Fremont Councilmember Vinnie Bacon’s lead atop an uncommonly close Alameda County District 1 Board of Supervisors race was extended on Monday as the number of uncounted ballots quickly dwindle. Bacon, who began his campaign for supervisor more than a year ago, declared victory shortly after another batch of election returns from last Tuesday’s primary were released on Monday evening.
“With today’s results I’m quite confident I can say I will at least be in the top two runoff this November,” Bacon wrote to his followers in a posting on Facebook. “The registrar still has to count the provisional ballots but it would take a rather radical swing in votes to change things.”
Through a succession of updates by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters since Tuesday night, Bacon shot from second to first-place in the four-person primary on Saturday night, overtaking Dublin Mayor David Haubert, Bacon’s likely opponent in the November runoff.
Bacon leads race for District 1 with 27.56 percent of the vote, followed by the early leader, Haubert, with 25.80 percent, as of Monday evening.
Dublin Vice Mayor Melissa Hernandez sits 645 votes behind Haubert, with 24.74 percent, followed by state Sen. Bob Wieckowski’s disappointing 21.91 percent.
In a race in which voters were unfamiliar with the strong field of candidates, the race’s seemingly slow early pace may have hurt Wieckowski, in particular, even though as the a current state senator, he had the most impressive resume, and access to fundraising, at least, equal to his opponents in the field.
Wieckowski was often under attack from his opponents, particular, Bacon and Haubert, because of his status as the establishment candidate. Furthermore, in the mostly moderate District 1, Wieckowski signature Accessory Dwelling Units legislation did not jibe well with largely suburban voters worried about traffic and housing density.
Meanwhile, Bacon’s ground game and ability to steer the debate toward housing and the demonization of developers helped his campaign rise to the top of the field. Bacon, the self-described “clean money candidate” also used his opponent’s reliance on developer money, past and present, to great effect.
Bacon is likely to continue his screeds against developer in the fall, especially, if his opponent is Haubert. During the primary, Haubert’s campaign coffers were larded heavily with contributions from developers and real estate interests.
ALCOD1 Votes Pct.
Bacon……………. 16,765 27.56%
Haubert………… 15,691 25.80%
Hernandez…….. 15,046 24.74%
Wieckowski……. 13,326 21.91%
ebcitizen.com 