Jim Oddie

ALAMEDA CITY COUNCIL | Earlier this month, East Bay Assemblymember Bob Wieckowski’s district director ran for the Hayward City Council and barely lost. As far back as last year, Assemblymember Bill Quirk’s former district director contemplated running for local office. But last week, Jim Oddie, Assemblymember Rob Bonta’s district director in the 18th District officially announced his candidacy for the Alameda City Council.

Two seats on the council are open this fall, but Oddie is just the third confirmed candidate. Councilmember Stewart Chen is running for re-election after serving the last two years of Bonta’s council term. Chen finished third in 2012. Meanwhile, Councilmember Lena Tam is termed out and is running for the area’s seat on the BART Board of Directors. 
In addition to Oddie, former Alameda Councilmember Frank Matarrese is also a candidate. The top two vote-getters win seats on the five-person City Council
Oddie should benefit greatly from his boss’s personal support along with his own history of advocacy for labor and, specifically, the island’s formidable firefighters union. It’s not Oddie’s first flirtation with local government in the past six months. He was previously an unsuccessful applicant for appointment to a seat on the Alameda Healthcare District Board of Directors.