also an exciting and engaging speaker. The incumbent did not have her breadth of knowledge and is a fairly poor communicator.
Mialisa Bonta is the wife of Assemblymember Rob Bonta, the aforementioned largest donor to the Alameda County Democratic Party, and she was the only candidate to be put on the consent calendar.
The competition for the other spot was between Gary Lym, an elected incumbent, and Anne McKereghan, an appointed one. As mentioned above, Rob Bonta controls the endorsements as far as Alameda goes. If Gary Lym got endorsed instead of McKereghan, it’s because that’s what Bonta wanted.
Albany School Board (3 seats) : Charles Blanchard, Brian Doss and Sara Hinkley
Ty Alper is the only incumbent running for re-election. Julie Sinai was a previous Berkeley School Board member and was endorsed by the party when she last ran in 2014. Ironically, she lost her seat to Alper. The two are now running in a slate with Ka’dijah Brown.
Dublin School Board- District 2: Megan Rouse
Incumbent
Dublin School Board- District 5: No Endorsement/No Candidates Nominated
No Democrats in the race
Emery School Board (3 seats): Brynnda Collins, Susan Donaldson and Sarah Nguyen
Four Democrats are running for these three. The one not endorsed is also running for Emeryville City Council and, therefore, is not considered a serious candidate.
The one incumbent running for re-election, Larry Sweeney, is a conservative who most recently voted against sex-ed in Fremont elementary schools. Of the other five Democrats running, Dianne Jones and Fahria Khan are the ones most involved with the party and the political power centers in Fremont.
Hayward USD Director (2 seats): William McGee and Todd Davis
Two incumbents were running, but of these only Bill McGee was endorsed, probably because he has the most developed relationships with members of the Central Committee. The rumor going around was that Todd Davis got the second spot because his mother is the head of the local NAACP chapter. Given how unusual it’s to not endorse an incumbent, that seems possible.
Livermore Valley School Board (2 seats): Craig Bueno and David Vonheeder
The only two Democrats in the race.
New Haven School Board (2 seats): Linda Canlas and Sarabjit Kaur Cheema
Nancy Thomas is the only incumbent running for this seat. She is also a member of the Central Committee. I’m guessing Martinez was endorsed because she has Thomas’ support.
I have heard from several members that she is an amazing candidate. Her opponent, Gary Yee, is a former School Board member-turned Superintendent who seems to lack credibility among many.
I am guessing Caskey was the only candidate that applied for the endorsement. Candidates from Piedmont seldom do.
A.C. Transit District Director – At Large: No Endorsement//No Candidates Nominated
Incumbent Joel Young still has not recovered from domestic violence charges that came out during a 2012 Assembly election. He has also not yet apologized. His opponent, a former bus driver, is a perennial candidate who has been unimpressive in previous elections.
A.C. Transit District Director – Ward 4: Mark Williams
Incumbent & sole Democrat running.
A.C. Transit District Director – Ward 5: No Endorsement
No incumbent is running in this race.
Kewal Singh has the support of Labor because he, literally, represents labor. He works for BART as a team leader and has represented workers in strike negotiations. He also has the support of the Fremont political establishment. For this reason, he was put on the consent calendar.
However, progressives pulled him and nominated Diana Shaw, who is far more knowledgeable about all aspects of AC Transit’s operations as she worked for the San Mateo County Transit District until retiring. She was supported by a former AC Transit Director that is a member of the Committee and Singh has very troublesome pro-surveillance tendencies. In all, Shaw was able to block the endorsement.
Anu has a long history of involvement with the Democratic Party and is a former Fremont City Councilmember.
City of Alameda Healthcare District Director (short term): Dennis Popalardo
Appointed Incumbent
Dublin San Ramon CSD Director (2 seats) : Georgeann Vonheeder and Ann Marie Johnson
Vonheeder is the only incumbent running. I don’t have a guess as to why Johnson was endorsed (put on consent) vs the other Democrat running.
East Bay MUD Director – Ward 7: Frank Mellon
Incumbent & sole Democrat running.
East Bay Reg. Park District Director – Ward 3: Dennis Waespi
Incumbent & sole Democrat running.
East Bay Reg. Park District Director – Ward 5: Ayn Wieskamp
Incumbent & sole Democrat running.
Eden Township Hospital District Director : Roxann Lewis, Mariellen Faria and Felix Martinez
They endorsed all the Democrats that are not former San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy, whom the Chair and other Committee members hate with a passion.
Fairview Fire Protection District Director: Michael Justice
Incumbent & sole Democrat running.
Oro Loma Sanitary District Director (3 seats): Shelia Young, Rita Duncan and Frederick Simon, Jr.
Only Democrats running
Washington Township Health Care District Director (3 seats): Jacob Eapen, Hon. Michael J. Wallace and Hon. Bernard L. Stewart
Incumbents
***
The Democratic Party’s endorsementsare made by the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee, an organization that consists of around 46 members, 32 elected and 14 ex-officios. Most of the members of the Committee are moderates/establishment politicians. There are a total of six actual progressive members, with a handful more that are progressive in some issues and not in others.
There is a new requirement that candidates must be registered as Democrats by the first day of the filing period to be eligible for the endorsement – this requirement made Oakland Mayoral candidate Cat Brooks ineligible for the endorsement as she registered too late (not that there was any chance anyone but the incumbent would get it).
Candidates are first interviewed by the Executive Committee, which is formed by the most establishment members of the Party. A candidate needs 2/3 of the votes of the Executive Committee to be put on consent. The aim of the Committee is to put as many candidates on consent as possible, so as to make the Committee-wide interviews as short as possible.
Until this year, it took two members of the Committee to either nominate a candidate or pull them from the consent calendar. As more progressives entered the Party, the establishment decided to make it harder to pull candidates by requiring five members to do the pulling, one of whom would have to live in the same Assembly district as the office being pulled. That meant that progressives weren’t able to pull some incumbents in districts where no members were willing to risk the ire of the incumbent.
What do you think? Did I get something wrong? Comment below!
