Council Member Mike Bucci was first elected to the Newark City Council in November 2014. The City Council appointed him to another four-year term in November 2018. The voters of the City of Newark elected Mr. Bucci for a third term in November 2022.
State law requires that a special election be held to fill the vacancy, which could occur on November 5, 2024.
Bucci resigned before his third terms ended, saying he can no longer afford to live in the city he represents. Bucci will move out of Newark to purchase a home. He plans to relocate his family to Ventura County.
Mr. Bucci’s salary from a San Leandro-based construction company, coupled with the roughly $13,000 he earns a year as a councilman, is not enough to purchase a proper home for his wife and daughter in Newark.
The landlord for the Bucci family’s current Newark residence recently died. Although the surviving family has no immediate plans to sell the house, Bucci stated, “I can’t take any chances. This is a million dollar house we’re in.”
He said he and his wife and daughter are moving into a family-owned two-bedroom condominium where his grandmother currently resides in Oxnard, CA.
“That’s the best option for us,” Bucci said. “It’s difficult because we don’t have a life there. Our life is here. But the truth is all of our family has left here.”
The median sale price of a home in Newark is $1.4M , up 15% since a year ago.
Newark Mayor Mike Hannon was saddened by Bucci’s resignation letter but was not surprised by it. He understands, recalling how different the Bay Area housing market was when his family left their rental unit and found their first home here in 1985. “The magnitude in terms of dollar amounts is just significantly much higher,” said the mayor.
Before resigning, Bucci, 47, shared his housing struggles in an interview. “We tried over the years. We tried a lot. It was never enough. And a bank won’t give you a loan that’s worth more than your house. There’s nothing you can do…It’s heartbreaking.”
Since being elected in 2014, he’s been credited with helping open the city’s new civic center, which includes a new City Hall, police station and library, as well as the first dog park and skatepark.
A long time Newark resident, Mr. Bucci was a champion of affordable housing and supported many affordable housing projects, including the recently built Cedar Community Apartments funded by Project Homekey. Mr. Bucci was also instrumental in securing support for the Newark Civic Center campus, which was constructed on time and under budget.
Mayor Hannon expressed his gratitude for Mr. Bucci’s contributions by stating, “I thank Council Member Bucci for his nearly 10 years of service to the City and for his leadership and support of parks and affordable housing…I wish him and his family all the best.”
