Jenny Kassan gets promotion from DA after leaving Fremont City Council

OAKLAND — Former Fremont City Councilwoman Jenny Kassan, after recently resigning from her political position, received a promotion from Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price this week.

“We are excited to see Jenny accept the role as the new leader for the Community Support Bureau,” Price said in a statement. “She brings a wealth of talent, experience and a vision to expand our office’s engagement with community groups and residents, that will level-up our outreach programs and partnerships with local organizations with the aim of promoting crime prevention.”

Kassan joined the DA’s office in May 2023 and as a prosecutor has worked on cases involving real estate fraud, human trafficking, the environment and illegal dumping. In September, she resigned halfway through her second term as a Fremont councilwoman. At the time, she said she was leaving council to focus more on her private business, her job as a county prosecutor and to help her husband, Vinnie Bacon, run for mayor in this year’s election.

She previously said that some residents were uncomfortable with her potentially serving on council at the same time as Bacon. The two previously served together between 2018 and 2020, until Bacon left council.

Kassan, a deputy district attorney, has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in Ethnic Studies and a masters degree in city planning from the University of California, Berkeley. She received a National Science Foundation Fellowship from Yale Law School, where she earned a law degree in 1995.

She also founded Community Ventures, a nonprofit organization she recently obtained a headquarters for in Baltimore. The company provides support to “under-represented entrepreneurs” with legal services, training and more. She said in a previous interview with this news organization that she would be traveling to Baltimore periodically throughout the year to run her business.

According to Transparent California, an online database of government salaries, Kassan was paid $75,116 in total compensation, including wages and benefits, for her part time job as a prosecutor in 2023.

She replaces interim Community Support Bureau Director Esther Lemus, who also previously served as a prosecutor in Sonoma County.

Kassan did not return a request for comment on this story.