Unopposed Vallejo City Council candidate brings deep government experience

VALLEJO – Vallejo Housing and Community Development Commissioner Tonia Lediju is expected to be the next Vallejo city councilmember from District 3, as she was the only candidate who completed the paperwork to appear on the ballot. 

”We refer to her around here as councilmember elect Tonia Lediju,” Vallejo City Clerk Dawn Abrahamson said. 

Lediju’s name will be the only one that appears on the November ballot for District 3, which represents the south east area of the city, including the Glen Cove area, Abrahamson said. But residents can still make an appointment with the city clerk to become a qualified write-in candidate. 

In order for write-in votes to count, the candidate has to file documents similar to those filed by candidates who appear on the ballot and must gather 20 signatures from registered voters in the district, Abrahamson said. The deadline for completion of write-in candidate paperwork is Oct. 22. Abrahamson said that no write-in candidates have initiated the process since the application period began on Sept. 9. 

“I feel that I'm uniquely situated in this race, being the unopposed candidate,” Lediju said in an interview. “But I also will say very boldly, I'm uniquely qualified for the work that I'm doing.”  

Lediju has a doctorate in organizational systems with emphasis on leadership and a bachelor's degree in business administration and accounting. 

Since 2019, she has led the San Francisco Housing Authority, which provides approximately $450 Million in federal subsidies for 15 to 18 thousand families annually, according to Lediju. 

She was appointed to the position by Mayor London Breed in 2019. At the time, the agency was facing a $36 million budget deficit. Not only was she able to get the budget back on track, but during her tenure she grew program funding by $159 million, she said.

Before she decided to run for office, Lediju participated in a training program to assist women democratic candidates called Emerge. During the training, Lediju said that she began developing a relationship with Cassandra James and the two discovered that many of their political goals were aligned. Lediju went on to manage James’s successful campaign for county supervisor in March, so when she started her run for City Council she was already familiar with the campaign trail.

While taking training with Emerge, Lediju said the organization’s then executive director, former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff, was impressed with her policy knowledge and encouraged her to run for office.

Councilmember Mina Loera-Diaz chose not to run for a second term in District 3 and encouraged Lediju to run.

But Lediju said what really cemented the idea that she needed to run was hearing Vallejoans who had been living in the city for 20, 30 or 40 years say that they were starting to have doubts that Vallejo would change in their lifetimes. 

“That really broke my heart because we have people here who have given their whole life in this community, love this community and care for this community and they, along with future generations, have the right to live in a place that is thriving and really is, not just a city of opportunity, but a city of opportunity for all,” she said.

When it comes to housing, Lediju has experience from her position in San Francisco, which currently has two major capital projects underway that will create over 1,200 new units, she said.

“I understand project management,” she said. “I understand construction management. I've managed over 200 craft staff, carpenters, tile layers, plumbers, electricians. And I have gone out to our developments, looking at that work, working with contractors, putting in boilers.”

Planning a project from beginning to end is crucial, Lediju said, adding that she would use her position on the council to scrutinize the city’s plans and work with city staff to make sure unexpected problems don't arise like the recalled federal grant funds that led to the city’s bailout of the Broadway project.

But Lediju’s experience goes beyond housing. Before she was appointed to the Housing Authority, she was San Francisco’s chief auditor. 

“When I talk about audits, I'm not just talking about financial audits, I’m talking about looking at operations, looking at processes, looking at outcomes and the impact of policy on a particular population,” she said. “So I've had an opportunity at state level and local level to see impacts of policy as well as actually operationalize policies from a department perspective.”

Lediju noted that development projects take time and projects like supportive housing are very expensive in the Bay Area. On the way to those projects she would work on more immediate remedies like tenant protections and sanctioned encampments with services and adequate transportation so people can get back on their feet.

“You cannot look for a job, you cannot stabilize yourself if you can't sleep well, if you cannot clean your body, and if you cannot get clean clothes on,” she said.

On policing and public safety, Lediju said that she has been particularly affected by Vallejoans who tell her that they do not feel safe. “I've talked to many residents here and in our mature population who say ‘I don't go out of my house after a certain time,’ or 'I just don't go out of the house because I don't feel safe,’” she said. “That's not acceptable.”

Lediju said that she will advocate for interim solutions like using some of the money allocated for unfilled positions to pay for hiring security officers to monitor certain areas. But she said that as the city moves forward, the Police Department will need to make changes.

“We are extremely diverse economically, we are extremely diverse as it relates to race, ethnicity, nationality, and we need a community policing model, where at the heart of the work that we do, from a policing perspective, that it brings dignity to each and every individual that we come in contact with,” Lediju said

In using her leverage as a councilmember to bring about those changes, Lediju pointed to her experience in San Francisco. 

“I've negotiated for 11 bargaining contracts, and I was successful in doing that, when you come to the table in good faith, you can get there.” she said.

“Based on what I know – I'm not in the negotiation meetings, so I can't be matter of fact about it – but based on the outcomes, I don't believe that the [Vallejo Police Officers Association] has put forth a true good faith effort,” she said. “We have to hold our VPOA to a place where they are willing to negotiate in good faith.”

Lediju said that the Police Department is not the only department that needs cultural changes, she feels that the staff across the city would also benefit from a shift in culture.

“I have worked with our city manager in the city and county of San Francisco controller's office,” Lediju said. “Andrew is a smart individual, he understands data, so I will not be speaking a foreign language to him. I definitely will work with our city manager around organizational culture and the tone at the top, because that's very important, it starts with the tone at the top.”

“I want a place where we are welcoming, where we are customer hyper-focused, and where we seek to understand what our community needs,” she said. “Does that mean we can do everything our community needs and wants? Absolutely not. But we need to know if we are reaching middle ground in that work.”