Category Archives: Media

Getting Notified About City Council and Other Key Meetings

Here’s some useful information on how to get notified about City meetings.  You can also watch the City Council and other meetings live on Channel 27.  Previous Council meetings are archived on the City’s website.

  • eNews Subscriptions – The best way to keep up with the City’s activities is to sign up for eNews subscriptions. You do this by going to the City’s email list management site.  This site allows you to subscribe to many different mailing lists.  Just like my emails, you can unsubscribe at any time.  I would suggest at least subscribing to the City Council agendas list which only generates a few emails a month.  You can take a quick look at the agenda for every City Council meeting and drill down into the full reports if desired.  There are also categories for the Warm Springs Community Plan, Downtown development, and many others.
  • Open City Hall – This is an innovative section of the City’s web page that staff has put together.  They post various topics on which community members can post their opinions.  I find it very helpful to read all of these comments to understand what the community’s concerns are about a particular issue.  You can read more about this here. The current open topic is “What kinds of acts of compassion best reflect your idea of a compassionate city?”
  • Facebook, Twitter, etc. – The City has a number of social media sites for various City departments.  You can see a complete list of these here.  I would particularly like to highlight the Nixle notifications.  These are from the Police Department on various topics and are quite informative.

New City Website – The City of Fremont’s website was updated a few months ago.  You can read more about this here.

Vinnie Running Joint TV Ad with Kathy McDonald

As many of you know, I’ve been doing a lot of joint campaigning with Kathy McDonald. We decided to combine resources and do a joint TV ad.

Kathy is another independent voice running for Council. Like me, she has refused to take campaign contributions from developers. Like me, her interests in politics stem from a desire to do what’s right for the residents of Fremont. I’ve been very impressed with her ability to learn complex topics such as redevelopment funding. She has also proven to be a very hard campaigner. It’s a pleasure to be campaigning with her.

Kathy’s website

News of Vinnie's Campaign Printed in the Argus

Matt Artz of the Argus wrote an article about my campaign.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_14223688

I would clarify two things. First, I don’t necessary think the City has allowed too many shopping centers. It’s the quality of the retail that we have allowed. We don’t need more big-box type retail along the freeway. We need more pedestrian-friendly retail areas in the center of town.

Secondly, I don’t even think that ballparks bring restaurants and bars close to them. If you look at the San Jose Arena or the Oakland Coliseum, it’s evident that no restaurants or bars have sprung up right near the ballpark. The restaurants and bars that Arena attendees visit in San Jose are several blocks away in the downtown area that existed before the Arena was built.