Indian American Raj Salwan elected Fremont mayor

Indian American Raj Salwan, who has served on the Fremont City Council for a decade, has been elected the East Bay city’s next mayor with nearly half the vote (46.9%) in a four-person race.

His closest opponent, former two-term City Councilmember Vinnie Bacon had secured 31.5%, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. In a distant third and fourth place were Rohan Marfatia (11.7%), a tech executive and political newcomer who moved to Fremont in 2017, and perennial school board candidate Hiu Ng (9.7%), who this year threw his hat in the ring for mayor.

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Salwan said he feels the support he earned shows that Fremont residents want a “problem solver” at the helm, local TV station KQED reported.

“We have so many issues now that people are concerned about, whether it’s homelessness or public safety or quality of life issues,” he said. “I think they’re looking for folks that are going to be on the ground, hands-on, solving problems. That’s what I see.”

Fremont is the fourth-largest city in the Bay Area, with about 230,000 residents. It has successfully positioned itself as a hub for biotech and as an outpost for many tech companies and advanced manufacturers.

But in recent years, the city has also grappled with a lack of affordable homes for low-income families, failing to get close to state housing goals while real estate prices have generally increased, worsening a region-wide affordability crisis, according to KQED.

Fremont has also seen a steep increase in homelessness over the last several years. Coupled with leaner budgets, the next mayor of Fremont will have plenty of opportunities and challenges facing them.

Salwan said he has “worked his way up” in Fremont politics, and he’s looking forward to taking on the task of leading the city. “I really feel I can do a lot of good work. I think I’m meant to do this,” he said. “So hopefully, I can get everybody on the same page, and hopefully, we get the support of the community, and we can do a lot of good things. We can take Fremont to the next level.”

Salwan has served on the Fremont City Council for the past eight years and served for two years in 2013-2014. He has been vice mayor twice.

The mayor-elect prioritized homelessness, public safety, traffic solutions, infrastructure improvement, and climate change on the campaign trail.