Vol. VI, No. 1,418🗓️8 days to November General Election
—Months of plotting and planning. Political consultants hired. Endorsements lined up. Countless pitches for campaign cash. Websites launched. Doors knocked. Hands shaken. And now, after months of political maneuvering, it all comes down to the final week of the November election season.
Nerves are frayed—even among candidates who appear to have victory in the bag. (Politicians tend to be a notoriously nervous bunch.)
As we enter the home stretch, several East Bay races are shaping up to be Election Night nail-biters. Or, at least, that’s what some campaigns would have us believe.
—Here are five races among those worth watching in the final days and on Election Night.
BERKELEY – DISTRICT 4: The book on Berkeley Councilmember Igor Tregub is that he’s easily rattled, but he’s also a master at networking. Being perceived as opposing Palestinians is not a popular place in the East Bay, but for sure, not in Berkeley. The online invective being throw at Tregub looks very similar to the public mudslinging that Melissa Hernandez is facing in the 14th Congressional District race against Rep. Aisha Wahab. Those supporting Palestine and Gazans against Israeli occupation are highly energized, which is exact what an upstart candidate like Majdi Gaith needs for an upset District 4. In response, Tregub is deploying his considerable connections to speak on his behalf. Remember, Tregub is also the chair of the Alameda County Democratic Party.
OAKLAND SCHOOL BOARD – DIST. 2, 6: Oakland school board incumbents Jennifer Brouhard (District 2) and Valarie Bachelor (District 6) face challenges from Arielle Fleisher, and LeAna Powell and Alexandra Williams, respectively. All three challengers are backed by Empower Oakland, the increasingly influential political organization gaining electoral strength in Oakland politics. Neither incumbent secured the Alameda County Democratic Party endorsement, despite labor support, raising a few alarm bells. OUSD’s financial troubles, school closures and leadership have become central campaign issues, with Empower Oakland highlighting the district’s ongoing challenges. Together with the District 4 school board contest, these races have attracted significant spending from independent expenditure committees, particularly Empower Oakland and the Oakland Education Association. The three contests have drawn more outside spending than any other group of races on the East Bay’s November ballot.
AC TRANSIT – WARD 3: Longtime AC Transit Board Director Joel Young faces Adriana Valencia amid controversy over an independent investigation that found he violated the district’s gender-based harassment policy in an incident involving fellow Director Sarah Syed. Young characterized the incident as a misunderstood hug. Valencia secured the Alameda County Democratic Party endorsement, while dozens of elected officials have called for Young’s censure. Young’s past alleged transgressions have not prevented him from winning re-election every four years since the early 2010s, although some of those victories have been narrow, even against poorly funded opponents. Valencia presents a different challenge, having secured a modest amount of campaign funding and growing institutional support. That combination could make Young one of the most vulnerable incumbents on the November ballot.
SAN LEANDRO – MAYOR: San Leandro elections are notoriously difficult to predict. Mayor Juan González III faces political newcomer James Maes, whose aggressive campaign has targeted the incumbent’s handling of City Hall misconduct allegations and city finances. González is seeking a second term amid lingering council dysfunction, workplace investigations and questions about city leadership. Despite taking some hits, González has benefited from San Leandro’s unusually high individual campaign contribution limit of $5,900. Unlike past San Leandro elections complicated by ranked-choice voting, this head-to-head contest should produce a more straightforward outcome. But don’t underestimate voter discontent, particularly if former Councilmember Bryan Azevedo testifies in the Oakland public corruption trial before Election Day, potentially reminding voters of the civic embarrassment surrounding his tenure.
FREMONT – DISTRICT 4: Ying-Min Li has open his own purse string more often than perhaps any local candidate in the East Bay’s November election—almost $150,000. Opponent for the open District 4 seat, Aziz Akbari has raised a formidable amount of money and possesses a much better social media presence. While the races has not included any brickbats between the candidates, the race represents a chance for Fremont progressives to flip the moderate-to-conservative seat held by Councilmember Yang Shao, who is termed out in December. Shao has endorsed Li.
ALAMEDA MAYOR
—MAYORAL MUDSLINGING—Alameda’s three-way mayoral race is heating up, but candidate Tracy Jensen appears to be training her fire on outgoing Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft rather than opponents Malia Vella and Tony Daysog.
—In a Friday letter to supporters, Jensen unloaded on the termed-out mayor, accusing her of being “high-handed” and “abrasive” toward city staff and councilmembers.
—The two have increasingly clashed over the past year.
—Jensen’s letter responded to Ashcraft’s recent comments laying out her reasons for endorsing Vella, which included criticism of Jensen.
—Jensen revived Vella’s involvement in the controversial 2018 fire chief hiring scandal, noting that Ashcraft previously condemned the episode but is now backing Vella.
—Jensen also alleged Ashcraft violated the Brown Act during a closed session and accused the mayor of improperly refusing to entertain a motion to extend Jensen’s speaking time at last week’s council meeting.
—Intra-council mayoral campaigns almost always generate heated rhetoric, but Alameda’s contest has taken the acrimony to new levels.
—At a candidate forum last month, Jensen suggested that Ashcraft’s meddling was behind the noticeable exodus of high-ranking city officials over the past year, including the city manager, city attorney and others.
UNION CITY COUNCIL
Union City District 4 city council candidates Sarabjit Kaur Cheema and Vipan Bajwa at the Alameda County Democratic Party endorsement meeting last month. PHOTO/East Bay Insiders
—NOT DOWN WITH FPPC—Union City council candidate Sarabjit Kaur Cheema has a big campaign finance problem on her hands. But it has nothing to do with her current run for the open District 4 seat. The trouble dates back to her unsuccessful 2020 mayoral campaign.
—According to the Union City Clerk’s Office, Cheema failed to file nine required campaign finance reports between 2020 and 2025.
—Opponent Vipan Bajwa has aggressively highlighted the missing disclosures for weeks. His campaign even launched a website, CheckCheema.com, alleging Cheema faces more than $120,000 in potential late-filing penalties.
—The California Fair Political Practices Commission also issued Cheema a warning letter in March 2025 over missing semiannual campaign statements, following repeated attempts by city officials to secure compliance.
—Cheema’s campaign subsequently attempted to terminate the old mayoral committee, but the City Clerk rejected the filing in an Oct. 13 letter, advising that all nine outstanding reports must first be submitted.
—Why does this matter? Campaign finance disclosures allow voters to see who bankrolls candidates and how their money is spent. Without those reports, the public is left in the dark about the finances of Cheema’s previous campaign.
—CITY HALL MEAN GIRLS—Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao had a few choice words for her City Council colleagues. And thanks to the FBI, everyone gets to hear them.
—In a September 2023 phone conversation with Andy Duong, played during Thao’s federal corruption trial last Friday, the then-mayor unloaded on Councilmembers Janani Ramachandran and Treva Reid after learning the Duong family had invited them to an event involving Vietnam’s prime minister.
—“You’re going to have to fucking pick and choose. Because I’m not fucking with those bitches,” Thao said, adding, “They make my life hard at City Hall.”
—Thao accused the two councilmembers of badmouthing her to constituents, particularly over her controversial 2023 trip to Vietnam.
“—Treva’s not a friend of mine. She should never be invited by you guys to do anything that sounds even cool,” Thao said.
—Ramachandran did not respond to a request for comment.
—Thao also had some thoughts about Councilmember Noel Gallo, another critic of her Vietnam trip amid public safety problems at the time.
—After initially holding back, Thao offered this assessment: “He’s just dumb.”
—Gallo, though, wasn’t losing any sleep over the insult.
—“It’s not the first time, nor will it be the last time,” Gallo told East Bay Insiders, laughing off the remark. “I’m used to being called all sorts of names.”
14TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
—CONGRESS GONE WILD—Former Rep. Eric Swalwell apparently left even more than political baggage behind when he resigned from Congress in April.
—When successor Rep. Aisha Wahab and her staff arrived at his Castro Valley district office in August, they found what Wahab described to the East Bay Times as a “frat house.”
—Among the leftovers: bottles of wine, Nerf guns, baby clothes, overflowing trash and disorganized paperwork.
—More troubling were military decorations, including a Purple Heart and Army Commendation Medal that had gone unclaimed for nearly a decade, along with nearly two dozed undelivered Congressional Awards.
—Swalwell’s attorney blamed the messy transition on his former staff, saying he had no access to the office following his resignation.
—Wahab’s team moved the items into storage while working to reunite the medals with their recipients.
—💰MONEYBALL—Form 497 large campaign contributions filed on Oct. 23-25:
DUBLIN
—Protect Dublin Schools Yes on Measure I (School Parcel Tax), KLF Real Estate, LLC, $2,500; Roebbelen Contracting, Inc., $2,000. TOTAL: $4,500.
HAYWARD
—George Syrop for Hayward City Council 2026, Communications Workers of American Local 9412, AFL-CIO, $1,500. TOTAL: $1,500.
OAKLAND
—Charlene Wang for Oakland Council D2 2026, Building and Construction Trades Council of Alameda County PAC, $1,800. TOTAL: $1,800.
—Coalition to Re-elect Valarie Bachelor for Oakland School Board 2026, Amalgamated Transit Union – COPE, $1,800. TOTAL: $1,800.
—Committee to Re-elect Jennifer Brouhard for Oakland School Board 2026, Amalgamated Transit Union – COPE, $1,800. TOTAL: $1,800.
PLEASANTON
—Vin Kruttiventi for Pleasanton City Council 2026, Vin Kruttiventi for Pleasanton, $25,000. TOTAL: $25,000.
UNION CITY
—Sarabjit Kaur Cheema for Union City Council Dist4 2026, Pritam Cheema of Union City, $4,452. TOTAL: $4,452
CHABOT-LAS POSITAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
—Linda Granger for Chabot Las Positas Community College Board District 2026, Sprinkler Fitters & Apprentices Local 483 Statewide PAC, $2,500. TOTAL: $2,500.
OHLONE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
—Sue Chan for Ohlone Board Trustee 2018, Jonathan Chan of Fremont, $1,000. TOTAL: $1,000.
REGIONAL TRANSIT HALF-CENT SALES TAX MEASURE
—Yes on RTM – Connect Bay Area Transit, East Bay Action PAC, $1,689. TOTAL: $1,689.
STATE SENATE
—Scott Sakakihara for Senate 2026, San Jose Water Company, $4,400; Fresenius Medical Care, $1,500. TOTAL: $5,900.
STATE ASSEMBLY
—Buffy Wicks for Assembly 2026, Jan Sramek of Fairfield, Calif., $5,900; Carvana LLC, $2,000; California Federation of Teachers COPE, $1,500. TOTAL: $9,400.
—Liz Ortega-Toro for Assembly 2026, California Federation of Teachers COPE, $5,000; California State Association of Electrical Workers, $4,300. TOTAL: $9,300.
—Mia Bonta for Assembly 2026, California Federation of Teachers COPE, $2,500. TOTAL: $2,500.
—Alex Lee for State Assembly 2026, California Federation of Teachers COPE, $2,500. TOTAL: $2,500.
14TH DISTRICT
—Dr. Aisha Wahab for Congress, Martha Sutton of Livermore, $3,500; Richard Hobbs of San Jose, $1,000. TOTAL: $4,500.
—🧾EXPENDITURES—Form 496 Independent Expenditure Reports filed on Oct. 23-25:
OAKLAND
—Arielle Fleischer (OUSD Dist. 2), Empower Oakland Committee. 👍SUPPORT (Mailer—$10,489). TOTAL: $10,489. Cumulative Total: $44,159.
—Jennifer Brouhard (OUSD Dist. 2), Empower Oakland Committee. 👎OPPOSE (Mailer—$1,851). TOTAL: $1,851. Cumulative Total: $47,479.
