FREMONT — Fremont mayoral candidates face a competitive field in November, as current Mayor Lily Mei terms out and the contenders seeking to replace her stake out their arguments about how much the culture of city government needs to change.
Four candidates made the filing deadline this year, making for a tightly packed race for the seat. Candidates include Vinnie Bacon, Rohan Marfatia, Hiu M. Ng and current councilman Raj Salwan.
Salwan, the city’s current District 5 councilman, hopes to vacate his current seat and ascend into Mei’s job as her eight-year tenure ends. He vowed to refuse money from “any developer or corporate special interest money” during his campaign, according to his candidate statement, “ensuring my decisions are solely for the benefit of our community.”
Salwan said he is focused on increasing funding to police and fire departments in the hopes of combating crime, preserving open space, wetlands and hillsides, road work and public facilities investments, reducing homelessness and high density, luxury housing, “keeping taxes low” and “bringing Fun to Fremont,” he wrote.
“I am honored to be endorsed by the current Fremont mayor, six of seven Councilmembers, and Fremont Firefighters,” Salwan wrote. “Together, as Mayor for all, we will build a brighter future for Fremont.”
But challenger Vinnie Bacon says the city needs to make a break with its past, after former city manager Mark Danaj plead guilty to fraud for using a city credit card to pay for thousands of dollars in personal expenses, including travel, medical services, food delivery and Apple products. Danaj, who has to pay back a $317,000 severance check and is barred by a judge from ever serving in public office again, was required to report to Santa Rita Jail on June 4 to serve a 90-day sentence and is now out on probation.
“Fremont needs a change,” Bacon, a software development manager and former city councilman from 2012 to 2020, wrote in his candidate statement. “There are scandals at the highest levels of government, a budget crisis, a decline in City services, and a crime spike. We need a mayor that can bring new energy and ideas to address these challenges.”
Bacon also vowed to refuse money from real estate developers. He previously worked as a transportation planner and with the Sierra Club. His issues of interest include protecting open spaces, caution when considering new housing and commercial developments and increasing investment in homeless services and safe parking spaces.
Bacon in 2020 also ran and lost a bid for Alameda County Supervisor District 1 to the current Supervisor David Haubert, who beat Bacon by a 8.5% margin of the vote and just over 11,000 votes. Haubert’s 70,940 votes, or 54% of the vote, trumped Bacon’s 59,711 votes, or 45% of the vote.
Rohan Marfatia, a software tech consultant and executive, wrote in his candidate statements that he brings “a wealth of experience from living in cities across the glove.” He is the CEO of Beround, a Silicon Valley software consultancy firm, and has previous experience at the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners, AT&T and other tech companies.
“Fremont faces critical challenges: Our proposed budget addresses revenue shortfall, sales tax revenue decline, economic slowdown and we are dealing with persistent crime, homelessness, unemployment, aging infrastructure,” Marfatia wrote.
“As residents, we demand clean governance from politicians, preventing incidents like the former City Manager’s fraud. We also mourn the tragic loss of Police Captain Bobbitt,” Marfatia continued. “It’s time to Elevate Fremont. As one of you, hence I chose to run for public service.”
A candidate statement for Hiu Ng was not available from the city clerk’s office.
