Antioch Mayor Wade Harper announced on Wednesday, December 23 that he will be running for Contra Costa County Supervisor, District III.
In 2012, Harper was elected Mayor of Antioch after earning more than 40% of the vote and helped pass two ballot measures for the Police Department. In 2010, Harper was elected to the Antioch City Council while he began his political career in 2008 as an appointed member to the Antioch Unified School District.
Here is his official Press Release
On December 23, 2015, Mayor Wade Harper is announcing his decision to run for Contra Costa County Supervisor, District III. Wade has a proven track record of effective leadership that will benefit the Board of Supervisors and the County.
Wade is the candidate with 24 years in law enforcement who has served as a police manager, and has taught Emergency Preparedness. Wade’s experience makes him the best advocate for Public Safety.
He believes education and critical thinking skills are important as a leader. Wade has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Pastoral Studies from Patten University, where he was Student of the Year. He earned his Master of Business Administration in Leadership from John F. Kennedy University’s School of Management, and was honored as Alumni of the Year. During his career, Wade completed Executive Development Training, Management Training, and the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute where he was selected as class valedictorian.
As a directly-elected mayor of the largest city in District III, Wade has served on the board of directors for several committees such as Transplan, the Highway 4 Bypass, and eBART Committee, as well as East Contra Costa Regional Fee and Financing Authority. Wade is Vice Chair of the Contra Costa County Conference of Mayors. He also meets with the Delta 6, which includes the East County mayors and supervisors and/or their representatives, to discuss regional issues. Wade believes, fiscal stewardship is of the utmost importance. Under Wade’s leadership, the City of Antioch is operating from a solid strategic plan and has approved a policy and practice to commit 50% of all one-time funds and salary savings to reduce unfunded liabilities. The City of Antioch maintains an AA- bond rating.
Wade is a member of the Board of Directors for Tri-Delta Transit who won “The Best Small Transit System in America” award in 2014 for the excellent operation of the transit agency. Wade is also a board member for Delta Diablo which has won multiple awards for their efficient operations. Delta Diablo is a leader amongst sanitation agencies.
Wade understands water issues as the City of Antioch is a city in District III that maintains Senior Water rights. Wade has fought to protect Antioch’s water rights and will continued to fight to protect our Delta.
“What do I want people to know about me? That I am a man of faith and a family man. I have prepared myself to lead and I consider my service to the community as my calling and a life-time commitment.” Wade is a part-time teacher at Antioch High School and teaches “Law Enforcement Careers” in the Leadership in Public Services Academy.
“Due to the time consuming nature of running a winning campaign, I am stepping away from my field representative responsibilities with Senator Glazer.”
Wade’s family supports his run for Supervisor. Wade and his wife Lisa have been married for 26 years. Lisa is an Instructional Assistant for Special Education in the Antioch Unified School District. Their children attended Antioch Unified School District and the California State University system. I respectfully request your support to serve as Contra Costa County Supervisor, District III.
Harper becomes the fourth candidate to announce his campaign for Supervisor to fill a seat that will be open after Supervisor Mary Piepho will retire and not seek a fourth term in 2016. East Bay Regional Park District Trustee Diane Burgis announced yesterday. Odessa LeFrancois, President of the NAACP East County Branch announced in November while Oakley City Councilman Doug Hardcastle announced in September.
29 comments
You have got to be kidding me? Didn’t he promise he was 100% our mayor, then he goes and works a job at the School District, then works for Senator Glazer. No thanks!
And Mary Piepho was a problem to some people? Would hate to see what he brings to the county. Between he and Federal Glover, we are doomed. Hope Mary Piepho reconsiders retirement.
With Harper and Hardcastle running against each other Diane Burgess (sp sorry) is a hands down winner. The blowhards will cancel each other out, a blessing for all of us. Unfortunately Harper would still be allowed to run for mayor again in November when he loses in June. That is the way it works. We need to beg Mr. Glover to NOT back either one of the men.
Wade Harper, an effective leader for Antioch? That’s laughable!
Harper has been a complete disaster for Antioch now he wants to bring his clown show to County Supervisor? I sincerely hope people aren’t stupid enough to elect him to higher office.
Mayor Haroer offers a fresh beginning for leadership ind the East County it time for change change is hard, expensive and time consuming but necessary the only thing constant is change the Harper& Glover leadership team for transformational leadership the time is now to set the bar for excellence
Karen, what the hell are you smoking? Harper and Glover leadership team? Ther is no leadership in Harper and there’s no team in Glover. Are you suggesting Federal is thinking of endorsing Harper? Glover needs to retire! If he doesn’t figure it out the voters will-no more free rides.
Both men have a history of not performing. They have certainly set the bar…….
Glover and Harper must go!
Wade Harper? Seriously? Now that’s funny stuff right there!
Who the heck would vote for such a character??? He is such a carpet bagger!!!
On the plus side of things he will guarantee that Diane Burgis gets the seat. Thanks Wade, knew you had to be good for something. Who knew? 🙂
Check out Wade’s attendance record on these boards for yourselves. He is largely absent from meetings but is quick to take credit for the boards success. This clown knows NOTHING.
Vote for anyone but Wade or Doug Hardcastle. Be warned: They are both lacking in leadership skills and attendance.
Damn, the guy has balls thinking that anyone would take him seriously after all the shit that has gone down in Antioch or maybe his ego is as big as the bozo mayor in Brentwood. Either way there is no way in hell anyone will reelect him to mayor.
Monitor: You are absolutely correct. Harper does not attend meetings except the paid ones. He has done nothing and God knows he is not a fresh start for anything. Joe, ego is his master.
If a vote was to split in Antioch as it did last time and he won, he will win again, unless all of us work very hard to get him out. We need only 2 people to run for Mayor not 5.
Harper + Glover on the Board of Supervisors = Beavis & Butthead of east county!!! LOL
Glover and Harper would make a great team. Certainly better the Glover and Piepho. Welcome Mayor Harper to what certainly should be a backstabbing mud slinging race for the cold hearted seat.
So far, not one candidate I can vote for. Especially not this one!
He is so divisive in Antioch why would the rest of us want him? He promised Antioch more cops with the sales tax increase and then turned around and used it towards the general fund. He is another union shill that would be fine dragging us down to Antioch’s level. No thank you.
You folks just don’t get it. Harper is “slick Willy” you all voted him into Council then Mayor. He fooled you good. You voted for his tax increases. You fell for his lies and broken promises. He fooled you many times and will fool you again.
Oh how white guilt permeates deep. Lmao
Happy Kwanza you progressive Liberals. You got what you deserved.
Oh my….it’s difficult to believe this guy has the gall to run for another office. It would be like putting an assault rifle in the hands of a 7 year old. Carnage. I can’t even begin to wrap my head around the arrogance of Wade Harper. Does he not understand people don’t like or respect him as our city leader? He has to already know he won’t get re elected to that post either.
Does anyone here think he has done good for Antioch? None of my neighbors do. I looked at the ECT Facebook page and the angst against Wade Harper is overwhelming. Spoiler alert: he will be the candidate with the fewest votes for county supervisor, right below Doug Hardcastle.
Sorry Mr. Harper but it’s over for you. Make sure you turn out the lights on your way out.
Slick Willy will pull another magic trick. Just watch.
Not quite. You will be happy to hear that unlike a local race, a county race takes hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars for a candidate to be a contender. It’s not uncommon for a campaign to exceed 1/2 million dollars when all is said and done. Since door knocking won’t do it, how do you suppose Wade Harper will get his message out?
If Harper or Hardcastle wanted to be players, they would have to have started fundraising over a year ago. The reality is, it’s not going to happen for either one of them. I’m hearing that both are having difficulties obtaining support, endorsements and funding. The sitting supervisor already tied it all up months ago and is pledging her support to Burgis. More than likely it will be a three way race with Hardcastle and Harper making up less than 1/2 the vote. Lefrancois will garner less than 10 percent if she decides to run, but she probably won’t.
I would really like to believe you *sigh*
In Harper’s case, arrogance ignores reality. For some politicians they believe their failure and lack of leadership ability means they should seek higher office.
You get what you vote for Antioch.
Sometimes people vote a candidate to higher office just to get him out of his current position. Promote him for all the wrong reasons. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen in Harpers case. But you still need to remember he can still run for Mayor if he loses the Supes position. I cannot stress that enough. Pay attention folks. It would be the same way for Hardcastle.
Neither Harper or Hardcastle stand a chance. Performance, endorsements, backing & campaign finance play a major roles in county contests. Harper and Hardcastle lack support on all levels and therefore will place accordingly. Currently Diane Burgis is the lead followed by a distant Wade Harper, Doug Harcastle and Odessa Lefrancois.
Burgis has a solid resume, good name recognition, regional experience and appeals to voters in the district.
Harper is not respected within his own community, he is known for poor performance, poor attendance, has shown he is a carpetbagger and doesn’t have an existing support base. He will be easily defeated for both seats (supervisor/mayor).
Hardcastle has little name recognition, lacks accomplishments, doesn’t comprehend simple issues, lacks polish and comes across as confused and angry.
Lefrancois has no name recognition, no platform and no chance.
@The Monitor,
What makes you an expert? What are your credentials other than internet trolling under a fake name? Hate to break it to you but Burgis has little to no name recognition either. Everyone is a no name in this race besides Harper and he only has recognition for how bad Antioch crime has become.
Experience, political knowledge coupled with a proven track record for starters. At the same time I do question people like you that work from a platform of hypocrisy. You appear to be more concerned about the messenger instead of the message while you, yourself post under a fake name. Why should I or anyone else take you seriously?
I hate to break it to you but Ms. Burgis holds an elected seat on a regional board which means she was elected by a far greater voter base. This gives her a monumental advantage in name recognition over the other possible candidates. Add the media covered endorsement of the current supervisor who has enjoyed a majority of voter support and brings credibility to a campaign. If you disagree, you could cite your credentials and reasoning.
Mr. Hardcastle and (as you stated) Mr. Harper both have negativity associated with the little amount of name recognition they have acquired during their terms. They both have poor track records of leadership which have a nasty habit of being exposured in large races covered by media sources and interested parties. You might want to look up what an independent expenditure is and how it works.
The real question is who comes in last. Hardcastle or Harper ? It’s gonna be close !
When are the elections? and who should I vote for, I know Haeper is POS. Please tell me who will actually help Antioch! I’m new to the city and want to help better Antioch. Antioch has so many nice people with the exception of all the section 8 welfare scumbags who are freeloading here. Someone inform me. Anyone that is less liberal the better.
Who is the best candidate for major of Antioch next election? Who will actually maybe help change things? I know I’m aiming for high hopes, but anyone but that crook Harper!
I’m voting for Lori!
Lori is running for Mayor not Supervisor. She has my vote also.
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