Big money is shaping the cutthroat race for supervisor

In their bid to succeed retiring Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty, two men on opposite sides of the East Bay hills are waging a fierce contest peppered with nasty accusations and fueled by huge campaign war chests.

Fighting to represent the District 1 seat held by Haggerty since 1996 are Fremont City Councilman Vinnie Bacon and Dublin Mayor David Haubert. The district includes Livermore, Dublin and most of Fremont, as well as much of the unincorporated area of the Livermore-Amador Valley and a portion of unincorporated Sunol.

Haubert has raised $570,000 since the start of last year through Sept. 19, 2020, according to campaign finance records that show he’s heavily supported by major developers, contractors, landlords, property managers and real estate agents, as well as oil industry sources and the Deputy Sheriffs Association of Alameda County, among others.

He’s taken a total of $14,500 from three development companies controlled by Stephen C. Schott, the former owner of the Oakland Athletics; $10,000 from Discovery Builders, Inc.; and $15,000 from the Associated Builders and Contractors of

Northern California PAC.

Bacon meanwhile has raised about $ 229,000 since last year through Oct. 17, including about $85,000 in loans to himself. His family members a lso have contr ibuted heavily to Bacon’s campaign, with his father-inlaw, Art Kassan, kicking in $30,500, according to campaign finance forms.

Bacon has repeatedly said he doesn’t accept money from developers or political action committees and in his campaign is trying to paint Haubert as being in the pocket of developers.

But Haubert counters that despite the large donations, his record of fair voting shows he “can’t be bought.”

For his part, Haubert is trying to cast Bacon as unfit for the seat. Haubert has sent out attack mailers directing voters to a website he claims is run by volunteers, where critiques of Bacon’s record run the gamut, from campaign filing violations to missing committee meetings, though some of the claims are missing context.

For example, Haubert’s campaign manager, Rick Taylor, filed a complaint with the Public Integrity Division of the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office accusing Bacon of perjury related to potential inaccuracies on his campaign filings.

In an Oct. 12 campaign email blast, Haubert then told voters Bacon was being investigated for perjury, a crime that could keep him from serving in office if he was convicted. But Haubert neglected to tell voters his own campaign team sparked the investigation.

Asked if he should have been more clear with voters about that omission, Haubert said, “I’d have to think about that more. I don’t know the answer to that.”

He defended all of his attacks on Bacon as “truthful information.”

“He’s just doing his best to run a smear campaign,” Bacon said.

Bacon has also accused Haubert — who said he was a Republican between 20122016 — of later switching to no party preference, to be more palatable to voters in the heavily Democratic district. Haubert has flatly denied that charge, saying he chose to stop being affiliated with the Republican party because “partisan politics had gotten so bad.”

While Alameda County supervisors don’t get hit with nearly as many development proposals as cities such as Fremont or Dublin, portions of unincorporated land in District 1 could be developed in the future and both candidates agree more affordable housing is needed.

Haubert and Bacon both sit on councils that, like the vast majority of those in the region, have failed to meet home construction goals set by the Association of Bay Area Governments.

Fremont has built or permitted only about 22% of the affordable housing units the association says is needed between 2015 and 2023. And Dublin’s tally is worse, at just slightly above 6%, according to city reports.

Bacon said if elected, he’d want the county to evaluate public lands that could be used in a public-private partnership to help create more affordable homes.

He said the county also should lobby state legislators to require stronger mandates for affordable housing in the state.

“Allowing more and more of market rate housing, that’s what’s killing us,” he said.

Haubert said the county needs to create more partnerships with faith groups and nonprofits just like it already has with a tiny homes initiative in Livermore, San Leandro and Hayward.

He said he favors adding density bonuses on affordable projects to help entice developers to build more affordable units. If elected, he’d suggest the county consider lowering some development fees for affordable housing and push for smaller units that “are by design more affordable.”

Another issue the county is grappling with is homelessness, which has risen 43% between 2017 and 2019.

Bacon said the county should look at replicating models such as the homeless navigation centers started in cities like Fremont and Berkeley with large numbers of homeless people.

“I know they are controversial, some people are very upset with them. But I do think that model is good,” he said.

Bacon said homelessness “is an enormous issue” tied to the “nationwide issue of income inequality,” compounded by a shortage of affordable housing.

“We definitely need more mental health services,” and possibly dedicated facilities, which he said could be funded in part by a half-cent sales tax increase the county is asking voters to approve for 10 years. The county currently uses jails as its “de facto” mental health facilities, Bacon said, and that’s wrong.

Haubert said navigation centers like the one recently opened in Fremont are a “step in the right direction” but he’d like to see their success rates in getting people housed.

Haubert said the county should hire a “homeless champion” to help hunt for solutions and assess proven models around the world for ending homelessness.

Haubert said he’ll be “fair but firm” on the issue. “I think that there should be a safe, warm bed for everyone and I think that needs to come with the agreement that they want to find out and work on the cause of their homelessness,” he said.

Neither candidate supports the idea of “defunding the police,” though both suggest more mental health services and support are needed.

“I don’t see how we can take much money out of an organization where salary is protected, where union employees’ protections are in place,” Haubert said of sheriff’s office employees.

Haubert said a $10,000 donation from the deputy sheriffs union to his campaign wouldn’t prevent him from making tough decisions in future contract negotiations.

Bacon said he’d like to have the county move to more inclusive “participatory budgeting” process, where the public is deeply involved in helping to determine where money should be spent or cut.

“Let’s see what the people want. Let’s have a robust discussion about this,” he said.