The Alameda County Board of Supervisors is the five member non-partisan governing board of Alameda County, California. Members of the Board of supervisors are elected from districts, based on their residence.
The board was created in 1855, with the first supervisor meeting held at the San Leandro courthouse April 2, 1855. From the creation of the county in 1853 to the creation of the first board of supervisors in 1855, Alameda County was governed by a Court of Sessions, a special provisional form, combining executive, legislative and judicial functions.[1]
| District | Supervisor | Cities & Areas Represented | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Haubert[2] | Dublin & Livermore; most of Fremont; a portion of the unincorporated community of Sunol; and most of the Livermore-Amador Valley | |
| 2 | Elisa Marquez[3] | Hayward, Newark & Union City; the northern portion of the city of Fremont; and a portion of the unincorporated community of Sunol | |
| 3 | Lena Tam | Alameda & San Leandro; a portion of the city of Oakland: including the Chinatown, San Antonio, Fruitvale and Melrose areas; the unincorporated communities of San Lorenzo and Hayward Acres; and a portion of the unincorporated community of Ashland. | |
| 4 | Nate Miley[4] | Pleasanton, including the adjacent unincorporated Castlewood and Happy Valley areas; the Lower Hills, South Hills and Elmhurst areas of Oakland; the unincorporated communities of Castro Valley, Cherryland, and Fairview; and most of the unincorporated community of Ashland. | |
| 5 | Keith Carson | Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, & Piedmont; and a portion of Oakland including: West Oakland, North Oakland, and the North Hills areas. |
Within the broad limits established by the State Constitution, State General Law, and the Alameda County Charter, the Board exercises both the legislative and the executive functions of government. The Board of Supervisors is also the governing body for a number of "special districts" within Alameda County.[5]
Boundaries are adjusted every ten years through the process called "redistricting" to make the supervisorial districts equal in population. Redistricting was last completed in 2001. Terms of office for the Supervisors are four years.
Alternate elections are held every two years for three supervisors and then for two supervisors. The salary of the Board members is fixed by the Board itself. A President of the Board, chosen from the membership of the Board every two years, presides at all meetings of the Board and appoints committees to handle work involving the major programs of the County.
As defined by the Alameda County Charter, the duties of the Board of Supervisors are as follows:
The Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday mornings at the County Administration Building in Oakland, at 1221 Oak Street. Meetings are open to the public.
Nadia Davis-Lockyer (Board of Supervisors, November 2010 - April 20, 2012), an Orange County native, has worked as a public interest law attorney since 1997. She previously served as Executive Director of the Alameda County Family Justice Center. In January 2010, she was appointed to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges System by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. She was elected to the Board of Supervisors in the November 2010 election,[12] but resigned her position in April 2012 while undergoing treatment in a rehabilitation center for chemical dependency after a highly publicized incident at a Newark hotel room in which she called police claiming her former boyfriend had assaulted her.[13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News immediately after her resignation, Mrs. Lockyer explained previous statements she made concerning her addiction issues. After "initially claiming" her former boyfriend had "hacked into her email, she admitted she was the author of an email to a reporter" blaming her husband, then-California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, for "buying and supplying her with drugs years ago -- an allegation his office called "utterly false." Mrs. Lockyer said she "regretted" sending the message," and asked "the public not to hold anything against my husband for actions that happened a long time ago."[21] Later that year, in August 2012, Mrs. Lockyer was arrested in Orange County, charged with felony methamphetamine possession.[22] The Orange County District Attorney subsequently dropped the charges, and Lockyer then completed a rehabilitation program. She has since resumed the practice of law with a firm in Newport Beach,[23] and lives in Long Beach with her husband, now in private law practice.
Among the candidates being considered for the special appointment to replace Lockyer on the board were local politicians Alberto Torrico, Richard Valle, Mark Salinas, Union City Mayor Mark Green and Ana Apodaca.[24] On June 11, the 4 other board members voted unanimously to appoint Valle as supervisor. He served until November 2012, at which time a special election was held to choose who would serve the final 2 years of the 4-year term. Valle won the election, against Mary Hayashi and Green.[25] [26]