Hayward Voter Guide For Last Minute Voters
What do you mean you haven't voted yet?! Get your ballot out and read this quick before the polls close!
Long-time readers of the Hayward Herald have doubtless already cast their ballots, but a surprising number of people still haven't voted or turned in their ballots. It can be easy for Bay Area voters to feel left out since we don't often play a big role in national-level politics. But every one of us gets to play a role in deciding local elections. And if you, or someone you know, haven't cast your ballot yet, the Hayward Herald wants to make sure everyone knows what's happening locally.
Concerns For Hayward Voters
It's difficult to get a handle on what voters are thinking about local elections. Polling can cost thousands of dollars and Hayward, at least, lacks the funding and infrastructure for independent polling during elections. In lieu of that, local political watchers often turn to social media to get a feel for what people are talking about—though this can often skew toward a loud minority and demographics vary wildly by platform.
The Hayward Herald team has been watching social media and online discussions to see what people have been talking about. Below are what we've heard the most about and how it may affect the elections tonight.
Data Center Development
The construction of the Stack data center on Eden Landing Road has faced immense community pushback, showcased at the September 15th City Council meeting and the following moratorium on October 20th. Hundreds of people attended and dozens voiced concerns about environmental damage, pollution from generators, water contamination, and more. It’s become one of the key issues in online election discussions.
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Policing And Public Safety
Whether online or on the dais, policing and public safety are always talking points for residents and elected officials. Between broken windows for Downtown businesses, unhoused people on the street, and ever-present property crime, it’s an issue that drives a lot of strong feelings. The Hayward PD gets the largest share of the General Fund (44%) but is still plagued by understaffing. Despite crime falling in almost every category this year, concerns about safety and policing continue to drive conversation.
Getting To The Data
According to the 2025 Resident Satisfaction Survey, the actual issues important to Hayward residents are the cost of housing, traffic congestion on freeways, and homelessness. “Crime, in general” was the 4th highest concern, rated at the same urgency as traffic on local streets. Compared to the prior survey, the concern about crime actually dropped a percentage point while the cost of housing increased 9 percentage points.
Propositions Near And Far
With 14 different Propositions on the ballot this year and hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on pushing them one way or the other, it's understandable that some folks may be confused about what's most important. With an eye on the importance of thinking local, the Hayward Herald has put together some (relatively) brief voter guides that outline the propositions and how they could affect us here in Hayward. Check out the stories below!
Collin Thormoto
Collin Thormoto
Collin Thormoto
Local Elections
Way back in August, we ran a list of candidates and what their platforms were at the time. This post is a little old, but it gives a good overview of where different candidates stood, at least at the time.
Collin Thormoto
What's Happened Since Then
A few things have happened since then, though. And although we weren't able to give play-by-play coverage of what's happening, here's an overview for the last-minute voters out there.
Hayward Mayor
Mark Salinas, current Hayward Mayor, has been busy. He's been walking neighborhoods and both spending and raising money. By mid-October, Salinas had spent almost $20,000 on campaign literature alone and raised a bit more than that in the same period. He's got over $40,000 in cash on hand now and continues to connect himself to big unions, real estate, and business interests. He also supported the data center moratorium.
Tom Wong has been capitalizing on the data center debate, taking a strong anti-data center stance. But with no campaign committee to help fundraise and no large audience without a City Council meeting, he may have lost steam in the final few weeks.
Hayward Council District 1
Brian Schott hasn't spoken much about data centers on his campaign website, but he did send out an attack ad saying Councilmember Syrop could have stopped the data center. Schott's costs mostly come from his business, AdMail, to which he owes almost $10,000. On top of that, The National Association of Realtors Fund has spent over $16,500 on mailers in support of Schott.
Meanwhile, Councilmember George Syrop has been the most outspoken critic of data center development in Hayward. He has repeatedly expressed interest in a ban and co-authored the referral which resulted in a temporary moratorium on data center development in Hayward. He's also been spending money as soon as he can bring it in, with over $30,000 raised this year but less than $4,000 on hand, it's been spent on flyers and phone banking. Syrop also continues to build union and institutional support from the region.
HARD Board Area 4
Candidate Joseph "Joe" Giltner has been vocally critical of his opponent, HARD Director Paul Hodges, for weeks. Criticizing his absences from recent Board meetings and his relative silence on social media, Giltner's social media posts have been combative—especially concerning other elected officials like Council member Dan Goldstein and Peter Rosen. Should Giltner win the vote, the HARD Board of Directors may have tense meetings.
Paul Hodges, on the other hand, has been facing medical issues. According to Giltner's campaign emails, he has missed multiple Board meetings. Mr. Hodges is, according to available information, in his late 70's and has served on the HARD Board of Directors since 2007.
Please Just Vote
With this information in hand, please take the time to vote if you haven't already. Your voice truly does matter, especially in local down-ballot elections. Send this to someone you know who hasn't voted yet and tell them to vote. It's the least we can do these days.
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