18-Year-Old Hopes to be Fremont’s “New Face”

While most college sophomores are busy getting settled into their dorms, buying textbooks, and dreading another semester, Aziz Akbari has bigger things on his mind. The 18-year-old mayoral candidate is trying to sell the city of Fremont his vision.

“I feel like Fremont is moving really slow. We need a change of pace and a new face for the city of Fremont,” said Akbari, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of Southern California.

Akbari is the youngest of Fremont’s five mayoral candidates. Among his contenders are experienced city leaders, including Fremont vice mayor Anu Natarajan, 50; councilman Bill Harrison, 43; and former councilman Steve Cho, 63. Fremont resident Linda Susoev, 57, is also vying for the seat.

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If elected, Akbari would become Fremont’s youngest mayor in history. Along with Natarajan, he could also become the first Indo-American elected to the office.

Despite his age, the mayoral hopeful says he has the fresh perspective that his opponents lack.

“I don’t have the experience but I have the knowledge, skills, know-how and vision to get the ball rolling,” the 12-year Fremont resident told Patch. “I do appreciate the service the other candidates have given, but it’s time for fresh ideas in Fremont.”

“The other candidates have all been on City Council for eight to 12 years, so they’ve had their opportunity to change Fremont, but they haven’t taken full advantage of the opportunities they’ve been given,” he added.

Like others in the race, Akbari wants to attract more businesses and create jobs. He says Fremont has the potential to compete with other Silicon Valley cities, but is overlooked.

“We’re the fourth largest city in the Bay Area. We have a talented labor force. We’re a very safe city. It really begs the question: why aren’t companies coming to Fremont?” he said. “It’s not that companies decide against coming to Fremont, they don’t consider Fremont at all. We’re not marketing ourselves as a business friendly city.”

He added that companies are moving out of Fremont and that recent closures, such as the NUMMI plant and , have weakened the local economy. “If this trend continues, it’s a gloomy future for Fremont,” he said.

Akbari also wants to attract more retail and dining to Fremont so that residents don’t have to travel outside the city limits to eat and shop. He said the recent development and shopping centers have been great for Fremont, but there’s still more room for growth.

Among his more unique ideas is using city dollars to help fund the local school district. A of 2011 graduate, Akbari said the state and federal funding streams for public education has been unreliable for the last 10 years. Fremont has the opportunity to set an example and be a leader in California education, he said.

Akbari’s decision to run for mayor didn’t happen on impulse, he said. His ideas have been brewing over the last six years, and he’s been meticulously planning his campaign for the last several months.

Before announcing his campaign, Akbari consulted his high school teachers.

“I told him to go for it,” said Carl Bullard, Akbari’s 11th grade U.S. History teacher at Washington. “He has tremendous ideas for what to do to make Fremont a better city for business, for education.”

Bullard said Akbari was always hardworking, hungry for knowledge and thoughtful.

“He is always reflective about society and the needs of all groups,” the teacher said. “It’s about anyone and everyone having equal opportunity.”

A Fremont resident, Bullard said he knows the other candidates and their roles in local government, but agrees with Akbari that a fresh face is needed.

“[Akbari] has a younger perspective, and that’s promising,” Bullard said.

In keeping with today’s youth, rather than holding a party, Akbari kicked off his campaign three weeks ago using social media, launching Twitter, Facebook and Google+ pages simultaneously.

He plans to balance his time between Los Angeles and Fremont during the campaign, flying back and forth every weekend. He currently has a satellite campaign office in his dorm room.

If he wins, Akbari said he would transfer to the Bay Area so he can commute, keep up with his education and be mayor of Fremont.

He said his age has added a shock value to his campaign, but that that his grassroots campaign is progressing with each person he speaks with.

“When they meet me in person and see my passion, they’re very supportive,” Akbari said. “A lot of people were counting me out.”

Akbari is confident he can run the city of Fremont better than his opponents, and looks forward to the coming months before the election.

“I think we all have the best of Fremont at heart,” he said. “It’ll be a fun campaign.”

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