Oakland (Special to ZennieReport.com) – The reported physical altercation between San Leandro city council member Bryan Azevedo and former San Leandro council member Lee Thomas during a San Leandro Democratic Club candidate forum on September 7th is reported to have been picked up by a camera in the hallway of the library venue used for the event.
Moreover, Zennie62Media was informed that the not-yet-released video from that source tells a vastly different story than the one pushed by a media personality allegedly hired to put out dirt about Councilmember Azevedo, and a news organization (the East Bay Times / Mercury News) that endorsed former San Leandro council member Ed Hernandez, Azevedo’s 2020 Election rival he defeated.
The Mercury News reporter Chase Hunter wrote that “Thomas said he was accosted after he began filming a conversation outside of the forum between Azevedo and blogger Steven Tavares of East Bay Insiders”.
The basic event facts are agreed upon: “ The San Leandro Democratic Club held a public forum on Saturday September 7th to provide endorsements for candidates in local races, including City Council Districts 2 and 6, East Bay Municipal Utility District Ward 5 and East Bay Regional Parks Ward 4. Azevedo is a current San Leandro city councilmember for District 2, and ran for mayor of San Leandro in 2022.
However, there was no actual fight, only a near confrontation that reportedly started when former Councilmember Thomas said words to current Councilmember Azevedo (and threatened his mother by pushing a camera in her face against her request to stop), and Azevedo then turned around to see what was going on. Thomas was approaching Azevedo, yet being held back by Lopez, who can be seen holding his shoulder, in the library video, while Tavares was reportedly watching in the background. Azevedo said he walked away, but Thomas was following him into the parking lot saying “I’m going to get you!”
Azevedo Facing Hernandez In Election Rematch
Azevedo is facing Ed Hernandez, who previously served on San Leandro’s city council from 2016 to 2020”. But a source explains that even in that case, some truths are left out. Specifically, Azevedo won the The San Leandro Democratic Club endorsement vote, but the head of the organization happens to be the same person running against the Councilmember, and that is Ed Hernandez. To date, the results of the vote have not been made public. Some point to Ed Hernandez as the reason for the delay.
And now, here’s an update as of 8:16 AM PST September 19th: Councilmember Bryan Azevedo won the sole endorsement of The San Leandro Democratic Club for reelection (see Facebook post here). And from a read of the Facebook exchange between members of that political organization, the efforts of Lee Thomas and Ed Hernandez to intimidate and trigger Azevedo were seen as a political setup. The entire exchange is below.
Points Of Fact Supporting Azevedo Left Out Of East Bay Times / Mercury News Article
And in the matter of the incident several actions that paint a different story were left out by the East Bay Times / Mercury News author Chase Hunter.
First is that Azevedo and Tavares were not having a conversation. According to Azevedo, what happened was that Tavares had been “heckling and harassing” him before his parents and his wife, and was joined in the action by Mr. Thomas. Second, Azevedo said Thomas was recording his mother against her will and so Azevedo came to his Mom’s defense, and tried to get his Mom to walk away. Then, Lee Thomas and Steven Tavares started saying “all kinds of stuff” including inappropriate language. In the video, both reportedly can be seen yelling at Azevedo and his family, but he’s not talking to them.
Third, Chanse Hunter wrote “Azevedo then confronted Thomas, stating that he was upset about the recording of his conversation with Tavares. Azevedo then “charged me with his chest,” as they each prepared for blows, Thomas said.” Azevedo told Zennie62Media that Thomas was harassing ’s mother with a camera while Tavares watched the action after reportedly attacking Azevedo. Azevedo says that he came up to escort his angry mother away from Lee Thomas.
Actions Point To A Possible Setup By Hernandez and Lee Against Azevedo At The Forum
There are a number of observers who contend that the entire matter was a “setup” plotted by Ed Hernandez and Lee Thomas and against Bryan Azevedo. Apparently, the plan was to upset the passionate Councilmember Azevedo and then capture the expected behavior using the camera Lee brought to the forum. Zennie62Media has learned that Lee and Hernandez are very good friends and Hernandez has been featured on Lee’s Apple-based podcast show called “The Merinade”. That view is confirmed by this exchange found on the Facebook Page of the San Leandro Democratic Club:
Jacqueline Jacqrat Propps: “Ed and Lee set a trap”
Stephen Cassidy: “wow Ed must have magical powers to trigger an altercation when he was in another part of the library.”
Jacqueline Jacqrat Propps “Even before the debate Ed was trying to get as close as he could to hear Bryan’s mom and my conversation. Intimidation. Everyone can see they are working together, frequently with you, too. It’s a continuing wave of aggressive behavior.”
Dawn Whitney Fregosa “or someone couldn’t keep his temper under control.”
Debbi Moses “Who is Lee?”
Jacqueline Jacqrat Propps “A self proclaimed ‘successful businessman’ who can’t get over that he was voted off council and spends countless hours bullying and spreading lies about a sitting council member. His name is Lee Thomas; a poster child for a “disgruntled ex-employee.” Based on their actions on various social and local media these past two cycles, he and his partner(s) in crime are unfit to serve.”
By the way, Stephen Cassidy is Ed Hernandez’ campaign consultant.
The photo above is of Former San Leandro Councilmember Lee Thomas, one of the pair of former San Leandro elected officials accused of creating a scheme to intimidate and upset incumbent San Leandro Councilmember Bryan Azevedo.
The Matter Has No Relevance To San Leandro City Council Business And Points To Deliberate Harassment Of Azevedo For Media Purposes
The real story here, according to a number of sources, is that two former San Leandro Councilmembers, Ed Hernandez and Lee Thomas, one, Hernandez, running for re-election against the incumbent Bryan Azevedo, sought to damage Azevedo’s reputation by working with a media personality in a social media-based attack that featured setup events and fake news gossip about the incumbent Azevedo.
The focus on a manufactured character attack is a sad attempt to take the San Leandro voter’s focus of the issues that matter to residents: the economy, the marina, public safety, and future development. Considering that Councilmember Azevedo won the sole endorsement of the San Leandro Democractic Party members, their efforts failed.