Photo Credit: Alizeh Italia
In a recent campaign discussion, candidate Rohan Marfatia detailed his run for Alameda County Supervisor of District 2. The Board of Supervisors operates as a legislative and executive body of the county, responsible for monitoring the massive annual budget, overseeing public health and social services, managing regional infrastructure, and appointing department heads. Citing his two decades of experience in the private sector, Marfatia championed the idea that managing the county’s $5.1 billion budget requires a shift toward modernizing outdated operating systems, direct problem-solving, and a more collaborative environment between administrators and elected officials.
Addressing the Performance Gap
Marfatia’s decision to run was driven by what he perceived as the widening discrepancy between governmental tax revenues and actualized positive impact on the local community. He specifically referenced that despite the hundreds of millions of Measure W funding, a sales tax meant to fund homelessness services and affordable housing, homelessness in the county has continued to rise since 2020. “If we are taxing residents by almost a billion dollars… and homelessness actually worsens, are we doing something right or wrong?” Marfatia questioned, asserting that the issue remains not a lack of resources, but rather how Alameda County executes local programs.
Bringing Transparency Through Technology
A central focus of Marfatia’s platform is updating the county’s technological infrastructure to improve governmental transparency. He identifies areas where current management has fallen behind, pointing out how official county websites go without modernization or updates for years, relying on now archaic systems. Sharing his very own experience, Marfatia talked about how he applied for a position on one of the local boards back in January 2025, yet a year and a half later, the system still shows his application is simply “being considered.”
To solve these systematic delays, Marfatia intends to implement publicized, monthly performance dashboards to track crucial metrics like provincial crime rates, internal staffing vacancies, and the efficacy of economic programs relative to employment rates. Comparing public administration to corporate performance, Marfatia explained, “A CEO of a business needs a dashboard to operate the business every day… and here we are operating without a dashboard. We don’t know whether things are trending up or down”.
Fostering Collaboration and Economic Opportunity
Beyond technology, Marfatia campaigned for a cultural shift across county departments to foster better internal collaboration and communication to remove bureaucratic gatekeeping. He expresses how phrases such as “it’s not my job” need to be eliminated so that residents receive more comprehensive support. He highlights how his background as a consensus builder, including past experiences traveling to Washington D.C. to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to advocate for industry provisions, serves as a strong foundation for his attitude as Alameda County Supervisor. To address ongoing local layoffs, he also emphasizes his current involvement with a company called OffBoard to launch the Alameda Career Transitions portal, an initiative designed to assist displaced workers retrain and transition into higher-paying roles within the technology and AI industries.
Marfatia emphasized the importance of local government, citing the direct, profound, and immediate impact it has on residents’ daily lives, oftentimes more so than federal or national policies. While quoting historically low voter turnout in local primaries, he urges residents to become politically active. “Local politics is even more important,” Marfatia declares. “You need to have the right representation, you need to have capable people who deserve to be there… please exercise your right to vote”.
Overall, the central message Marfatia hopes Alameda County District 2 voters take away is his campaign motto: “Safe Neighborhoods. Real Solutions. Honest Government.”
Find out more about Rohan Marfatia:
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Rohan_Marfatia
Campaign: https://rohanmarfatia.org
Correction or Addition? If you would like to add information to this article or suggest a correction, please contact me at alizeh.i@lead4earth.org.
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