Scott Haggerty, a stalwart of East Bay politics who represented the Tri-Valley for more than 20 years on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, died over the Independence Day weekend in his retirement home state of Tennessee. He was 68.
Raised in Fremont and later a longtime Livermore resident, Haggerty would play a pivotal role in local and regional efforts to transform his district and the county for the 21st century, including leadership in transportation, energy, agriculture and Bay Area policy. He stepped down at the beginning of 2021 after completing his sixth term as a county supervisor.
“Scott’s legacy is one of service, vision, and steadfast dedication to the public good,” Supervisor Nate Miley, who served alongside Haggerty for five terms, said in a remembrance post on social media Sunday.
“I witnessed firsthand his unwavering commitment to improving transportation, strengthening our communities, and advocating for the residents he represented,” Miley added. “His leadership helped shape countless transportation projects and regional initiatives that will benefit generations to come.”
“I’m heartbroken over this. Scott was a legendary force in Bay Area politics for over two decades,” Supervisor David Haubert, who succeeded Haggerty in representing District 1, told the Pleasanton Weekly on Sunday. “I feel blessed to have known him and his family. My condolences and prayers go out to them all.”
Haggerty, who received a lung transplant earlier this year, had been hospitalized at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee. His family confirmed he died surrounded by loved ones at approximately 1:30 p.m. local time Sunday (July 5).
“While our hearts are broken, we find peace in knowing that he is no longer suffering and for the first time since his operation, he can take a breath of fresh air,” Haggerty’s family said in a statement on his Facebook page.
“We will be forever grateful for the donor family, giving him a new chance at life. Without their sacrifice, we would have not been able to have these last moments with him,” they added.
Funeral services are pending in both Tennessee and California, according to the family.
Haggerty catapulted onto the county political scene in 1996, winning the race to succeed retiring supervisor Ed Campbell at 38 years old with no prior elected office experience but service on the Fremont Planning Commission and a bid for State Assembly under his belt. He had worked as a business representative for the Laborers’ International Union of North America.
He represented District 1 on the Board of Supervisors for the next 24 years, which included Livermore, Dublin, Pleasanton, Sunol and Fremont in full or in part depending on how the boundaries were drawn after each census.
Coming into office with professional experience in the trucking industry too, Haggerty built a reputation for transportation planning and project advocacy on the board. The Measure B and BB countywide transportation sales taxes were passed and spending programs adopted during his tenure, and he sat as a leader on the Alameda County Transportation Commission and Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Key roadway and transit projects in his district included the Highway 84 expressway between Livermore and Sunol, Interstate 580 carpool and express lanes, the BART extension to Warm Springs and creating the Valley Link partnership.
“He was a champion for transportation, and he was a champion for our region,” said Livermore Mayor John Marchand, a longtime friend and former colleague of Haggerty’s wife at the Alameda County Water District. “Our condolences go out to his wife, Patti, and his entire family.”
Haggerty also served on the governing boards of groups like the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority, San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, Bay Area Air District, Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Authority and Association of Bay Area Governments.
Representing a district that mixed suburban neighborhoods, office buildings and technological innovation with ranch lands, vineyards and swaths of natural open space, Haggerty played a key role in promoting agricultural, land conservation and alternative energy in his district and across the county.
Ava Community Energy’s wind farm on the Altamont Pass was dedicated in the former supervisor’s honor as the Scott Haggerty Wind Farm Center almost five years ago. He was also a strong supporter of the Marissa Hunt Agricultural Education Center and youth barn that opened in 2019 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.
“He did so much for his community in Alameda County and always fought for what was right,” said Melissa Hernandez, the former Dublin mayor and current BART board president who worked in Haggerty’s office and considered him her mentor.
“Anyone who has crossed paths with Scott, knew the amazing man he was. I’m blessed to have called him my friend,” she added. “He was a great father, a loving grandfather, and a wonderful community leader. He had the biggest heart and was always ready to help others.”
One of Haggerty’s final projects in office was helping provide funding needed to get Goodness Village off the ground in Livermore.
“He understood that addressing homelessness required more than managing a problem — it required creating opportunities for people to rebuild their lives with dignity,” said Kim Curtis, executive director of the tiny-home affordable community for people facing housing insecurity in the Livermore Valley.
“When Goodness Village was still just an idea, Scott was willing to support an innovative approach. His confidence in the vision, and his willingness to invest in it, helped transform a concept into a community that has changed lives,” Curtis said Sunday. “Every time I walk through the Village, I’m reminded that it exists because people were willing to believe in something that hadn’t been done before. Scott was one of those people.”
Susan Houghton, founder of Sunflower Hill, likewise credited Haggerty’s support with helping her nonprofit launch both its vocational garden and first residential project in Pleasanton.
“I will always be grateful to Scott for his early and strong interest in both our garden at Hagemann Ranch and Sunflower Hill in general,” she told the Weekly. “He understood the value of public/private partnerships and how planting seeds of support could help nonprofits thrive and get to the next level.”
“Scott helped Sunflower Hill and many other organizations in our valley grow strong,” Houghton said. “Even after he moved to Tennessee, part of his heart remained in the district. He leaves an incredible legacy.”
“As much as he shaped the Bay Area,” Haggerty’s family said in remembrance, “he was equally devoted to shaping a loving home. Those who knew him best would say his greatest pride wasn’t his title, but his family.”
They shared publicly about his health battle during the past months and praised the “support and love shown” by his care team at Vanderbilt.
“Each one had a story about Scott and many moved mountains to make sure his stay was comfortable and the family was accommodated. The care that we had received was above and beyond their normal duties,” the family said. “Through this process we have built emotional bonds with those who have consistently cared for him. As our world was crashing, they carried us through and were clearly emotional when it became clear that his fight was coming to an end.”
“Over the last few days we’ve had the privilege to spend every waking hour with him. Playing his favorite music, watching his favorite movies, and cooking his favorite foods,” they added. “His final days were spent with our family, reminiscing about life stories, adventures and the beautiful times we had shared together.”
Haggerty is survived by his wife Patti, children Jennifer, Haley, Kimberly and Sean, grandchildren Scott James, Layken, Scarlett, Aiden and Noah, brother Mike and sister LeeAnn.
