A Progressive Alamedan

Bicycling, Scootering, Skateboarding is a Crime

2008-06-18T08:04:00.001-07:00

I am writing this post to encourage a thorough read of this morning's post on Stop Drop and Roll.

John's write-up just about says it all; I don't know if I do much more than just say "me too." I'm appalled that all five members of our city council: Beverly Johnson, Lena Tam, Gillmore, Frank Matarrese and Doug DeHaan, let something like this through.

I believe that a couple of these council members will be running for mayor in two years. Which one of these council members will stand up and say "Wait a minute, we made a mistake, let's work out a solution to our problem without throwing out the baby with the bath water."

UPDATE: The city council, the following week, reversed this. All is back to normal.

Election: Sad News for Measure H, Great News otherwise

2008-06-04T07:07:00.001-07:00

It looks like Measure H has not quite reached the 2/3 majority to pass, unless the provisional ballots pull it over the top. I don't think I can give this any better treatment than Lauren Do already has. I hope that the silver lining around this dark cloud is that these results will motivate more Alamedans to get involved in politics at the state level and work on reforming the state's prop-13 taxation system that is strangling our state financially while the big corporations get huge tax breaks, and replacing our Governator with a leader who will be able to manage the finances of the world's seventh-largest economy.

UPDATE: Just to clarify, Measure H ended up passing by a razor-thin margin after all the absentee and provisional votes were counted.

In spite of the measure H results, I couldn't be more pleased with the other results around the state. It looks like Measure 98 has been defeated (and measure 99 passed); I know a lot of people who will be elated with these results.

The other big local news is that Loni Hancock has defeated Wilma Chan in the primary race (and in this district, it's a virtual guarantee of a win in November). I'm sorry, fellow Alamedans who really wanted another Alamedan to hold that seat. I hope you can accept the results and unite behind Hancock in November. I know it will be hard to get behind her because of all the intensely negative campaigning by the Chan campaign — it must seem like we just elected Satan. Believe me, we didn't — we elected a progressive hero.

On the other side of the bay, Mark Leno trounced Carole Midgen and Joe Nation. This is also great news for progressives. Mark has passed some wonderful legislation. (He's also introduced some other wonderful legislation that was held up by Don Perata as a political move). I think he'll be a great replacement for Midgen.

Dennis Hayashi easily took the Superior Court judicial office. Most of us won't see any direct impact of this decision, of course, but I think we will have a sound judge in that office.

My only other disappointment — partial, at least, was the results of the race for the Democratic Central Committee in the 14th and 16th assembly districts. Here in the 16th, it looks like mostly the incumbents and "mainstreamers" won. Kathy Neal, Jon Stuart, Howard Egerman are the incumbents; the others, Darleen Brooks, Bonnie Wheatley, and Sharon A. Ball I don't know much about but at least they don't appear to be LaRouche types. In the neighboring 14th district, our Grassroots Progressives group had a partial victory, with grassroots incumbent Karen Weinstein the top vote-getter with Ces Rosales and Edie Irons making the top six — Congratulations! Incumbents Elizabeth Echols, Beverly Greene, and Maggie Gee were the other winners there. In this low-information race — you would be pressed to know who any of these people are unless you were canvassed by them or you had some personal connection or insider knowledge — the incumbents have a huge advantage. (It seems that people tend to vote for the incumbent lacking any other information.) I think that Edie and Ces were able to break through that barrier because they were tireless campaigners and have large personal networks. I just wish that there were some way for the average voters to find out about these office-seekers in future elections.

Well, it's time to take a breather everybody, because November's election is not that far away, and the battle is just heating up. The Presidential Election is Obama's to lose — and I think he could very easily lose if Democrats continue to be so cocky and divided — and there will be other battles at the local and statewide level as well.

Yet Another Election Day. Please Vote Anyhow!

2008-06-03T06:18:00.000-07:00

I just returned home from a fairly long vacation, and It appeared that a dump truck had deposited several trees' worth of pamphlets into my mail slot. I guess that means the election is ... uh.... today!

Thanks to California for having an early presidential primary (see how much good that did us!) we have three elections this year. Today is bound to be the least-attended election in a while due to (1) the lack of Obama on the ballot, and (2) voter fatigue/disgust.

Please vote anyhow. If you don't vote, then our future is decided by other people.

Obviously, the most contentious race is the race for State Senate. I'll get to that in a minute. But let me review some of the other items first.

The big local issue is Measure H. The clever sign showing two school-kids about to walk off a crumbling walkway sums it up just right — we need to pass this to make up for a huge budget shortfall thanks to our infamous governor. I hope the naysayers writing letters to the editor of the local papers are just a vocal super-minority. Please vote Yes on H.

The only statewide propositions are 98 and 99, both ostensibly about "eminent domain." I predict that they will both lose due to voter confusion, but from everything I have been able to tell, 99 is the "good" one and 98 is the "bad" (a.k.a. benefitting large corporations) one. 99 is backed by Sierra Club, League of Women Voters, Gray Panthers, California League of Conservation Voters, and many other respected groups. And These same groups oppose Prop 98. Please vote for 99, and more importantly, don't let 98 pass.

Superior Court Judge: I have never known whom to vote for in these races, but I've seen 3 out of the 4 candidates speak at a meeting of the Alameda Democratic Club, and I was very impressed with Dennis Hayashi (who got the endorsement of that group). He really stood out head-and-shoulders above the other candidates. He'll easily get my vote and I can easily recommend him based on that (albeit limited) picture.

Democratic Central Committee will be on your ballot only if you are actually registered as a Democrat (not if you are an independent and you request a Democratic Ballot). 99% of people have no idea who any of these people are — but I do now, and now so will you! This is the place where the 'grassroots' can have an impact on the direction of the California Democratic Party, which is, well, doing OK in some aspects but filled with insiders making policy, finances and procedures that really need some transparency, and so forth. I've been working with a group of people from our district (Alameda/Oakland/Piedmont) and the neighboring district to the North of us, and there is a good group of active Democrats like myself who are all running to try to steer this ship in a more active, progressive direction. They have organized a website GrassrootsProgressives.org which has info. The folks in this group from our district, whom I know and respect and trust, are Mark Briggs and Sumi Paranjape. If you really want to help also prevent the wingnut LaRouche supporters from being elected — they tend to run in great numbers and rely on voter ignorance to get a few elected — you may want to cast your votes for this unofficial slate that many Alamedans are recommending: Mark Briggs, Sumi Paranjape, Jim Oddie, Wayne Nishioka, and Howard Egerman.

State Senate: This has been a horrible, contentious race that will probably keep regular voters away from the polls in droves due to the bad taste in their mouths. This is really a shame. I've been supporting Hancock for a while, which seems to have really, really upset a lot of people in Alameda. The emotions have risen so high on this one that I'm afraid that I have been made a pariah in certain local political circles. But, I have to call it as I sees it, and time and time again I see that many Alamedans are blinded by their allegiance to Wilma Chan because she is an Alamedan. I know I'm at least partially right because this has raised a lot of hackles when I've brought it up. And yet one of the boldest pieces of campaign literature I got points out that this is the biggest reason to vote for Chan — that she's an Alamedan, and that somehow this is more important than other factors.

I've been paying a lot of attention to how people form political loyalties. Perhaps because it took me a long time to find a preferred presidential candidate, and the candidate I preferred is no longer in the running, I've been observing how people (myself included), once they latch on to a candidate, find it hard to consider other candidates. Everything is filtered through those loyalties — to me, it seems very similar to "Framing" of issues that George Lakoff has famously brought to life in his recent political books.

I think that these loyalties are possibly as strong in our State Senate race as they have been in the Presidential primary battle. Looking at the emails being circulated by Chan supporters and Hancock supporters, you would think that the candidates were 180 degrees apart on everything, as if it were the most liberal Democrat and the most conservative Republican on the ballot.

Sorry to burst everybody's bubble, but this is just not the case. Both Chan and Hancock have beeen excellent legislators. Both have been effective. Both have worked on Important Issues. Both have passed a lot of bills. Both are progressive. Both are good people. Either, if elected, would represent us well.

So if you take away all the negative crap, what's left? Do you vote for somebody just because they are from your same home-town and so they are more likely to take Alameda-specific issues seriously? Or is there something else?

I've decided to support Hancock because of the grandness of the issues that she has taken on. Especially the "Clean Money " issue; Hancock is a hero among progressives like myself all over the State of California for this. Clean money has been described as the mother of all issues — if we can get corporate influence largely out of our elections in California, as they have done is several other states, the battleground changes significantly. No other legislator has taken this on, and thanks to Hancock, this corporate-defying bill passed the assembly. We need a fighter in the state senate if this bill is going to continue to gain traction. Oh, and Hancock's work on AB32 has been phenomenal; it has to do with an issue that some like to call Global Warming.

Our state, our country, and our world are in big trouble, and we need to take on the biggest issues around. Not just passing little laws that regulate this-and-that; I'm talking about making California — seventh biggest economy in the world — show some leadership in the world when it comes to taking on the corporate interests that have hijacked everything in our lives. Our district — perhaps the most progressive district in the state, which goes south from Richmond and out East to Livermore, is a big district, and this district needs a big-picture, heroic, fighting, visionary. That person is Loni Hancock.

If Chan wins, we'll have a good legislator representing us in Sacramento. (I refuse to stoop so low as to get negative!) But if Hancock wins, we will have an awesome legislator representing us in Sacramento!

Yes, I support Measure H

2008-05-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

I sent out an email to a bunch of people who might not read this blog, with some suggestions for the upcoming election. Though I suggested a "yes" vote on the upcoming Measure H, I got a couple of replies from people who said I didn't support it strongly enough.

Considering that I haven't mentioned Measure H here yet, and considering it is all the buzz in the other blogs, I thought I would make a post dedicated to Measure H and say that, yes, I support Measure H.

So if I support Measure H, why am I not shouting it from the rooftops? Well, one has to pick their battles. It's impossible not to see ubiquitous pro-Measure H signs, mixed in with the "throw away" signs that, while not mentioning measure H, do show the outpouring of support for our public schools. The only other political signs around town I've seen, in fact, are presidential and "Measure A" signs that have nothing to do with the upcoming election.

So I'm just picking other battles and I'll let others lead the charge on Measure H. I'm supporting Loni Hancock in this election, and I'm actively helping a group of grassroots progressives in their run for the Democratic Central Committee — Mark Briggs and Sumi Paranjape are the members of this group who are on the Democratic ballot in Alameda, and I would ask you to vote for them — and I'm trying to get out the word about Propositions 98 (NO!) and 99 (YES). [more info]

So, yes, I support Measure H, and I hope you do to. But as you can see, there are a lot of other issues on this ballot I'm supporting too.

Santa Claus isn't coming to town, but Pete Stark is

2008-04-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

It's great to actally have access to your congressional representative. I remember hearing about how it was close to impossible to provide feedback to the former Congressman from our neighboring 11th District. Fortunately that has changed now.

Through all of that, though, our representative Pete Stark has made himself quite available to his constituents. You can come to a "town hall" meeting in Alameda this Saturday, May 3, from 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the Council Chambers in Alameda City Hall.

Whether you want to praise him or complain, this is a good opportunity to do so!

Upcoming Sandré Swanson Budget "Town Hall"

2008-04-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

Sandré Swanson, our assembly mamber, will be hosting a town hall at Encinal High School to talk about the California Budget crisis, on May 3 from 10 to noon.

RSVP here.

Wilma Chan's Campaign is Push-Polling?

2008-04-08T20:56:00.001-07:00

I didn't take the call, but I was in the room when a "poll" phone-call came in this evening. Unlike a real poll, like the Gallup poll I participated in just a few days ago, this was almost certainly a push poll, and it was intended to make the recipient of the call have doubts about Loni Hancock and be more likely to vote for Wilma Chan.

I have had more than enough respect for Ms. Chan and her campaign up to this point, but I've just lost a huge amount of respect for them at this point. While not illegal (here at least), it's dirty.

I'm curious to hear if anybody else has taken this kind of call. I hope to bring up this issue at the Democratic Club meeting tonight, to give the campaigns a chance to embrace or disavow this technique.

Our opportunity to send good Clinton or Obama delegates to Denver

2008-04-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

I personally haven't been able to get very excited about either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, but many Democrats in the area have been supporting these candidates either for a long time or more recently when their preferred candidates (Edwards, Richardson, etc.) dropped out.

This coming weekend, it's your opportunity to help select who will be the local delegates to the national convention who are pledged to vote for either Clinton or Obama — at least on the first ballot. If you want to help choose these people, you can attend a caucus to vote for them.

You can only attend one, since they are held at the same time. I got this information from the Alameda Democratic Club:

Obama: Updated!
Cal State East Bay Student Union
25800 Carlos Bee Parkway
Hayward

Clinton:
Walpert Center
1101 Walpert St.
Hayward

Which one you attend doesn't really relate to which candidate you most support, since the number of delegates California gets to send has already been chosen. Really, what matters is that we choose good, progressive people who will help with a progressive agenda at the national level, and not let the Democrats continue their slide towards "Republican Lite."

I think it's also important to select level-headed delegates with whom we can trust their vote in the slight chance that the Clinton/Obama deadlock is unbreakable and a compromise candidate has to be chosen. (Remember Abraham Lincoln? He was actually chosen on the third ballot at his convention due to a situation similar to today's.)

I am going to be researching just who are the candidates are from our area over the next few days, and I'll follow up later if and when I have any recommendations.

Update: "Doors open at 2:00 pm, and registration closes at 3:00 pm. The caucuses are open to all registered Democrats, and one can register the day of the caucus. An individual can only attend one caucus."

My Report on the California Democratic Convention

2008-03-31T10:38:00.000-07:00

I have just settled back home from a full weekend spent at the California Democratic Convention in San Jose. This is the state Democratic Party's annual gathering of delegates, candidates, office-holders, and interested observers.

If anybody saw mention of this on the news, they probably heard about the visit by former President Bill Clinton, as Hillary's Husband, there to try to convince California's Superdelegates to choose her as the Democratic nominee. More on that later. Really, though, the interesting things were at a more local level.

Loni Hancock's Huge Win

As I reported a couple of weeks ago, Loni Hancock got just over 70% of the endorsement vote, but one of those votes was challenged, meaning that there would be a new election at the convention to decide which candidate for state senate, if any, would get the official party endorsement.

At the convention, a non-incumbent candidate only needs to get 60% of the vote to get the party endorsement, so it's a smaller hurdle. Of course, the actual people voting is a slightly different mix (as I understand it, there are local Democratic Club representatives at the pre-convention endorsing caucus, but not at the convention); and opinions or loyalties may change, so you never know. I had heard that Wilma Chan's staff and supporters were confident that she had roughly half of the delegates' support.

Well, as it turned out, it would have been better for Wilma Chan not to bother challenging the 70% vote from before, because when all the votes were counted at the convention, Loni Hancock got just over 90 percent of the vote. It was a blowout, and frankly I felt a bit embarrassed for Wilma Chan's campaign, especially since I have a lot of respect for her and her supporters.

The party endorsement is a big deal; it means that Hancock's name will appear on all the publicity from the Democratic Party in the upcoming primary. In my opinion, what's worse is the clear advantage that Hancock has around the entire state senate district, which stretches from Richmond down to Alameda/Oakland and in a narrow band to the East through Dublin and Livermore. Yes, ultimately it's up to the voters to decide, but Hancock has the support of most of the active Democrats in these communities, and that is certain to have a lot of influence in the race.

So what's next for Wilma Chan? Perhaps it's enough of a serious blow to her campaign to consider dropping out — after all, she could be a real hero by donating her campaign war-chest to a nearby Democrat like Charlie Brown or Bill Durston, and find another avenue for public service for herself. I fear, however, that this will be a long, expensive battle, with each candidate spending perhaps a half a million dollars each for the June primary election. Of course, I will wholeheartedly support whomever emerges in June with the Democratic nomination, but I honestly feel that Wilma Chan doesn't stand much of a chance at this point, without the community backing that any candidate needs.

Humble Pie for Carole Migden

Meanwhile, at the convention, it was impossible to avoid being stopped by supporters/employees of the two candidates for State Senate in the 3rd district covering San Francisco, Marin, and parts of Sonoma county, where incumbent Carole Migden is challenged by assemblymember Mark Leno. I've been following this race peripherally; last September I blogged about how our current State Senator, Don Perata, has been abusing his power by holding up Mark Leno's legislation, as a way to help out the incumbent Migden. (This is the kind of behavior fitting to Karl Rove, not a Democrat, and certainly not a Democrat representing my town.) MIgden received a 55% endorsement vote at the convention; Leno supporters said that many of those votes came from incumbents and party "insiders" and not the grassroots. As an incumbent, she only needed a 50% majority, which is extremely unfair because it gives incumbents an advantage. (Don't they have enough advantages already?) The Leno supporters gathered up 600 signatures of delegates to bring the vote to the floor of the convention; the delegates voted to overturn the endorsement of Migden, leaving no party endorsement in the race between the incumbent and the challenger. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Presidential Hopefuls

Naturally there were a lot of people sporting "Hillary" or "Obama" buttons and shirts and signs. I proudly wore my John Edwards sweatshirt, and I got a lot of compliments about it. Waking around, especially when the air was filled with "Mind-Less-Chant! Mind-Less-Chant! Mind-Less-Chant," I felt like one of the Blues Brothers ready to play a gig at the backwater saloon where they had "both" kinds of music — Country and Western. Though I will cast my ballot against McCain (or, as I like to call him, McBush) in November, I just can't get excited about the leftovers.

The Clinton Campaign brought quite a proxy to speak for their candidate. It was certainly interesting to see a former President give a speech, but I couldn't help noticing how many of the points he brought up actually came from the issues that John Edwards was talking about when no other candidate would. (And a few points I could even attribute to Howard Dean!) When Edwards left the race, he had convinced both Clinton and Obama to start treating poverty as an issue, and certainly the Clinton campaign has come through on that. Half a dozen times, I heard Bill Clinton bring up specific issues such as homeless veterans that only John Edwards was talking about two months ago. I'm glad that Edwards has left a legacy in this presidential campaign by making both remaining candidates stronger.

It's About the People

This was my fourth convention, and while some people have been doing this for decades, I am wondering if maybe this should be my last. Maybe it was just because I've done this before and there's nothing new, or maybe it's that I felt I was swimming upstream by being excited about neither Clinton nor Obama, but I felt a bit jaded, and I kept wishing I had brought along a book to read. The endorsement action was engaging, and some of the speeches were nice to see (such as Lt. Governor John Garamendi, whom I will be enthusiastically supporting when he runs for Governor ) and Secretary of State Debra Bowen. But really the most interesting part of the convention was the interaction with people — fellow activists from around the Bay Area and the state whom I've known for up to four years now, random interactions with other delegates, chance meetings in the hallway or at the lunch table with candidates for office or current officeholders, and so forth. While it may be discouraging that our leaders at the national level don't have the courage to take on big business, combat the climate crisis, end the occupations abroad, or remove the criminals now in power, I'm heartened by the leadership found at the state and grassroots level, and I get a twinkle of hope for our future.

Loni Hancock achieves -- or not -- Democratic Party Endorsement

2008-03-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

At the local Democratic Party "Pre-endorsement" caucus on Saturday, Assembly member Loni Hancock either did, or didn't manage to achieve the required 70% threshold to claim the endorsement of the Democratic Party.

Here's how this works and what happened.

Shortly before the state convention, people running for office as Democrats can submit their name for consideration for endorsement by the state party. Endorsement by the party means that their names are on official party mailings and publicity, so it's quite a boost for their campaign if they can garner this endorsement.

Members of the California Democratic Party State Central Committee (including delegates like myself, county committee members elected by the general public, Democratic club representatives, and elected officials) can vote for these candidates (or vote "no endorsement") in person at the caucus meeting or by mailing in their vote in advance.

Congressman Stark received a 100% vote; Assembly member Swanson received not quite 100% (A couple of delegates voted 'no endorsement'). All of the races with only one member having filed for endorsement went something like that. In the contentious 14th assembly District (Berkeley and part of Oakland), there were four candidates vying to replace termed-out Loni Hancock, and no one candidate was able to achieve even a majority off the delegates. (Nancy Skinner and Tony Thurmond led the count.)

In the State Senate endorsement race, it was Loni Hancock vs. Wilma Chan. According to the vote count, Hancock achieved just over 70% of the vote, which would put her over the top and immediately achieve the party backing. However, there was a challenge issued about the validity of one of the votes (a question of whether one of the delegates voting was actually registered as a member of the Democratic Party). The votes were calculated to see if this would affect the result — and it did. This one less vote would bring Hancock to just under the 70% threshold for immediate endorsement. (The way this works is that if any candidate reaches a 50% majority but not 70%, a new vote will be held at the convention. This is what happened two years ago with Jerry McNerney, who did get the party endorsement in the new vote.)

So the result is up in the air — I don't know for how long, though. If the challenge succeeds, then there will be a new vote at the convention (where there will probably be a higher attendance, and much pre-vote schmoozing).

One factor that I found interesting, but not surprising, as the votes were read out loud — this is a public endorsement vote, after all. It seemed that most of the names of Alameda residents that I recognized were supporting Wilma Chan, and most people outside Alameda voted for Hancock. I suppose this could be "spun" either of two ways: that Alamedans know Wilma Chan well, and support her; or that Chan is only able to get significant support in her home town.

In any case, this is just an endorsement race, and not the general election. Who knows how things will turn out between now and June? As I"ve mentioned before, I'm personally supporting Loni Hancock — but I completely respect the choice of my fellow Alamedans who would prefer Wilma Chan, who is a strong candidate as well.

Why I'm Supporting Loni Hancock for State Senate

2008-03-11T11:49:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, I will be meeting with a number of fellow delegates to the California Democratic Party (not to be confused with presidential delegates who are going to the national convention in Denver later this year), to consider endorsements for the upcoming primary election.

Where we live, there is only one race up for grabs: State Senator, to replace the outgoing Don Perata.

I have decided to endorse Loni Hancock, over Wilma Chan, for this race.

I want to emphasize that I have absolutely nothing negative to say about Wilma Chan. I have met both candidates more than once, and I really like both of them. They are both personable, both extremely passionate and dedicated to public service, and I admire both of them greatly.

It would actually be very difficult to make a choice, much less make an endorsement, except for the undeniable fact, that Loni Hancock stands out, head and shoulders, as a progressive — not just a liberal. She has shown this in her positions and her leadership. The issues that she has taken on are the BIG PICTURE issues.

The biggest issue for me is "clean money" for campaigns. She is the author of AB 583, the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act, which is still a movement in progress (see caclean.org). Getting corporate money out of politics has had a HUGE impact on the game in those states where it has passed, and many of of the battles in the senate and assembly would diminish greatly if the politicians weren't bought and paid for largely by big business — e.g. the oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, financial companies, etc. I want a senator who has fought for, and will continue to fight for, clean money in politics.

Hancock has been a leader on the front of fighting the Climate Crisis, having co-authored AB 32, the big greenhouse gas emission bill, and she's been leading on many other "green" issues. Since we are not likely to have a President elected who is particularly strong when it comes to fighting global warming, we need to take advantage of the leadership that California can accomplish. We're talking about the survival of our species here, and I would rather have a senator who is truly dedicated to this issue.

On the other hand, Wilma Chan, while certainly having a good set of accomplishments, notably in the Health, Education, and child safety areas, has not really led on the major issues like these that we MUST address if we are going to get anywhere.

(My only downside of Hancock is that apparently she, like many politicians, has endorsed Hillary Clinton for President. Then again, If she had endorsed Obama I'd be almost equally disappointed.)

My endorsement of Hancock will probably disappoint many people from Alameda; it appears that Chan has the endorsement of almost every elected official in the island city. (Mayor Johnson has endorsed both--?) Though it would be gosh-nifty-keen to continue to have an Alameda native son/daughter representing us in the State Senate, I think that we have to look at the big picture and see how our area and our state can be best served.

I am not making this plea for endorsement lightly. I think that in order to get an endorsement, a candidate has to strongly match with what you support. Loni Hancock fits the bill for this. Wilma Chan would make a good State Senator for us, but Loni Hancock would make a superb one. We need to send a true progressive to Sacramento because not many other areas in the state are likely to do so.

Some of my favorite people are on this video!

2008-03-01T13:02:00.000-08:00

This video, Democratic Activists: Run for County Central Committee! features some of my favorite people from the East Bay, including Alameda.

(I'm not running, myself, but I will be helping behind the scenes to get these people elected. Stay tuned for more details.)

New Blog in Town

2008-02-27T17:33:00.000-08:00

The Alameda Journal (which I sometimes snarkily think of as "Contra Costa Times, Island Edition") has a blog. It's run by Eve Pearlman, whom you may recognize from printed Journal articles. Welcome to the blogosphere, Eve!

Check it out here.

I'm Still Voting Edwards (with bonus topic: Measure A)

2008-02-04T15:16:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Election Day, and I will be casting my vote for John Edwards for President.

Obviously he doesn't stand a chance to win; the Media had picked either Obama or Clinton long ago — but votes for Edwards will count, and it will help award him delegates, which can be used as leverage.

Many have asked me to support either "Barack" or "Clinton". I cannot really get behind either of them at this stage. Both are highly corporate-powered, neither are very strong leaders. I have no confidence that with them at the helm, there will be any improvement to the Iraq occupation or the climate crisis. I don't believe that either of them stand a very strong chance to be elected, and that we will be inaugurating a Republican in 2009. Of course Obama and Clinton are better choices than John McBush or whoever is chosen on that side, but that's not too hard to do.

So maybe it's tilting at windmills, but I am not ready to compromise my principles for the Primary Election. I'll wait until November to do that.

One thing I haven't mentioned is Measure A. No, not the one with the red signs all over Alameda, but the one that is actually on the ballot. While I admire Children's Hospital, and I am all for using our tax money to invest in our infrastructure, the fact is that Children's Hospital is a private corporation. I am not comfortable with using our tax money to help a private corporation grow. So I'm voting No on this.

Still Voting for Edwards

2008-02-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

A few random notes. With two videos -- one short and funny, the other long and serious.

I'm more than a little sad that Edwards wasn't able to stay in the race ... but considering that his main opponents were propped up by a corporate-owned media, I'm not surprised at all. On Tuesday, though, I'm still voting wiith my heart, and casting a vote for Edwards. Hey may pick up some more delegates at the convention, especially considering that many people have already voted absentee.

All this talk of change, by both Democrats and (surprisingly) Republicans, has been lampooned so well in this short video. Be sure to turn up the volume and watch the whole thing to get the full effect!

All this talk of "change" made me think of "spare change," and the issue of Poverty that only Edwards made into an issue for this campaign. We'll see if Clinton or Obama actually bring that issue into their campaigns as they pledged they would do.

Here's another "change" variation -- if we can't get a leader who will effectively lead, we need to bring down the criminals who are in power now ... not just replace them in office, but investigate and prosecute them. Have the neocons really done anything wrong? Well, here's a documentary (two hours long!) that I can recommend, but be sure to set your left brain on "skeptical" (of what you see here and of what you have already been told by the corporate media) and your right brain on "open minded" --then form your own conclusions. It's called Loose Change.

"Drinking Liberally" forum in Alameda

2008-01-28T16:11:00.000-08:00

An announcement for an event I will be attending:

This a last minute invite and get together, we expect a great turn out! I have been busy getting this event organized with my colleagues from our Drinking Liberally cohort in Oakland.

I spoke to many of you early in the week about a public open forum Drinking Liberally is holding, hosted by the owner of the Grand Lake theater at his site in Alameda, Auctions By the Bay. It should be exciting and citizens have shown interest in doing a discussion and open forum studying the potential candidates for the Democratic Nomination. There are still so many undecided voters.

We at Drinking Liberally, Oakland in the grip of the excitement of the first CA primary which will have an actual effect on the national race are putting together a special event for all progressives who would like to take part. It will be an open forum where you the citizen will be able to discuss the issues of the day and have a chance to get some feedback on your questions from staff members of the three leaders Obama, Clinton and Edwards.

The format will be to ask the audience 3 questions, right now from initial discovery it looks like those questions for Citizens are around: The Economy, Health Care, and an exit strategy in Iraq and on the Environmental strategies of each candidate's platform.

The idea is to facilitate questions and answers in a way the truly pulls forward the issues, and we hope to send a strong message to each candidate what the people of the East Bay would like to hear from their candidate. Much of the discussion I hope will lean toward the mechanisms to make make each platform come alive during their future presidency.

Super Tuesday is upon us!

The Citizen's Forum on The California Primary in the Democratic Party will be on:

January 29th, 2008

at

Auctions by the Bay

click here for directions

or this

Doors open at 6:00 pm

California Voting is Coming Soon

2008-01-14T20:39:00.001-08:00

And this video explains in a nutshell why I support John Edwards, and I cannot support any of the other candidates.

Please give it a quick watch.

Alameda Democratic Club's Candidate Night

2008-01-11T12:15:00.000-08:00

People representing Edwards, Clinton, Obama, and Kucinich were at the Alameda Democratic Club this week, talking up their candidates.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T13:18:00.000-08:00

"All is quiet on New Year's Day" (U2)

Happy New Year all. It's been pretty quiet around here in the political world, where most energy seems to be centered around Iowa, with the caucuses only a couple of days away. I had entertained the idea of going out there to help John Edwards, but I decided my time would be better used at home, and I'd rather donate the amount of my transportation and accommodations to the campaign than to spend the money on airlines, hotel, and car rental.

You may have noticed some Edwards signs popping up around town. If you are a John Edwards backer and would like a lawn sign (or window sign), drop me a line. (See the tag line at the top of this website for contact info). I also have some bumper stickers, shirts, and probably more.

If you're undecided, come to the Alameda Democratic Club's meeting on January 9, (7 PM at the Alameda Hospital) for a presidential forum. You'll be hearing representatives from the campaigns talk and answer your questions. I'll be there, of course...

On an unrelated note: Did you hear about Don Perata being carjacked?

Buying Stuff

2007-12-08T20:48:00.000-08:00

Seth's blog today asked "How long has it been...since you went an entire day without buying anything at all?" Coincidentally, I just found out about The Story of Stuff - an entertaining and tremendously thought-provoking online video. It really makes me conscious of the stuff that I buy, and how often!

I've been surveyed

2007-11-26T19:09:00.000-08:00

I got a survey phone call this evening that I thought I would share.

It was conducted by FMMA, and as I got into it, it was clearly a poll about development. I'm not quite sure who was behind the poll; it may have been conducted by the City of Alameda, but I suspect it was conducted by the "Preserve Measure A at all costs" group.

The first set of questions were for my opinions about various individuals and groups. City Council members, Action Alameda and HOMES, developers like SunCal and Catellus, and various local bloggers and You Tube/Cable TV videographers. (OK, just kidding, no mention of bloggers or videographers!)

The next batch of questions, as I remember them, had to do with general issues affecting the city. I stated that the number one issue facing the city was Global Warming -- and I think I set the poor pollster back with that one. Because really, what's really that important about historical preservation, traffic levels, or housing density, if Alameda is underwater in a decade or two?

Most of the rest of the survey centered on Alameda Point - it got pretty specific in some cases. I think my answers were all over the political map in this section, and I answered 'not familiar' or 'neutral' in many cases because I'm really not that familiar with a lot of the specific pieces of the point development, and I don't really have much of an opinion about some specifics of land use like whether there is a sports field or not. There were a lot of questions about the importance of historic preservation, which actually is somewhat important to me as things go -- but where, ironically, a strictly Measure-A compliant development would end up tearing down a lot of the interesting historic structures there because they are too dense under the current law (as I understand it).

I felt that there were many kinds of questions conspicuously absent. There was not direct question related to Measure A at all, such as whether I felt that Measure A should apply to Alameda Point, or be amended to fit the specific needs of the area and its residents. Although there was a question relating to public transportation, there was nothing related to walkability or bikeability of the area and the need to provide an appropriate mix of residential and retail to minimize the need for people to use their cars for everyday needs.

It was fun to answer the questions, though my interest and energies are just not at this local level very much. Our country (and the world, as a result) is in pretty bad shape right now, so it's hard to get myself bent into a tizzy about local issues like development and Alameda Point....

November John Edwards Meetup in Alameda

2007-11-26T19:06:00.000-08:00

We will have our next monthly meetup for the Presidential candidacy of John Edwards this week. On Wednesday, November 28 at 7 PM, Crosstown Cafe at the corner of High and Encinal in Alameda. Come and learn about this candidate who is the most progressive, electable, and courageous of the Democratic candidates.

More information here.

41 Cents for Cheney Impeachment ... RIGHT NOW

2007-11-19T11:54:00.000-08:00

We're often sent emails or read requests on the web to sign onto some petition to add your voice to some cause or another. It's never clear just how much impact your actions will have on each of these.

Here is something specific and timely that you can do with the potential for tremendous impact.

As you may know, there is an impeachment resolution on the floor in the House of Representatives, hanging on but needing Nancy Pelosi's support to really move forward. This resolution calls for the impeachment of Dick Cheney, who is in my opinion the true criminal of the current administration. The list of impeachable offenses is tremendous, and exposing his actions will start to put the brakes on this administration like nothing else can.

Pelosi has said that if she receives, before Thanksgiving, 10,000 handwritten letters supporting the current resolution (HR 333) to impeach Dick Cheney, she will proceed with it.

This is absolutely the best chance that impeachment has ever had. And with Thanksgiving just a few days away, it is vitally important that we act quickly.

I just popped a greeting card in the mail with "I support House Resolution 333 to impeach Dick Cheney" scribbled on it. You might want to make your case in more detail, or less. But flooding Pelosi's office with letters is of vital importance.

Won't you take just a few moments and 41 cents' in postage, and pop a quick request in the mail right now?

Cindy Sheehan is collecting the letters, and will count them and drop them off at Pelosi's ofice (without opening the letters). Send them to her at this address:

Nancy Pelosi
c/o Cindy for Congress
RE: Impeach Dick Cheney
1260 Mission St
San Francisco, Ca 94103

Alameda Point Input Opportunity

2007-11-09T10:41:00.001-08:00

If you want to submit your feedback regarding the direction of Alameda Point, here's an easy way to do it that doesn't involve going to a meeting. Go to www.alamedapointvision.org and click on the "Take the Survey" link.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T10:21:00.001-07:00

This what I predict if Hillary Clinton is the candidates that the Democrats choose....

Instead, let's help choose somebody who can actually win in November 2008....