Robert "Bob" Wasserman (January 12, 1934 – December 29, 2011) was an American politician and retired police chief, who served as the Mayor of Fremont, California, from 2004 to 2011. He has been credited with integrating Fremont's economy and workforce with into the larger Silicon Valley during his tenures as mayor and a city councilman.
Biography
Early life
Wasserman was born in Gary, Indiana, on January 12, 1934, to Morris and Alice Wasserman. He moved with his family to Los Angeles when he was three years old, and attended schools in the city. Wasserman served in the U.S. Army National Guard in 1949 when he was just 16 years old. He falsely told the army recruiter that he was 18 years old at the time of his enlistment. He was honorably discharged in 1952 after serving in the Korean War. Following his discharge, Wasserman joined the California National Guard, where he served as a military police inspector and rose to the rank of sergeant first class.
Wasserman continued his education during the early 1950s. He obtained a bachelor's degree in political science and administration from California State University, Los Angeles. Wasserman also received a master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.
Wasserman met his future wife, Linda, while working for the Montebello, California, police department. (She was also a Montebello municipal employee at the time). They married at a ceremony at the Montebello city hall in 1958 and had two children: Daniel, born in 1963, and Jill, born in 1966.
Career
Wasserman began his career in law enforcement when he joined the Montebello, California, Police Department as a police officer in 1953. He held positions in police departments throughout Southern California during the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
Wasserman moved to San Carlos, California in 1969 to become the chief of the San Carlos Police Department. He and his family returned to Southern California in 1972 to become police chief of the Brea Police Department, which encompassed Brea and Yorba Linda.
Wasserman was hired as the police chief of Fremont, California, in 1976. He remained in the position until his retirement in 1992. Former Fremont Police Captain Mike Lanam noted in 2012 that Wasserman, "took a fledgling department and brought it to state and national prominence." Wasserman was named Law Enforcement Executive of the Year and served as president of the California Peace Officers’ Association. In the 1980s, Wasserman was appointed to a national law enforcement task force serving as Chief of Staff of the White House National Drug Control policy, by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
Wasserman also served as the Deputy Commissioner of Interpol task force, during the United States involvement in Bosnia, and was directly reported to by the contingent commander overseeing operations there.
Wasserman launched a political career in the years prior and was first elected to the Fremont city council in 1992. During the 1990s and 2000s, Wasserman watched Fremont transition to an integral part of the Silicon Valley from a quiet, small East Bay city. By 1999, 750 high tech companies were headquartered in Fremont, including Lam Research, Cirrus Logic and Premisys Communications. Fifteen of top one hundred fastest growing companies in the San Francisco Bay Area were also located in Fremont by the same year. Wasserman and other members of the city government were credited with attracting them to Fremont.
Mayor of Fremont
In 2004, incumbent Mayor Gus Morrison was term limited from seeking re-election. Wasserman, a member of the city council, announced his candidacy for mayor. Wasserman won the mayoral election on November 2, 2004, with 26,763 votes, or 52.6 percent of the popular vote, defeating fellow city councilman, Bill Pease. He was inaugurated in December 2004.
He was re-elected to a second, four-year term on November 4, 2008. Wasserman won the 2008 election with 42% of the vote, defeating city councilman Steve Cho, who took 32%, and former Mayor Gus Morrison, who garnered 21%.