California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

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Third Candidate Joins Hayward’s Mayoral Race

Councilmember Barbara Halliday chats with a resident
at a Downtown Hayward coffee shop.

Three-term Councilmember Barbara Halliday is the third candidate to announce her plans to run for mayor of Hayward last Tuesday.

The statewide primary election is on June 3, 2014 and Halliday will join Councilmembers Francisco Zermeno and Mark Salinas in the mayoral race after Mayor Michael Sweeney’s second term ends next July.

“When Mayor Sweeney announced he was not running again, I felt, that with my experience it would be a job I’d like to do,” said Halliday, who is currently serving her last year.

Councilmember Halliday said she is committed to developing a model focused on working with neighborhoods to ensure their voices are heard and establishing channels for feedback and communication.

Hayward resident voices have not been heard due to discord between the leaders and community, she said.

“I think working with the neighborhood is number one [and] that does include public safety,” said Halliday.

Councilmember Zermeno and Salinas prioritize economic development on their agendas, but Halliday said she prefers a more measured approach.

That includes a strategy to identify locations that are best suited for certain types of businesses and hiring a liaison to specialize in bringing in new companies to support existing ones.  She wants kid-friendly establishments to fill commercial areas, not just shops and restaurants.

All three candidates share the same views on issues such as the clean and green initiatives adopted by Mayor Sweeney, partnering with law enforcement agencies for crime prevention and working with the school board to improve underperforming schools in Hayward.

A Hayward resident since 1986, Halliday began her civic duties in 1990 when she first volunteered to serve on the Citizens Advisory Commission and still serves as a council liaison. The commission distributes funds from the Community Services Block Grant Funding, a federal program, that offers funds to local non-profit organizations.

Since then, Halliday served on various boards such as the Committee on Public Art for the B Street parking garage, city of Hayward planning commission and mayor pro tempore for the 2006 and 2011 terms.

Halliday, a board member and former president of the Southgate Swim Club was involved in raising $70,000 in funds and overseeing a year long repair after it risked closure. The project ended in time for the pool’s 50th anniversary re-opening last May, as previously reported by The Pioneer.

Halliday also works on the Alameda County Waste Management Authority, Alameda County Transit Policy Advisory Committee and is a trustee of the Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District.

Halliday has a bachelor’s in American Studies from the Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia and retired from NORCAL Mutual Insurance Company as a claim supervisor in 2008 after 29 years of employment.

Halliday said the most rewarding thing as a civic leader is being able to work with children. She helped start an after-school homework support center at two libraries in Hayward and volunteers her summers at a Hayward children’s camp.

“I care a lot about the city and really enjoyed my service as councilmember and I felt that this would be a step I would like to take to cap my career in Hayward,” said Halliday.

“We are all on city council and we all get along very well,” Halliday said.

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Third Candidate Joins Hayward’s Mayoral Race