When the Hayward City Council first heard a proposal to transform a downtrodden parcel on 26601 Mission Boulevard into a mixed-use project that includes 35 market-rate town homes and 39 market-rate apartment units, the plan was derided by city officials for its lack of affordable housing.
The backers of the project, Robert Telles of DNS Capital Partners and homebuilder KB Homes, expressed great disappointment at the decision.
But a month later, the project was approved with great fanfare, with some councilmembers and the developer lauding the changes to the proposal as an example of consensus building between public and private entities. Telles offered six apartment units for affordable housing and $40,000 to the city for public improvements.
With a November election quickly heating up in Hayward, there is growing questions about the reversal after the proponent of the Haymont project Robert Telles, his family members, and a LLC, poured in a single day 10 maxed-out campaign contributions into Hayward’s elections totaling $14,240.
Nine of the $1,424 contributions–the largest amount allowed in Hayward municipal races–went to Councilmember Mark Salinas, who is challenging Mayor Barbara Halliday this fall. All the donations were made Sept. 6, according to finance reports.
Salinas did not respond to an email asking for comment. Telles could not be reached for comment.
Robert Telles also gave a single $1,424 contribution to Councilmember Marvin Peixoto’s re-election campaign on Sept. 6, according to finance reports.
On Tuesday night, the Hayward City Council is set to approval the tentative tract map for the 35 town homes to be built on the Haymont property.
ebcitizen.com 
Was Salinas’s brother-in law the developer?
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It would be great and actually transparent reporting if EB Citizen listed the how many developers contributed to the Hallidays campaign! How about the support and money Halliday gets from Fire and Police to put a tax (Measure T) that will pad their salaries! How about that for back scratching! Don’t give me any of this mumbo jumbo that Measure T will go to city improvements, its stright to the unions that line Hallidays pocket and run Hayward.
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Oakland has an ordinance that would have stopped this type of contribution in Hayward. Oakland elected officials can’t accept campaign contributions from people who they just made a council decision for one year.
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Clearly, there needs to be a law that limits contributions from those trying to build multi unit projects while the project is undergoing review.
Salinas has the biggest signs, I guess that’s what he did with the money.
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