Q&A: Vinnie Bacon, Alameda County Supervisor Candidate

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA — Alameda County Supervisor District 1 candidate Vinnie Bacon makes his case to voters ahead of the November election in a Q&A with Patch:

Age (as of Election Day)

59

Town/City of Residence

Fremont

Party affiliation (not needed in non-partisan races, including county, city and school offices)

Democrat

Family

Wife Jenny Kassan, Son Patrick Bacon

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

My wife is on the Fremont City Council

Education

Master of Transportation Engineering, UC Berkeley
Master of City Planning, UC Berkeley
BS Zoology, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Occupation

Software Developer, 22 years
Fremont City Council member, 8 years

Campaign website

bacon4supervisor.com

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Fremont City Council

The single most pressing issue facing our (state, district, community, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Affordable Housing – Most of the cities in Alameda County have provided more market rate housing than suggested by the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) but have failed radically to meet the numbers for affordable housing. This is resulting not only in homelessness but horrible commutes for many that can’t afford a home near their place of work. We must work to provide more affordable housing. We can do this in two ways 1) Use public lands and insist that a large part of the development be affordable and 2) Push our State legislators to adopt legislation that is focused on producing more affordable housing as opposed to just ‘more housing.’

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

1. I am a clean money candidate that has refused developer money from my first campaign. My opponent has taken over $150,000 from developers, construction companies, and real estate interests. My opponent also served as the CEO of a development company in Australia.

2. I am a registered Democrat and have been so my entire political career. My opponent was a Republican who switched his party registration to 'decline to state'. I have always held Democratic values. My opponent voted against flying the Pride flag at Dublin city hall, said he would cut funding for women's reproductive health services and spoke against sanctuary cities.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

COVID-19 – Our top priority has to be fighting COVID-19. Everyone wants to ‘return to normal’. Of course, that means getting COVID-19 under control. We need to listen to what the healthcare professionals say we need to address this and allocate the appropriate resources to make it happen. This must include making sure that employees have the appropriate PPE to work safely.

Regional Planning – We have a significant jobs/housing imbalance in the Bay Area. This has led to significant traffic issues for many commuters. We need to do a better job of putting more housing near the locations with the most jobs and vice versa. We also need to do a better job of planning development so that jobs and residences are closer to transit to improve ridership numbers.

Social Services – Even before COVID, many in Alameda County suffered from homelessness, lack of healthcare, mental illness, etc. The services provided by Alameda County are critical to those people. With COVID, these demand for these services will only increase. We must focus our budget on helping those that truly need our help.

Social Justice - Unfortunately, the United States has a long history of systemic racism that has never been adequately addressed. I am optimistic that with the protests over the murder of George Floyd that I, along with the other Supervisors, will be willing to take significant steps to address this issue.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

As a Fremont City Councilmember I have made controversial referrals that show that I am willing to make tough decisions. I have made referrals to accelerate the minimum wage increase, to adopt better tenant protections, to have Fremont become a sanctuary city, and to have our Council endorse the Schools and Communities First Act. I am not afraid to make controversial decisions.

I've served as a manager in high tech for many years managing as many as 40 people reporting up to me. As a leader I have been very much revered by the employees that work for me. I always treat people in my team with respect and do what I can to make their work enjoyable, and to help them advance in their careers. I have a proven track record of building teams of competent, hard-working people who could make the Supervisor's office very successful in serving the people of Alameda County.

I've spent over 20 years in high tech. The skills and knowledge needed to succeed in tech are constantly changing. I've continually adapted and have had to learn many complicated things very quickly. I understand there is much about the Supervisor's role that I don't know much about. I would look to staff and experts in the field to understand this material, and would also work hard to understand what I need to know to be an effective Supervisor.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office as a success?

I will work to have the County direct the necessary resources to fully address the COVID crisis, and provide adequate social services to those that need it. I will see that we do all we can to help those that are affected by COVID. It is likely that there will be an eviction crisis once the eviction moratorium is over. Also, many people that lost their jobs have also lost their healthcare. We must do what we can to help these people out.

We must also do what we can to help the many businesses that have been severely impacted by the COVID crisis. We should provide grants as possible and provide rental assistance.

I would also like to see us recover economically by putting forth the Bay Area Green New Deal. This is a program that will generate much needed jobs in the renewable energy sector.

I would use my knowledge of city planning and transportation engineering to advocate for better allocation jobs and housing in the Bay Area to reduce the horrific commutes that many people have to deal with every day.

Why should voters trust you?

I started my career as an elected official saying I would make development and other decisions based on the merits of the project itself, that I would reject development that hurt our schools and/or made our traffic situations worse. I've lived up to those promises.

I have led the Fremont City Council in my desire to get corporate money out of our local elections. I was the first candidate I know of to reject any contributions from developers. This started a trend and now there are a majority of City Council members that do not take money from developers. In the 2020 campaign cycle, all of the major candidates running for City Council have pledged not to take developer money.

What are your views on fiscal policy, government spending and the use of taxpayer dollars in the office you are seeking?

I believe that we need radical changes in our campaign financing system. It is disappointing that elected officials take donations from corporations and individuals that can benefit financially from the decisions of those elected officials.

I saw this happen in Fremont where developers would donate to City Council candidates and then have zoning changes made that allowed the developers to profit handsomely, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.

As mentioned, I am the only candidate in this race who is a clean money candidate who has refused all donations from corporations, developers, and all political action committees. Thus, you can be assured that any decision I make as a Supervisor would be done based on the merits of the matter, not on who donated to my campaign.

Campaigning without this money is hard, but I have won two elections to the Fremont City Council while maintaining this principle. In the primary for this race, I received the most votes despite getting outspent by a factor of three to one by ALL three of my opponents.

I have helped other corporate-free candidates win their elections. I will continue to do this whether I win this election or not. I have seen this trend increasing in races across the country. The truth is that this is becoming a very popular position and a winning position.

Is there any reason you would not serve your full term of office, other than those of health or family?

No. At my age, if I should win this seat it will be the last elected office I ever hold.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

In career decisions, always follow your heart. Don't worry about the money. Making a lot of money doing something you're not happy with will not make you happy.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

My website is bacon4supervisor.com.

My email and phone number are at the top of the page and I try my best to respond to all questions that are asked of me.

View opponent David Haubert's Q&A here.