Community

Community Rallies Around African American Fremont Police Commander

According to Kirn Gill a longtime Fremont resident, “ Captain Bobbitt is an absolute legend and jewel, and the community will not stand for him to be treated this way, we need police leaders with his mentality and experience”.

Published

5 years ago

May 27, 2021

Mia Lane

Oakland native and Oakland Police Academy graduate Captain Fred Bobbitt of the Fremont Police Department is receiving an unprecedented amount of community support in his fight to continue implementing his “Community First” approach to policing in the Bay Area’s fourth largest city.

Community outrage is growing and is being directed at Fremont City Manager Mark Danaj afterallegations that Danaj reportedly tried to push Bobbitt to retire in September 2020, just two months after Captain Bobbitt was recognized by the Chief of Police and the community for effectively managing peaceful social justice protests that occurred in Fremont after the killing of George Floyd.

Captain Bobbitt, 53, is a 35–year veteran of the Fremont Police Department who has managed to go his entire career without a single community complaint or disciplinary action.

Captain Bobbitt is widely recognized for training officers under his command to be “community friendly”to achieve the most effective results. In 2017. he founded the “Building Bridges” program in collaboration with the Fremont school district.

The program allows each sixth-grade student to meet, interact and play games with officers as a way tobuild early trust. To date, 9,000 children and families have participated in what is considered a highly successful program.

Captain Bobbitt was also recognized for his work with faith–based institutions, including the Sikh community, the Muslim community, the Hindi community, the Christian community and multiple other faith denominations that serve Fremont’s large AAPI community. He was honored by former Assemblymember Kansen Chu as a community hero.

During a virtual town hall meeting in support of Captain Bobbitt on April 26, all 175 registration spots for the meeting were filled within seven days after the meeting was announced.

Responding to questions from the Post News Group, the City of Fremont sent a formal statement in an email on May 18, saying the city “is aware of an online town hall meeting that was held April 26, 2021 on behalf of Captain Fred Bobbitt.”

Though disagreeing with the allegations, the city said it could not comment on the specifics.

“The meeting flyer and various forms of information circulating on this matter, contain many untrue statements. However, because this matter involves a personnel issue governed by the Memorandum of Understanding with the Fremont Police Managers’ Association (FPMA), the City will not comment on a confidential personnel matter involving Captain Bobbitt.”

According to a summary and timeline posted on the town hall flyer, City Manager Danaj allegedly attempted to force Captain Bobbitt out in a manner that would not have required the City Council and the Mayor to be notified.

After being presented with an offer to retire, Captain Bobbitt’s family, many of whom reside in East Oakland, encouraged him to reject the offer, which included his full union pension as a captain and a large undisclosed cash payout.

His family reinforced the need for his leadership and the need for him to continue leading reform in this critical moment of history. After his official refusal to retire, he was promptly reassigned to an office at the Animal Shelter away from contact with FPD officers, which many community members see as retaliation for his refusal to retire and for his insistence that his community–first approach be continued.

During the recent town hall meeting, the primary question posed by the community was: “Why.” in a moment in of history where the entire country is desperate for African American leadership in law enforcement and is demanding low–cost police reform; the question was why would the Fremont City Manager want to force the retirement of the city’s longest serving African American police officer and the city’s longest tenured Black employee.

During the town hall meeting, it was alleged that City Manager Danaj has had a questionable past in managing major personnel decisions. People pointed to news articles that said Danaj had been placed on administrative leave and terminated without cause from his post as City Manager of Manhattan Beach CA in January 2018.

In addition, in October 2018, he was the subject of a pension investigation during his brief employment in the Santa Clara City Manager’s Office (just prior to taking the job in Fremont).

According to Kirn Gill a longtime Fremont resident, “ Captain Bobbitt is an absolute legend and jewel, and the community will not stand for him to be treated this way, we need police leaders with his mentality and experience”.

According to Nick Austin who recently retired from the Fremont Police Department due to injury, ”…Captain Bobbitt was a liaison between the city administration and helped get me the doctors I needed for my injury. Any time I was stressed or worried, Captain Bobbitt was there for my family. In my opinion Captain Bobbitt is the leadership at the PD, and I considered him not only my boss but a great friend and a great person.

“I think it’s extremely disappointing that Captain Bobbitt is being treated with absolute disrespect after over 35 years of dedicated service for an organization of which he loves.”

According to a letter written to the Fremont City Council and Mayor from Yulanda Williams, president of Officers for Justice, 3rd vice president of San Francisco NAACP and a lifetime member of Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA), “Leadership and logic need to prevail here. This moment in history has no place for the personal agenda or politics of the Fremont City manager.”

During virtual town hall meetings, calls for the City Manager to be fired came from multiple community leaders.

The city’s formal email response to the community did indirectly defend Captain Bobbitt’s transfer and reply to allegations against City Manager Denaj.

“The Police Chief is solely responsible for all police department appointments” and that Captain Bobbitt was moved to the “Professional Support Services Division,” where he is in commend of 80 full-time employees, “the second largest division in the department,” the email said.

While the city “can’t specifically comment” on City Manager Danaj’s personnel matter in Manhattan Beach or the pension investigation, it is known that his employment contract was ended “without cause,” according to the cityemail, which posted links of several news articles quoting the City Manager in his own defense.

Below are several news articles related to the city’s manager’s past job performance.

• https://www.dailybreeze.com/2018/01/03/manhattan-beach-fires-city-manager-mark-danaj-without-explanation/

• https://www.californiacitynews.org/2018/11/mark-danaj-cleared-after-calpers-ethics-complaint.html

• https://easyreadernews.com/mark-danaj-and-his-longtime-municipal-colleagues-blaze-a-lucrative-trail-together/

• https://www.svvoice.com/santa-clara-subject-of-state-pension-investigation/

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Community

WCCUSD Joins Statewide Organic School Food Purchasing Cooperative

Other districts involved include: Alameda USD, Albany USD, Berkeley USD, Capistrano USD, Cupertino Union SD, Hayward USD, Laguna Beach USD, Lagunitas Elementary SD, Mt. Diablo USD, North Monterey County USD, Pajaro Valley USD, San Leandro USD, San Ramon Valley USD, Santa Clara USD, Sausalito Marin City SD, Tahoe-Truckee USD and West Contra Costa USD.

Published

16 hours ago

October 13, 2026

Post News Group

West Contra Costa Unified School District food services team members pose for a photo at Back-to-School Night. Photo courtesy of WCCUSD.

By Richmond Standard Staff

Seventeen California public school districts, including West Contra Costa Unified (WCCUSD), have joined a purchasing cooperative to pool their buying power and expand access to organic food in school meals.

The nonprofit Conscious Kitchen recently announced the launch of the Conscious Organic School Food Purchasing Cooperative. Its founding districts serve more than 300,000 students combined.

The cooperative partnered with food distributors UNFI and Sysco to expand the organic products available to participating districts. Combining schools’ purchasing demand helps distributors plan with suppliers while creating more dependable markets for organic farmers and food makers, according to Conscious Kitchen.

Other eligible California school districts can access the cooperative’s products and pricing through its existing contracts without conducting their own bids. Mt. Diablo Unified School District serves as the lead district for the cooperative’s grocery bid.

Barbara Jellison, WCCUSD’s executive director of food services, said the cooperative builds on years of work bringing fresh, organic food into school kitchens.

“The next challenge has always been how to make that possible for more districts,” Jellison said. “The Co-op gives schools a way to take what we have learned and move it to a completely different scale.”

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Community

Democrats, Community Groups Back Measure EE to Change How Oakland Is Governed

Along with clearer executive responsibility, the Charter reform would also create new checks and balances, including an independent Budget and Legislative Analyst office, City Council confirmation of key appointments, expanded council hearing and subpoena authority, and give the council the ability to override a mayoral veto with six votes.

Published

16 hours ago

October 13, 2026

Post News Group

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. Courtesy of Mayor Barbara Lee’s office.

By Oakland Post Staff

The Alameda County Democratic Party has voted to endorse Measure EE, the Oakland Charter reform measure on the November 2026 ballot. The party’s endorsement is announced alongside a broad coalition of organizations spanning labor, business, faith, and community advocacy, including Oakland Rising Action that are also supporting the measure.

Those supporters include:

League of Women Voters of Oakland
AFSCME Council 57
SPUR
Bay Area Council
Black Women Organized for Political Action
Faith in Action East Bay
Oakland Chamber of Commerce
Oakland Rising Action
Revitalize East Bay
Empower Oakland

Measure EE would reform Oakland’s hybrid governance system by establishing a strong-mayor structure, making the mayor the city’s chief executive, responsible for delivering effective, efficient services.

The measure would also reform and expand responsibilities of City Councilmembers.

Measure EE would create clearer lines of responsibility for the performance of city government, allowing voters to evaluate the mayor based on how effectively the city delivers services and produces results.

“Oakland voters deserve a City Hall where they know exactly who’s responsible when something goes wrong and exactly who to credit when it gets fixed. Measure EE puts that responsibility squarely with the mayor, backed by real checks and balances, so Oakland can finally move as fast as its problems demand. That’s why the Alameda County Democratic Party is proud to stand behind it,” said Igor Tregub, chair of the Alameda County Democratic Party.

Oakland Rising Action, a collaboration of racial, economic, and environmental justice organizations, has also issued a press statement explaining its support for Measure EE.

Measure EE “represents a critical opportunity for residents to clarify the governance role of the Oakland Mayor and City Council, so we, as residents, know who to hold accountable for the execution of voter-approved and budgeted services within city departments,” the statement said.

Measure EE would reform Oakland’s Charter, which is the city’s Constitution, strengthening “the role of the mayor as the CEO of Oakland, with the city administrator being hired and managed by the mayor explicitly.”

The measure would also strengthen oversight of city departments by mandating reporting directly to the City Council and provide the mayor with veto power in approving policies and the budget.

Measure EE was placed on the ballot by the Oakland City Council in June 2026. For more than half a year, the mayor’s working group on Charter reform engaged residents and elected officials on the options for governance of Oakland, which led to Measure EE.

“Oaklanders need clarity about who is responsible for the management of our city departments, our tax dollars, and our voter-approved ballot measures,” said Pecolia Manigo, executive director of Oakland Rising.

“The average resident believes that we already have a strong mayor system,” she continued. “However, this is simply not the truth in our City Charter. It is time for us to stop talking about the Charter changes Oakland needs. This is the first of many Charter reforms that are needed to improve conditions in Oakland, especially the flatlands. It’s time all voters start paying attention to who is making decisions for Oakland. This election allows us to say how we believe Oakland should be governed.”

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Business

Veterans Housing Project Proposed for South Richmond

According to the development team’s presentation, the project has an estimated total cost of nearly $158 million. The presentation outlines five phases encompassing entitlement and construction documents, community outreach, soil remediation and utility work, podium and building construction, solar technology integration, and interior buildouts.

Published

16 hours ago

October 13, 2026

Post News Group

Artist’s rendering of the complex that will have xx units for veterans. Courtesy image.

A proposed mixed-use development at 338 Carlson Blvd. could bring hundreds of homes and support services for military veterans to South Richmond.

Led by the Richmond-based Veterans Resource Program in partnership with Eagle Environmental Construction & Development, the proposal covers an approximately 2.3-acre property the nonprofit acquired in 2018.

The proposal features a multi-building residential development with various apartment sizes, though city documents and developer materials cite conflicting totals ranging from 226 to 268 units.

The proposal also includes approximately 40,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, about 200 parking spaces, and an entrepreneurial training and job-development component intended to connect veterans with economic and workforce opportunities.

Founded in 2011, the Veterans Resource Program provides housing assistance and other services to veterans, including those experiencing homelessness or transitioning from incarceration.

The proposal aims to advance Richmond’s affordable housing goals while connecting veterans with housing and supportive services. Details of affordability and veteran eligibility remain to be clarified.

The Richmond City Council was scheduled to receive an informational presentation on the project at its Oct. 6 meeting, following a continuance from Sept. 22. The item does not seek project approval or city funding. Any future request for city financial assistance or other public resources would require separate consideration and approval.