Eight candidates vying for Fremont City Council seats
FREMONT – A total of eight candidates are competing in the Fremont City Council election next month.
Balloting will be held for seats in three of the city’s six districts on Nov. 8, and voters will be choosing between a mixed bag of two incumbents, veteran board members and a number of newcomers.
District 2
There is a three-way race in District 2 for Rick Jones’ seat, which he must vacate because of the city’s two-term limit.
Keith Parker has lived in Fremont for nearly 30 years and works in technology. The father of three is the only candidate running for Jones’ seat with no government board experience, but he has been involved in city politics for three years.
“I’m doing this because I want to have a great city for my kids to come back to, one that they can afford to come back to. I want to see Fremont continue to thrive.”
If elected, Parker says he would like to see a comprehensive plan created to address homelessness. Public safety is also of concern. Crime rates in Fremont have increased by 20% over the past two years, and Parker says he believes the solutions lie in more support for police.
As for what makes him different from the other candidates? “I’m the centrist in the group. I’m going to have conversations with both sides,” he says. “I have good working relationships with most members of the council.”
City Planning Commissioner and design consultant Robert Daulton, who ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2018, is also seeking election again this year.
“I think I have the best background to deal with the problems that are facing Fremont right now,” he says.
“We’re in the middle of a housing shortage, and the state is going to address that by essentially forcing cities to hit these numbers or they’ll take over our zoning process.
“In order to actually design the city the way people of Fremont would like it to be, we need someone on City Council who can speak to those problems.”
The father of two would also like to address traffic, crime response and environmental issues if elected.
“The reason people love Fremont is because of its incredible natural beauty, and we have to design our city in such a way that we can maintain that for years to come.”
The final candidate for District 1 is long-serving school board Trustee Desrie Campbell, a Washington, D.C., native who has lived in Fremont for more than 24 years.
“Fremont is a very diverse city, and our boards and councils should represent the communities they serve. I want to be a voice for those who don’t have a lot of resources,” says the mother of four.
“I also want to continue to carry the voice of the 35,000 students that we support, because I don’t think that voice is on the council right now.”
Campbell, who works with Bay Area Community Health, has been endorsed by the Fremont police and is passionate about building a strong partnership between the police and the community. She would also like to focus on housing if elected.
“One of the things I’ve learned on the school board is that you really have to listen and do research in order to make sound decisions,” she says.
“Developers don’t want to build low-income housing; we need to figure out why that is. We have to look at legislation and gather everybody impacted around the table, and that’s one of the things I’m really good at.”
District 3
In the running for District 3 is incumbent Jenny Kassan, a California native and Yale Law School graduate who set up her own law firm in 2015 and has devoted her work to helping small businesses.
Kassan, who also has a master’s degree in city planning, says that her No. 1 goal if re-elected would be to address the lack of affordable housing in Fremont.
The protection of open spaces and the cutting of greenhouse gas emissions would also be on the agenda, and she would like to see a more vibrant, walkable, commercial district being built in the city.
“Fremont has needed to adapt to so many new realities over the past decade, for example, how unaffordable housing has become and the growing divide between rich and poor. And although Fremont is a fairly welcoming city, there are some that aren’t happy to see immigrants and our LGBTQ population,” she says.
“There’s just so much that needs to be done, and I definitely don’t feel like I’ve contributed everything I can yet. I’ve learned so much over the past four years and I think having someone with the level of experience and knowledge that I have on the council is really important.”
Up against Kassan is Kathy Kimberlin, who has been endorsed by the Fremont Fire Department. Kimberlin is a field director for Alameda County Supervisor David Haubert and ran unsuccessfully for the council in 2016.
Born in Chicago, the mother of two has lived in Fremont for more than 40 years and has served as president of the Fremont Education Foundation and the Centerville Business and Community Association.
“I would love to see a City Council that runs as a team. Right now, I don’t see that,” Kimberlin says. “Building relationships is what I do. I find it so important to be at community events and to hear from people. I feel my seat on City Council will allow the council to work together.”
Her main goals as a council member would be to increase resources for local businesses and nonprofits and to look at how the city can increase growth.
“The first thing I’d like to look at is permitting. I want to erase the idea that it’s hard to get permits in Fremont,” she says.
Entering politics for the first time is Arif Mohamed, who has lived in the area for over 20 years and works in software. Encouraged by his children to enter the race, the father of three is hoping to inspire others to get involved in local politics.
“I was expecting a lot more from the state during the pandemic lockdown. I didn’t see anyone helping, apart from local volunteers and faith-based organizations,” he says. “I felt like I either needed to stand up, or go protest, and I chose the first.”
Mohamed helped set up a local nonprofit organization that served more than 50,000 meals to the community and raised more than $80,000 for local small businesses during the early days of the pandemic.
If elected, he would focus his energy on public safety, affordable housing and helping small businesses, where he says he could draw on his experience as a former restaurant owner.
“I’m not a typical politician. I’m not going to tell people that I’m going to solve every major issue. I will be open and tell people what I see as I see it.”
District 4
Music teacher Bryce Beckel has a similar message in District 4, where he is the executive director of the Tri-City Band Corps.
“I’m honest, I always tell it as it is, and I’m not afraid to admit when I’m not informed enough on something and need to research before making a decision,” he says.
Beckel was born and raised in the Bay Area and is running for the City Council because of his love for the Fremont community and its students.
“A lot of the time in politics, people forget that they don’t just represent those who can vote for them but also those who can’t — for example, students. I want to help them raise their voice,” he says.
If elected, his focus would be on education and affordable housing.
Beckel is up against incumbent Yang Shao, who served on the Fremont school board before his election to the council in 2018.
Shao, who was born in China, is a chemist and cancer drug researcher who moved to the Bay Area after graduating from Harvard.
“Representation is very important. Over 70% of Fremont residents are from Asian and Pacific Island countries and, just like me, many are first-generation immigrants,” he says.
“We care about public safety, good quality education and a pro-business environment. I believe that I have been representing those values.”
An example, he says, was when he voted for a higher police budget in 2020, in spite of political pressures. “I serve the local people, rather than following popular ideologies in the rest of the country.”
His top priorities for his second term would be public safety, financial sustainability and the city’s response to homelessness.
“In the last four years, I have gained a lot of experience and demonstrated my leadership at critical moments. As we are moving out of the pandemic as a city, we still face a lot of challenges, and that calls for leadership and experience. I believe I have both.”