Newark councilman ‘priced out’ replaced by someone who wants to tackle affordability crisis

NEWARK — A former vice mayor is returning to the Newark City Council to replace Councilman Mike Bucci, who recently resigned.

Ana Apodaca, who most recently served as vice mayor in 2014 when she decided not to run for reelection, was appointed to the council seat on Monday.

Bucci resigned on June 27, saying he was “priced out” of his hometown. He wanted to purchase a home in Newark, but said he was unable to come up with a $60,000 down payment and keep up with the high price of living in the East Bay.

The self-proclaimed “most handsome councilmember in an eye patch ever” said his salary at a San Leandro-based construction company, coupled with the roughly $13,000 annually he earned as a councilman was nowhere near enough to buy a home in the city.

After playing the lottery twice a week, his luck did not change and he decided to move his family to Oxnard where his grandmother lives in a family-owned condominium, he said in an interview.

Apodaca joined the Newark council in 2006 and also spent years working in the California Legislature and as a government relations manager. In 2011, she lost a bid for the Newark mayor to current Councilman Alan Nagy.

In her interview with councilmembers this week, she said her top priorities for the rest of this year’s term include bolstering community education, supporting police and public safety and tackling the city’s affordable housing needs.

“I think for anyone that lives in this city, that lives in the Bay Area, affordable housing is the most urgent matter,” Apodaca said. “We’ve got to make sure that people like me who were raised in Newark can afford to live in Newark if they choose.”

Apodaca said she won’t seek election in November and instead will relinquish the seat to whomever voters elect. Of the eight people vying to temporarily replace Bucci, only Apodaca and one other applicant said they would not run for the seat this fall.

Mayor Mike Hannon said he would rather appoint someone who wouldn’t seek the position beyond this year, not wanting an “incumbent” to have an “unfair advantage” in the Nov. 5 election. He would rather “let the democratic process play out” and have voters decide who would fill the seat through 2026.

Hannon’s motion to appoint Apodaca was seconded by Vice Mayor Luis Freitas and unanimously approved by the council.

“I think it’s in my DNA to truly give back to my community,” Apodaca said. “To give back to the city of Newark once again would be a complete honor. It was an honor when I served for those nine years and it would be an honor to be back serving with you again.”

Others who applied for Bucci’s seat were: Phil Bloxom, a computer engineer; Daniel Cardenas, a former economic development commissioner in Fremont and founder of a pediatric cancer research organization; Lucia Gutierrez, who formerly served on the Newark Unified School District Board; Eve Little, a professor of parks and recreation at Cal State East Bay; Raju Mathew, a consultant and former manager at the Alameda County Environmental Health Department; Jason Matthew Miguel, a Santa Clara Valley Water District and Fatima Shaikh, a freelancer and former member of the Ohlone College student government.