Facts >> Money Behind City Council Members

Following are the 2004-2006 Form 460 filing details for City Council members, as related to donations from developers, construction and home improvement companies, realtors, and the Patterson family. These are groups that benefit from development proposals that are approved by city council. This information is available at the City Clerk’s office.

Runaway housing development results in increasing traffic, overcrowded schools, deteriorating roads, insufficient police and fire services. Over time, housing developments are a drain on city services. The current city council has not had the vision to attract businesses that provide good-paying jobs and tax revenues for the city.

Steve Cho

Total campaign donations in 2004-2006: $54,248 (almost all raised in 2004 when he ran for city council)

Developers/Construction companies
Total: 30 (18 are outside of Fremont)*

Real Estate Agents/Realtors
Total: 48 (3 are outside of Fremont)

Home Improvement companies (remodelers, concrete, drywall, plumbing, etc.)
Total: 13

Patterson Family
Total: 5 (Patterson Ranch proposal property owner, contributing maximum of $250 each; family members live outside of Fremont in Portola Valley, Woodside, Palo Alto, Atherton, etc.)

Richard Frisbee, developer of Patterson Ranch proposal
Total: 1 (maximum of $250 in 2006)

*Note: 5 contributions of $250 each from Robson Homes.
Developer has already developed thousands of houses in MSJ: Boxwood, Canyon Heights, Catalina, Covington, Mayfield, Mission Arroyo, Mission Cielo, Morrison Crossing, The Old School, Rosewalk.

Bill Harrison

Total campaign raised in 2006: $90,567 (ran for city council)

Developers/Construction companies
Total: 19 (10 are outside of Fremont)*

Real Estate Agents/Realtors
Total: 12 (4 are outside of Fremont)

Home Improvement companies (remodelers, concrete, drywall, plumbing, etc.)
Total: 6 (5 are outside of Fremont)

Patterson Family
Total: 16 (Patterson Ranch proposal property owner, contributing maximum of $250 each; family members live outside of Fremont in Portola Valley, Woodside, Palo Alto, Atherton, etc.)

Richard Frisbee, developer of Patterson Ranch proposal
Total: 1 (maximum of $250 in 2006)

*Note: 4 contributions of $250 each from Robson Homes.
Developer has already developed thousands of houses in MSJ: Boxwood, Canyon Heights, Catalina, Covington, Mayfield, Mission Arroyo, Mission Cielo, Morrison Crossing, The Old School, Rosewalk.

Bob Wasserman

Total campaign raised in 2004: $78,986 (ran for mayor)

Developers/Construction companies
Total: 30 (elected as mayor and supported by Fremont’s political machine; majority of donors are outside of Fremont who want to influence outcomes of development proposals)*

Real Estate Agents/Realtors
Total: 28 (6 are outside of Fremont)

Home Improvement Companies (remodelers, concrete, drywall, plumbing, etc.)
Total: 14

Patterson Family
Total: 19 (Patterson Ranch proposal property owner, contributing maximum of $250 each; family members live outside of Fremont in Portola Valley, Woodside, Palo Alto, Atherton, etc.)

Richard Frisbee, developer of Patterson Ranch proposal
Total: 1 (maximum of $250 in 2006)

*Note: 5 contributions of $250 each from Robson Homes.
Developer has already developed thousands of houses in MSJ: Boxwood, Canyon Heights, Catalina, Covington, Mayfield, Mission Arroyo, Mission Cielo, Morrison Crossing, The Old School, Rosewalk.

Anu Natarajan

Total campaign raised in 2006: $86,668 (ran for city council)

Developers/Construction
Total: 31 (21 are outside of Fremont)*

Real Estate Agents/Realtors
Total: 15 (3 are outside of Fremont)

Home Improvement companies (remodelers, concrete, drywall, plumbing, etc.)
Total: 7 (6 are outside of Fremont)

Patterson Family, developer of Patterson Ranch proposal
Total: 19 (Patterson Ranch proposal property owner, contributing maximum of $250 each; family members live outside of Fremont in Portola Valley, Woodside, Palo Alto, Atherton, etc.)

Richard Frisbee, developer of Patterson Ranch proposal
Total: 1 (maximum of $250 in 2006)

*Note: 6 contributions of $250 each from Robson Homes.
Developer has already developed thousands of houses in MSJ: Boxwood, Canyon Heights, Catalina, Covington, Mayfield, Mission Arroyo, Mission Cielo, Morrison Crossing, The Old School, Rosewalk.

Bob Wieckowski

Total campaign raised in 2004-2006: $64,448 (ran for city council)

Developers/Construction companies
Total: 14 (5 are outside of Fremont)*

Real Estate Agents/Realtors
Total: 8 (3 are outside of Fremont)

Home Improvement companies (remodelers, concrete, drywall, plumbing, etc.)
Total: 10 (9 are outside of Fremont)

Patterson Family
Total: 25 (Patterson Ranch proposal property owner, contributing maximum of $250 each; family members live outside of Fremont in Portola Valley, Woodside, Palo Alto, Atherton, etc.)

Richard Frisbee, developer of Patterson Ranch proposal
Total: 1 (maximum of $250 in 2006)

*Note: 6 contributions of $250 each from Robson Homes.
Developer has already developed thousands of houses in MSJ: Boxwood, Canyon Heights, Catalina, Covington, Mayfield, Mission Arroyo, Mission Cielo, Morrison Crossing, The Old School, Rosewalk.

Comment from Friends of Coyote Hills

From 2004-2006, these five council members have received $53,250 from developers (including the Patterson family* and their developer, Richard Frisbie), $27,750 from real estate agents, and $12,500 from home improvement companies. 

Candidate for mayor Gus Morrison has made over $200,000 in fees directly from the developer of the Patterson Ranch. None of these Patterson family members live anywhere near Fremont nor have to endure any of the impacts from massive development that we have to. Their addresses include Atherton, Woodside, Palo Alto, and Portola Valley.

A city council candidate, Vinnie Bacon, is an outsider—not part of Fremont’s political machine, has master’s degrees from UC Berkeley in urban planning and transportation engineering, and accepts no donations from developers. 

Finally FCH strongly believe that the above named council members who accept money from developers should excuse themselves from voting on crucial development proposals such as Patterson Ranch.

*In 2008, the maximum individual campaign contribution was raised to $500. In the July 2008 Form 460 campaign contribution filing, incumbent Bob Wieckowski, running for city council, received $9,100 from the Patterson family, 22% his 2008 campaign contributions.

Suzanne Chan, candidate for city council, received 25% of her campaign contributions from developers, the majority from John Dutra (a large developer in Fremont area), his family, and associates.

Lastly, Trisha Tahmasbi, another candidate for city council, in two council candidate forums, supported the proposed Patterson Ranch development.