Pam Bertani

Background

Pam Bertani is an Oakland native who has lived in Fairfield since 2006, according to the Daily Republic. She earned a degree in microbiology and immunology at UC Berkeley and a law degree at Arizona State University College of Law. She has worked as a research immunologist at Bayer Pharmaceuticals in Emeryville, as a high school teacher and as an attorney, and since 2007 has served by gubernatorial appointment on the California Commission on Uniform State Laws. She first ran for the Fairfield City Council in 2011 and has served on it since, including as vice mayor from 2018 to 2020 under Mayor Harry T. Price. In 2020 she created the Fairfield Clergy Action Network.

In office

After redistricting moved her home from District 6 to District 4, Bertani won the District 4 seat on November 5, 2024, with 47.50 percent of the vote, with the endorsement of the outgoing councilmember, Rick Vaccaro. She was again vice mayor under Mayor Catherine Moy.

In November 2025 the council approved Vista Ridge, a plan by the developer Danco to turn the SureStay hotel on North Texas Street into 50 units of permanent supportive housing, on a 4-3 vote. Bertani voted no with Moy and Councilmember Manveer Sandhu, saying the record was "incomplete, non-transparent and inaccurate at best."

Moy resigned on June 9, 2026, amid a council-ordered review of her residency, and Bertani took on the mayor's duties as vice mayor; Bay City News described her as the city's first Black mayor. Days later the council voted 5-1 to appoint Vaccaro mayor until the election. Bertani cast the lone no vote, arguing that voters should choose: "We've got five months until an election." On July 7, 2026, she joined a unanimous council in placing Measure P on the November ballot. It would raise the city's sales tax by one cent and extend the existing one-cent tax until voters end it; the city estimates about $24 million a year in new revenue.

On the ballot

Bertani is one of four candidates for mayor of Fairfield on November 3, 2026, an open seat because appointed Mayor Rick Vaccaro did not file. Her ballot designation is Mother / Councilmember / Attorney. The other candidates are Councilmember Scott Tonnesen, Nikila Walker Gibson and George Kennedy. She proposes an economic development strategy for a structural deficit of about $11 million, including mixed-use redevelopment of the mall and manufacturing tied to Travis Air Force Base. Her statement cites Vista Ridge among the council actions behind her run and mentions unnamed community endorsements. Her District 4 seat would be vacated if she wins.