politics

Hayward General Elections Only Two Months Away

By Chase Thomas
Politics Editor

With only two months to go until the November general election, the list of candidates working to represent the interests of Hayward has become clear.

In the race for District 15 of the United States Congress, 39-year incumbent Pete Stark (D-CA) is being challenged by fellow democrat Eric Swalwell, a prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney’s office.
Congressional District 15 covers Hayward, Union City, Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, and parts of Fremont, Castro Valley, Sunol and San Lorenzo.

At the June 5 primary election, Stark won 43.01 percent of the vote over Swalwell’s 35.56 percent. Independent candidate Chris Pareja was eliminated with only 21.05 percent.

Swalwell has won some local support, such as endorsements from the Hayward Chamber of Commerce, Scott Haggerty of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, former California State Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perada and The San Francisco Chronicle.

Despite this, Stark remains the preferred candidate of the Democratic party, with endorsements from President Barack Obama, California State Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro), Mayor Mike Sweeney of Hayward and four Alameda County Supervisors.

Congressional District 15, race became heated during an April 10 debate, when Stark repeatedly accused Swalwell of accepting bribes from a real estate developer in return for preferential zoning treatment. Swalwell said Stark’s accusations were “deformatory” and “flatly false.”

For California State Assembly, District 20 former Hayward city councilmember Bill Quirk won 30.26 percent of the June primary vote, topping rival candidate Dr. Jennifer Ong — a Filipino-American from San Leandro with a Doctorate in Optometry from UC Berkeley — by five percentage points.

District 20 covers Hayward, Union City, and parts of Fremont, Castro Valley, Sunol and San Lorenzo.

An August 10 internal poll commissioned by Bill Quirk and conducted by Godbe Research shows a widening gap in the race, with 43 percent of those polled in support Quirk and 30 percent in support of Ong. The two will face each other again in the November General Elections.

For the 2nd District of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, Richard Valle will be defending his seat against challengers California Assembly member Mary Hayashi, Mark Turnquist and Mark Green.

Richard Valle, a 13-year Union City councilmember, was appointed to the District 2 seat in June to replace Nadia Lockyer, who resigned after an infidelity and drug abuse scandal.

Mary Hayashi is currently the California Assembly representative for the 18th District. Hayashi was charged with felony grand theft in October 2011 after allegedly shoplifting $2,445 worth of goods from Neiman Marcus in San Francisco. Hayashi pled no-contest and received a reduced sentence.

The race for the Hayward Unified School District Governing Board includes seven new challengers and one incumbent, all vying for three open seats.

Board members Jesus Armas and Maribel Heredia dropped out of their reelection races amid allegations of an alleged one-year affair, leaving Luise Reynoso as the only incumbent to face reelection this year.

Peter, Sara Lamnin and Annete Walker have been endorsed by the Hayward Chamber of Commerce. Other candidates are April Chan, Heather Reyes, John Taylor and Wandra Williams. The top three candidates of the general election will win seats on the board.

This entry was published in The Pioneer Online on Thursday, August 30th, 2012 at 11:41 am.