With Election Day two days away, Bob Brunton is hoping for an upset.
This is Brunton’s sixth time running for the California State Assembly to represent District 24, and it’s his third time going up against current Assemblymember Alex Lee. District 24 consists of Milpitas, Fremont, Newark, and parts of San Jose.
When asked how he is able to stay so persistent, Brunton replied: “The way I look at it, Abraham Lincoln lost a lot of times before he got elected.” (Note: Lincoln lost eight times.)
A resident of Fremont, Brunton has won a few other elections in the past, having served in the role of Trustee for the Ohlone Community College District. He did so for 12 years.
In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Brunton has been going around to different associations and groups throughout the district, hoping that people will spread the word about him and his campaign.
Said Brunton, “We have schools that are underperforming in some parts of the state. We have so many problems, but the number one problem is the way we’re approaching our problems…”
Brunton feels that the issues facing the state have become so politicized and partisan, but at the same time people are starting to realize that more voices are needed at the table. As a Republican, Brunton is confident that his views and ideas would offer California a welcome change.
“Democrats support big businesses and big labor, but they don’t care about small businesses and small labor,” said Brunton.
Brunton said that as the only Republican on the Ohlone College Board, he got used to working across the aisle and collaborating with people with different views.
“Being in the minority, you have to work with the other side. So I’m used to it,” said Brunton. “You have to include a diversity of ideas, otherwise what good is it?”
A business owner for the past four decades, Brunton believes that he brings experience and expertise that are much-needed during this time in our state’s history.
There are three big priorities Brunton would tackle if elected. The first one is housing. His main focus would be on owner-occupied housing:
“We’ve become a renter state as opposed to a homeowner state. If we increase homeownership, schools will be better, crime will be better, stores will be better. Alex Lee is talking about rentals, but Bob Brunton is talking about homeownership,” stated Brunton.
Brunton would also put energy toward tackling homelessness. He feels that we need a state program and not city programs. “It’s unfair to the cities’ finances,” Brunton explained.
Brunton’s third leading priority would be transportation. He finds it unreal that we have over two dozen mass transit agencies in the Bay Area yet they don’t work well together. His aim would be to restructure and coordinate transportation in the Bay, ensuring that everyone in the system is accountable.
“My motives are genuine,” said Brunton. “Our state has severe problems and they’re not going to fix it. I’ll do my best. It’s about the ideas and solutions. I will try hard to make it all work better.”
