IBEW 1245 member Dion Bailey has been elected to serve on the Hercules City Council. Photo by John Storey.
Fourteen-year IBEW 1245 member Dion Bailey is no stranger to serving the public. He’s made civil service his career, and currently works as an airport duty manager at the Port of Oakland. For the past five years, he’s also sat on the planning commission for the town of Hercules. And on Nov. 6, 2018, he was elected to serve as a member of the Hercules City Council.
“I’ve always wanted to give back to my community,” said Bailey. “And I’ve done that a little as a planning commissioner, but this new role on the City Council will enable me to help bring about change in a much broader sense.”
Bailey has lived in Hercules for 25 years, ever since his family moved out to the East Bay from San Francisco when he was still in high school. He clearly adores his city, and is brimming with new ideas to help improve it. One of his more ambitious goals involves the development of a rail station in Hercules.
“Amtrak comes through here every day, but it doesn’t stop,” said Bailey, noting that although the rail line runs right through his town, residents have to drive all the way to Emeryville or Martinez to catch the train. “I would like to get that done as a way to get folks off of I-80 and ease traffic congestion. My major goals have to do with transportation, but I also ran on a platform of improving public safety and financial sustainability.”
Serving on the City Council is a substantial time commitment, but it’s not a full-time job, so Bailey will be able to continue working at the Port and serving his co-workers as a union shop steward — but he will be required to vacate his seat on the planning commission now that he’s been elected to the City Council.
Bailey believes that the years he’s spent as a shop steward have equipped him with a unique set of skills that enable him to be a forward-thinking elected official.
“Being a shop steward has taught me how to listen, how to figure out what people really want, and how to go out and try and make it happen — because nothing is impossible,” said Bailey. “Our previous IBEW Business Rep, Al Fortier [now an IBEW 1245 Assistant Business Manager], has always said ‘Go out there and try, because you never know.’ Some of the things we’ve accomplished [as a bargaining unit] were from that ‘you never know’ category. So I apply that same thinking here — I listen to people’s ideas and I take things forward. I’ve done that as a planning commissioner, and I plan to do the same as a City Council member.”
–Rebecca Band, IBEW 1245 Communications Director