A's Ballpark subject of December 1st Oakland Planning Commission Meeting

Want to show your support for new ballpark for the Oakland A's? Show up at the meeting of the City of Oakland Planning Commission tomorrow, December 1st, at 6 PM PST at Hearing Room 1, Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA.

If you want to speak in favor of the new ballpark proposal and talk about the creation of an Environmental Impact Report for the proposed new A's ballpark at Jack London Square - of course you do - just get there at 5:30 PM, fill out a speaker card, and give it to the Oakland Planning Commission's secretary.

Right now, according to the meeting's Facebook page, 156 A's fans plan to attend.

Be there.  Aloha!

Bauer's Transportation Company Bus Shuttle Service

This is the San Francisco Bauer's "Wi-Drive" commuter shuttle bus service. It's the same one used by Facebook and Twitter employees to go to and from work. What this blogger likes about the shuttle bus service is the seats. Wow. They're really thick, cushy, leathery, and luxurious.

You can operate your laptop computer and work online while on your way to work. The Bauer's "Wi-Drive" bus was used by the San Francisco Giants to transport their players to and from that awesome parade after their amazing World Series win.

Need corporate transportation? Call my good friend Gary Bauer. He and Bauer's Transportation delivers for all occasions and transport needs. Bauer's Transportation is at 1-800-546-6688.

Cal Washington: Huskies 16-13 Win; Cal is "Holmoesque"

This is the level the University of California Football Program has fallen to. Cal Alumni are starting to call the team "Holmoesque." That term first surfaced two weeks ago after the Oregon loss, as a good Cal friend of this blogger feared a return to those ugly days of yore.

Three losses later, some think we're there. Cal lost to Washington 16 to 13 and this, the third loss in as many games, has Old Blues, Young Blues, and even Middle-Aged Blues fuming.

Tom Holmoe

Cal finished not just 5 and 7, but 3 and 6 in the Pac-10. The worst record in Jeff Tedford's glorious rein as Cal's Head Coach. While not the 1 and 10 season of 2001, Cal's 2010 performance was enough for my friend to say "I hope we don't see a replay of Tom Holmoe, we're starting to look "Holmoesque."

Tom Holmoe, currently the Athletic Director at BYU, was Cal's football coach for five years, posting a 16 and 39 record, the infamous 2001 season, had an 0 and 5 record against Stanford, and caused Cal to forfeit nine scholarships over four years, be banned from postseason bowl eligibility in 2002, Coach Tedford's first year with Cal.

No, this space is not saying Tedford is like Tom Holmoe, only that the stench from that period is still with many Cal faithful, and this season reproduced some bad, sad memories.

The Problem Is The System

SF Chron scribe John Crumpacker's blog on Cal vs. Washington was far too nice and failed capture the massive level of pissed off, pissed-offness expressed by Cal Alumns. Cal's problem is not as simple as replacing one quarterback with another. That's for people who, for whatever reason, fail to pay attention to play design. But the issue is the Cal Offensive system itself.

For some reason that rests in the collective mind of Coach Tedford and Cal Offensive Coordinator Andy Ludwig, Cal does not have a passing game that contains "safe," short throws for its signal callers. Just because we're in the era of the wide receiver screen, and all of its variations, doesn't mean it has to be Cal's offense. There are, by experiential estimate, over 1,232 variations of short passes to running backs; can't we use some of them? Why is it so important to throw downfield and with just predictability all the time?

There's nothing wrong with good, old, precision short passing. It's forgotten in the wake of the advent of the spread formation option systems - and their pass plays - that have spread like a virus around the country. An approach that has infected Cal Football, save for the running quarterback.

A disciplined approach to the passing game, one that Cal actually displayed the ability to uses against Stanford last year, is sorely needed. Cal must stick to this, and stop this need to play macho-passing ball, most of the time.

Or, if the concern is to keep the pass offense simple for students who have a lot of studying to do, given the demands of Cal, why not an approach that has elements of the Run-and-Shoot? (But retains the power running game.)



The point is to have a real, true, system that can be effective with respect to the coverage, is disciplined, and doesn't get the quarterback killed.

Time For Action; Tosh Shows The Way

Some Cal Alumns want California defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi to be Cal's Head Coach, after the fake injury scandal in the Oregon game. Well, not really, but you get the idea.  It's not that cheating is prized by Cal Alumns, just the need for a coach to do something to move Cal Football forward. Remember, we have Coach Lupoi to thank for Wide Receiver Keenan Allen, so no one wants him to leave Cal for any reason.  Well, within reason.

Well, whatever the argument, we'll have an entire year to hash it out.

GO BEARS!

Oakland Mayor-Elect Jean Quan's Car Booting Shows Knifes Are Out Already

Having her car, a Toyota Prius, booted for more than 10 unpaid parking tickets (you only need more than 5 to get booted) is one of those moments where Mayor-Elect Quan needs a thick skin. Why? Because, from experience, I know it was an inside job. Probably the work of City Hall Gadfly Sanjiv Handa, or someone with that level of knowledge.

Happy Thanksgiving! When then-Oakland City Councilperson Jean Quan beat former State Senator Don Perata to become Mayor-Elect of The City of Oakland, this blogger wrote the following:

...With all of this, Mayor-Elect Quan must be sure to realize that she does not have a mandate; she did not score the majority of popular votes. That should be of concern for her. The Mayor-Elect must - and I think will - be open to people. Moreover, Jean must - and this can't be overstated - develop a very thick skin. She must work to jettison the idea that people who criticize her aren't in her corner. Not so. She's Mayor of Oakland, now, and that means she's got a PR-issue to deal with every day.

As Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris told me, "Zennie, there are a thousand games you can play in City Hall every day. The question is which one you should play?" What Elihu was saying to me is you always have to watch your back, figure out where the arrows are coming from, and then have a plan to strike back, if it's worth doing so. If you have the right temperament , the game's fun. Jean's got to develop that to be successful.

Having her car, a Toyota Prius, booted for more than 10 unpaid parking tickets (you only need more than 5 to get booted) is one of those moments where Mayor-Elect Quan needs a thick skin. Why? Because, from experience, I know it was an inside job. Probably the work of City Hall Gadfly Sanjiv Handa, or someone with that level of knowledge.

In other words, the "police technician" who ran Quan's Toyota for tickets at 9:30 AM on Tuesday didn't just walk down 14th Street with a happy whistle and nothing better to do than check the ticket status of the cars parked at the City Council parking spaces. That happened because someone either in the current Mayor's Office, or a person in the know, or another councilmember tipped off the cops.

That's how my car was towed when I worked for Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris. I commonly parked my 1997 Ford Probe in the Mayor's Parking Space, but only after checking with Mayor Harris before hand.  I arrived early, then, as between 1995 and 1999 I represented the Mayor at the Tuesday morning committee meetings.   It got to a point where parking at the space, in fact exactly the same one Quan used the Tuesday day it was booted, was habit.  

Then, one day, my car was gone.  This was 1997.

I thought it was stolen for a good hour.  But an Oakland police officer called my office to report it was towed.  In my case, it wasn't outstanding parking tickets, but a mean-sprited person in the name of one Toni Cook.  Cook served as Mayor Harris Policy Advisor over the Oakland Schools, and was the advocate of the use of Ebonics, which is a kind of "black English" in Oakland Schools in 1995.  Ebonics was something I and Mayor Harris hated, but Elihu supported her idea in his "political head-fake way" of making you think he backed something he disliked.

Cook and I, while both African American, were as different as night and day.  She wasn't a friend, amd I exchanged perhaps a few words with her, but had no idea she held this deep resentment of my permission to park in the Mayor's space.  She did, and I was told by Oakland Mayor's Office staffers, that it was she who called Oakland's finest and made up a lie to have my car towed.   True story and I was steamed.  I had to cough up $106 to get my car out.

When Mayor Harris found out about it, he had Cook pay me back what I spent.  

Later that year, at the City of Oakland's Christmas Party, Sanjiv Handa approached me and was red-faced that I was parking in the space.   Now, again, Mayor Harris had consistently given me permission to park there, even as others didn't want me to be there.  I told Sanjiv to get upset about more important matters.   He was being rather weird at that time in our lives, anyway.

The point is, people at the City of Oakland can be massively petty.  If they don't like you for some small reason, and its always a small reason, they will work to make your life less than happy.  It's one of the major draw backs of working for the City of Oakland.

In Quan's case, I know for a fact her car-booting was an inside job, and it's a sign Mayor-Elect Quan needs to mak sure that every "I" is dotted, and every "T" is crossed when she takes any action at Oakland City Hall.

In the car-booting case, the problem was Mayor-Elect Quan parked in the Mayor's Office Parking Space, while she's still technically an Oakland City Councilperson.  Having her car booted for tow was someone's way of telling her she's not yet Mayor of Oakland, so she should stay out of the Mayor's Parking Space until after she's sworn in next year.

Mean?  Yes.  But that's the City of Oakland, for ya.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Oakland News: Parkway Theater Back? New Parkway Theater Group Needs $200K

The latest Oakland News is good for an old friend.  The Parkway Theater building at 1836 Park Blvd off E. 18th here in Oakland, California, has been unused for over a year now, and the neighborhood before it an empty representation of its once lively self.

But all that could change if J Moses Ceaser and the New Parkway Theater Group can raise $200,000 within the next six weeks to reestablish the popular "Speakeasy" theater in the space.

 This email sent to this blogger and posted below tells the whole story:

Hi Parkway Lovers:

Big news! The Parkway will be reopening at its rightful home on Park Blvd! We don’t have a signed lease yet but we’re very close to the finish line and absolutely expect to get something done shortly. Please read on for all the details about the impending lease, other Parkway-related developments, and an amazing Quote of the Week:

Negotiations with the Chengs—the Chengs notified us a few weeks back that they would prefer to lease the building than to sell it, and so we’ve been trying to hammer out lease terms that suit both parties. And the negotiations have moved along to the point where Mr. Cheng has said that he is “confident that we can work out something that we can both be satisfied with”, and we agree. We are very happy that the Chengs are prepared to invest money—with help from the City of Oakland—to fix up the theater. We’ve also made our absolute best financial offer and are ready to invest money in the kitchen, lobby, theater spaces, and projection room to bring the Parkway back to life. I expect that we’ll have a lease in place in the next week or two and that we’ll be able to reopen the Parkway in roughly six months time, give or take a few permits and a beer and wine license. How’s that for happy Thanksgiving news!! Please help spread the happy news, and read on since this deal will only move forward if we raise the necessary start-up funds.

We’re Done with Phase One!—I’m very happy to report that we’ve successfully completed Phase 1 of fundraising for the theater’s reopening. Having this first core group of equity investors in place is critical since it’s this group that assumes the most risk and responsibility for the venture. Now we’ve got to raise another $200-300K in Phase 2 and hope to do it over the next six weeks.

Only 10 More Days for Kickstarter—we’ve only got ten more days for our Kickstarter campaign, and it’s not looking good, sort of like the Raiders and 49ers games this past Sunday. “Bleak” might be a better descriptor. But, I’ve been told that deadlines bring out the best in some, and we’re hoping for a last-minute rush on the small donation aisle. Please do your part, and remember that you’ve got nothing to lose, your donations are not cashed until we reach the magical $50K goal. Help make the comeback story of the year possible. Help do what the Raiders and 49ers couldn’t. Help us reach our goal against all odds. Here’s the link: http://kck.st/cPGq5y.

Pizza, Sodas, and Cake, Oh My!—the first dishes out of the New Parkway “test kitchen” are getting rave reviews. We served some pizza at our investor meetings that made guests exclaim, “if the pizza is this good, the Parkway will definitely be successful.” We also made a flourless chipotle chocolate cake on another night, which I think could find its way onto the menu, along with a savory wild mushroom bread pudding, and a few wintry soups. Lastly, we’re looking into making our own fountain drinks so as to avoid the high-fructose corn syrup-filled crap that’s commonly distributed. Could you live without your high-fructose Coke at the theater if we’ve got some tasty alternatives?

December Investor Meetings—we’ll be holding a few more meetings for investors and potential investors in December. These are a chance to learn more about the business plan behind the New Parkway, the risks and benefits involved, and how you can help to bring Oakland’s favorite theater back to life. If you’re interested in learning more about investing your $5,000+, you should email invest@thenewparkway.com to request an investor packet, and then aim to attend one of the following two meetings:
Sunday, December 12th, 6-8PM
Thursday, December 16th, 7-9PM
Both of these meetings will be held in Berkeley and require an RSVP so that we can be sure to have enough food and drink on hand. That’s right, free pizza and beer for all potential investors. So reserve your spot soon, and more importantly, own a piece of a theater you love.

Quote of the Week—I know that this section is called “Quote of the Week”, but this one could be the “Quote of the Year” or even better. Here it is, from Mark Lynn:

“Let me start by saying I hate movie theaters. I hate folks who talk. I hate not being able to get a man drink. I hate the temperature. I hate food munchers, wrapper manglers, and drink slurpers. I hate shitty candy. I hate cell phones. I hate sticky floors. I hate sitting by people I don't know, much less like. Simply abhor theaters.

But…

I love movies. And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE The Parkway Theater. I was crestfallen when it closed. It's seriously the ONLY theater I like and I truly love it! I can't describe with words current in the Oxford dictionary how happy I would be if the theater reopened. I haven't been to a movie since it closed. Not kidding.”

Join the Mailing List—in addition to supporting the Parkway financially, we’d love to get more and more folks on the mailing list so that you can hear directly about what’s going on and send us your thoughts. Please help us double, triple, quadruple the mailing list. Steer people towards http://thenewparkway.com/mailinglist.html .

If you're new to the Parkway Theater issue, here's a playlist of videos that cover its closing, community meetings on saving the facility, and an interview with the previous owners, Katherine and Kyle Fisher:

Oakland City Auditor Attacks Financial Reporting, CAO Lindheim Insults Auditor

This shows Oakland CAO Dan Lindheim (in photo) can dig his own hole fast.

The Chief Administrative Officer of Oakland, who's days are numbered in the wake of Jean Quan's victory to become Oakland's Mayor-Elect, insulted Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby, saying she "clearly shows a lack of understanding of the City's financial system and the reporting of its assets," as reported by the Oakland Tribune.

This blogger, who worked for two of the last three Mayors of Oakland, has seen a ton of examples of hubris, including from myself, but nothing to match what Dan Lindheim wrote about the City Auditor's Report of The Community and Economic Development Agency (CEDA), and by extension, Courtney Ruby herself.  (Here's Dan in my video from his press conference on The Oakland Police.)

Ruby, who beat back an election challenge from Michael Killian, landing 66.93 percent of the vote, wasted no time in presenting her CEDA loan fund audit report to part of the media. (Here's hoping she looks at the Oakland Coliseum next.)

Here's hoping that Ruby gets better at distributing information to all of the media, too. Like many in Oakland City Hall (except Karen Boyd and the Mayor's Office, and the Oakland City Attorney), her staff seems to think people read newspapers a lot. They don't. It's one reason why newspaper ad revenues are consistently falling. Next time Courtney, send a link to the online report to me. Right now, it's not available!

But I digress.

The City Auditor's Report says that CEDA had something like $14 million in loans it issued (which CEDA does to help businesses and homeowners), but had not written off. Ruby claimed this shows that the City's financial reporting system can't be trusted. If that's the case, the City of Oakland really doesn't know what kind of financial shape it's in.

All of that reflects on Dan Lindheim, who's job it is to issues the reports. The naturally prickly Dan responded in a way that was politically stupid, claiming the City Auditor basically doesn't know what she's doing.

 Either Dan has a good new job to go to after the City of Oakland, since Quan's looking for his replacement, or he's independently wealthy. No municipality will touch someone so willing to openly blast the results of an audit with an insult of the auditor.  

Maybe Dan's going to become a blogger?

Stay tuned. Oh, here's the Trib article.

Oakland News: Rash Of Assault Crimes At Adams Point, Lake Merritt

If you live in the Adams Point area of Oakland and walk at night, don't walk alone. There has been a rash of crimes in the area of late. For example, according to the Adams Point Yahoo Message Board, there were not one, but five muggings along Euclid Avenue.

All of the muggings were thought to have been done by a group of three black men, but that's not certain. Here are some of the notifications of what happened:

Monday, November 15th:

Hi neighbors,

My neighbor, a 20-year old Asian youth was just held up at gunpoint in
front of his house. The 2 African American men chased him and were
spotted by 4 concerned neighbors (alerted by his yelling) before they
ran up to their get-away car - a 4 door blue or black sedan with a
driver and sped away.

According to the police who arrived in minutes - this was their FIFTH
mugging within the hour between Lakeshore and the Laurel.

They followed my neighbor home and mugged him as he got out of his car.

They are currently on the loose and people should be very concerned and
lock your doors (as one of these robberies with the same motive in the
past week was a home invasion).

If you see anything looking like our suspects, please call the police
asap - as they are basically chasing these guys around town.

It's not clear if the person or persons who responsible were eventually nabbed by the CHP, but the overall point of this is to get to know people. A number of female members at Gold's Gym, as one example, walk alone and for long distances. There's also the Sidebar Restaurant, just down the street. Walk with someone from the gym or Sidebar, anyone. (As I write this, I'm in Georgia, so it's not about me. Seriously.)

We have a problem in the neighborhood where a black person like myself doesn't get robbed, but whites are a bigger target. Racism? Yep.

One way to combat this if you walk alone and insist on doing so, is to hold your head up and walk without fear. As silly as this sounds, it's really effective. Part of the issue is the expectation that something bad will happen. Take that out of your head.

But the best thing is to just not walk alone.

Oakland News: Mayor Elect Jean Quan News, City Slickers $4 Million

The election of Jean Quan as Oakland's Mayor-Elect has made her life far more complicated, and that's using her own words. Quan's newsletter, generally filled with news on happenings about Oakland, became a blog diary of her life since last Tuesday's news - one week after the election was held.

Quan Thanks Oakland

Quan explains that the voter turnout was greater than she expected, writing:

With a record breaking turnout of 121,927 voters, I was declared the next mayor with about 51% of the vote on Wednesday. About 30,000 more voters came out than predicted. I received 53,778 votes -- a record because of the fall election. Jerry Brown (48,124) and Ron Dellums (42,110) won in June elections when typically 40,000 less voters participate.

Sorry this editions is so late. As you may guess, my life has only gotten more intense since I was declared Mayor-Elect two days ago. My family, staff, and I are genuinely overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and joy we have received. We see the outcome as a victory for grassroots organizing; we see our campaign as a movement of neighborhood leaders that will continue to organize for change.

For those who may feel that Quan's effort to win Oakland "block by block" was just a campaign slogan, she says a group of supporters - over 150 in all - met last Thursday to discuss how they were going to continue neighborhood organizing.

Toward that end, they reportedly broke into small groups divided by district and by issues (like public safety) that remind this blogger of Oakland Sharing The Vision, or what my friend Phil Tagami used to call "sharing the ham sandwich."

Oakland Sharing The Vision was an 1990 effort that attracted 500 Oaklanders to the Oakland Convention Center on a Saturday to hammer out a giant set of goals and objectives for the City of Oakland.  That ultimately became the foundation for a document of those goals and objectives, with timetables, and a non-profit organization headed by Executive Director Emile Durette.  Over time, OSV was watered down from a vision custodian, to a political "cover" organization for elected officials to say "See, we really are doing something," then to a firm that was not doing anything like it's exciting first role.  

Hopefully the energy of Quan's supporters isn't watered down in the same way.

Henry Gardner To Assist Quan

Former Oakland City Manager Henry Gardner agreed to help Quan by charing a "Transition Advisory Committee." Quan reports the group will "make recommendations on the priorities of the Mayor's Office for the first 100 days and first year," and include input from other mayoral candidates.  That's great, but I have the feeling such an effort's going to get bogged down in egos and jousting really quick.  The Mayor-Elect is better off having a simple plan of action that she allows to be altered "here and there" by the political movements of the city.

Jerry Brown had a simple plan that consisted of four objectives around the arts, public safety, services, and if memory serves housing.  That was it.  The lynchpin of his effort was the "10K plan" where Jerry wanted to add 10,000 units of market rate housing to Oakland.   He eventually did it.

But the point is Jerry's plan, which he already had in mind when he was elected, was not such that it could be altered. And he stuck to it.  Jean's all-inclusive approach is admirable, but from my experience in Oakland, it could backfire and create more hard feelings from unmet expectations and unstroked egos.

Does that mean Mayor Dellums "bunker of friends" approach was better?  No. The idea was to have various task forces which consisted of his friends form plans that the public never saw and never saw the light of day.  It was an abysmal failure that signalled the start of a number of perception problems for Mayor Dellums.

In my experience on the Mayor Dellums Sports Task Force, we had four other groups working on the A's issue basically behind our backs.  Moreover, the chair, who was a friend I talked to about this, was afraid to take a stand and go to the Mayor. That's why I quit.

Jean's got to make sure that kind of crap - a lot of people trying to jockey for position to gain her attention - doesn't happen. Her supporters are not seasoned political aides, so they don't know that just because they're in the advise giving role all of a sudden, doesn't mean the Mayor has to listen to them.

Let's see how this plays out.

City Slickers, the non-profit organization that's become one of the success stories of the growing Oakland urban farmers movement, earned a $4 million grant to buy land in West Oakland and build a farm. Excellent news! If you're wondering what the organization's all about, this video I created below will give you some idea. Warning: it's long!

Oakland News: Mayor-Elect Jean Quan and Women Now Run Oakland

With Jean Quan's stunning Ranked Choice Voting win in the 2010 Oakland Mayor's Race, the City of Oakland now has six of its eight mayor and city council positions held by women. Here's the count: Oakland Mayor-Elect Jean Quan, Council President Jane Brunner (District 1: North Oakland), Coucilmember-Elect Libby Schaaf (District 4: Oakland Hills, Montclair), Councilmember Pat Kernighan (District 2: Chinatown, Glenview), Councilmember Nancy Nadel (District 3: Downtown, West Oakland), and Councilmember Desley Brooks (District Six: Central East Oakland).

That leaves just Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente (District 5, Fruitvale, San Antonio), and Councilmember Larry Reid (District 7, East Oakland) as the only remaining male members of the Oakland City Council. Why? This isn't to provide a definitive answer by any stretch, but to start conversation about an important turning point in Oakland's political history.

For years, any woman running for office in Oakland stood a better chance of winning over her male counterpart. The best example of this is unknown Audie Bock's victory over then-former Mayor Elihu Harris for the California Assembly. While Bock didn't last long, her victory was as much due to gender and Green Party affiliation as it was the "chicken dinner" campaign error on the part of Harris' Campaign Manager Richie Ross. What Bock had going for her was she was an unknown and a woman.

Note, unknown.

If you think about it, it's hard to find an election example where a victorious female candidate was known. In many ways Quan's victory was more about some not wanting Don Perata as Mayor of Oakland. That was the same as voters not wanting Harris to be in the California Assembly.

If you consider the field, the vast majority of Oakland's elected officials are women who have been political novices. That is, they were unknown outside a group of people who intensely supported them. Outside of Congresswoman Barbara Lee, there's no female "political heavyweight" in Oakland.

Does that mean a female incumbent can be beaten by an unknown female challenger? The answer seems to be no. Jenn Pei failed to beat the incumbent Pat Kernighan this year, just as Pat's withstood challenge from Aimee Allison. Congratulations Pat!  And there are other examples.  Desley Brooks won her seat over the unknown-to-all-but-insiders Nancy Sidebotham.

To continue that view it's even harder for unknown men to beat women elected officials in Oakland, Councilmember Nancy Nadel withstood a challenge from two men: Greg Hodge and Sean Sullivan.

Community Involvement Is Key

One common quality of all of the successful and unsuccessful female candidates in Oakland is their level of community involvement. Mayor-Elect Jean Quan's reach came at first from her involvement with the Oakland Unified School District before she became District 4 Councilmember. Rebecca Kaplan's base came from her tenior on the AC Transit Board. When I talked to people about Councilmember Kernighan, they point to her involvement with the Crocker Highlands school before she started working as an aide to then-Oakland Councilmember John Russo.

Libby Schaaf's involvement in Oakland extends all the way back to The Festival At The Lake in the mid 1990s, and then her work for the Oakland City Council, and Councilmember De La Fuente. Her first taste of Oakland campaigning was with me, working to get Don Smith elected to the Oakland School Board in 1990.

The key for successful women elected officials is to be involved in the Oakland community. Being a school teacher's a great foundation, as is being involved in neighborhood groups and organizations. This is not to say that a woman can't be a building developer and achieve political success in Oakland, but the current pattern points toward community activism.

What Will This Mean For Oakland?

Now that women run Oakland - and the pattern will be complete if Mayor-Elect Quan selects a female Chief Administrative Officer, something Oakland's never had before - what does it mean for Oakland?

It means the Oakland Police Department is going to have to change its approach in Oakland. In my conversations with Oakland cops, all male save for one, their view is almost classically "Let's bust some heads" male. That approach has caused a lot of problems that, I think, Mayor-Elect Quan and the council want to put a stop to. One change from all of this will be an Oakland Police Department that's more sensitive to the community and less an enemy of it.

Stay tuned.

Oakland Artist Gabrielle Teschner's New Art Work Based On African Nations

Oakland Artist and friend Gabrielle Teschner is no stranger to my videos. She starred, with the setting and the great food and hospitality, during the opening of The Lake Chalet Restaurant in August of 2009.

This time, hard at work at creating art, Gabrielle took time to share with this blogger and viewers her latest creations. She's a specialist in arches and also made a series of blocks around African nations. She calls them "kits."

Thus we have "Kit Benin" and so on, after each nation.

For more information, Gabrielle Teschner's website is here:

http://www.gabrielleteschner.blogspot.com/

Oregon Ducks Leave Little Weakness For Cal Bears To Exploit...But

If one looks at the statistics for the 2010 Oregon Ducks, it's better for Cal fans with game tickets to go for a half, then make way for The Bears Lair, or Henry's for a session of cocktailing and socializing. Just make sure not to drive.

In other words, it looks like it's going to be that kind of day.

It's rare to see an opponent that has an average game score of 54.7 points, versus just 17 points allowed. Oregon is first in not just the Pac-10, but the nation in total offense, with 567.2 yards per game. That's totally insane.

However, there are some notable statistical openings for Cal.

First, Oregon allows a total 329 yards of total offense per game, which can be divided into 229 yards passing and 100 yards rushing. That's enough to be effective, and means that Oregon's pinball scoring machine forces opponents to try and play their game. Few teams can beat Oregon in a track meet, and none in the Pac-10 so far.

What's the weakness? Frankly, giving up 3.38 yards per rush is one. As long as Cal's willing to be patient and play a grind it out ground game of misdirection running, Cal can win. (Yep, you read that correctly.)

If Cal can get 3 yards per carry on the first two downs, then throw short on 3rd down just to move the chains, the Golden Bears can mount long drives and keep the ball from Oregon.

But the runs must be of misdirection design: not just reverses, but counter-action, and draws. The Ducks defense is aggressive to the point-of-attack, and can down runs for a loss if they can be tracked. Misdirection must be the plan of the day.

If Cal comes out with a plan of smash-mouth football in the first quarter, call Henry's or The Bears Lair and reserve a table - you're going to need it after all the pale ale you're going to consume.

Me? I prefer a screw-driver.

GO BEARS!

Oakland Mayor-Elect Jean Quan Brings King of King Restaurant In Spotlight

View Larger Map

Atlanta, GA - When this blogger got the email announcing Oakland Mayor-Elect Jean Quan's Banquet, the first name that jumped off the page was "King of King." King of King is an excellent Chinese Restaurant at 1139 East 12th Street not far from Lake Merritt, yet more in Central East Oakland than the San Antonio District.

The last time I visited this place where the Mongolian Beef is to die for was when Alameda County Treasurer Don White ran for Mayor, only to give way to Ron Dellums, who would become Oakland's Mayor. The management of King of King was gracious and prompt. It's no wonder the eatery has been the choice of Oakland insiders for at least the last 15 years.

No, it's not the "most best" Chinese food in the Bay Area, OK. But what it has is a hard-to-beat combination of service, price, and local familiarity. King of King is a slice of Oakland everyone must experience at least twice. It's great that Jean's holding her event there.

Jean Quan T-Shirts

There's talk that Jean Quan's "Block-By-Block" T-Shirt is starting to become a hot-seller, so if you're interested in getting one, visit Jean's site here: http://jeanquanforoakland.org/media

Moving Forward

In case you're not getting the message by this blog post, it's time to move on.  The Oakland Mayor's Race is over and we have a city to fix.

Don Perata Concedes To Mayor-Elect Jean Quan; Twitter Reveals Nasty Reactions

The political career of former State Senator, Assemblyman, and Alameda County Supervisor Don Perata is over. After a miraculous loss to now former Oakland Councilmember Jean Quan, Perata met with the media in Oakland today.

According to the blog Oakland North, who's Berkeley J-school students do a great job of covering the part of Oakland that's north of Lake Merritt, Perata said he would not seek a recount, and stood ready to help Oakland's new Mayor-Elect Quan, and any other elected official.

From the distance of 2,600 miles, where I am to visit my Mom, the announcement of Perata's decision not to legally challenge the Ranked Choice Voting count was a bit of a surprise, but given the hours that passed between last night and now, it's apparent cooler heads prevailed. That's a good thing.  Jean should be allowed to enjoy her win, and Don should call her ASAP, rather than at some point in time.

The bottom line is that Jean Quan won fair and square. Moreover, Don should be excited that he at least is a part of a turning of the page in Oakland's storied history. Quan's Oakland's first elected female and Asian mayor. That's huge and points to Oakland's proud tradition of diversity.

What's not huge is the level of nastiness expressed toward Perata on Twitter. The reactions to Perata's decision, particularly on the part of SFWeekly, which hasn't covered the Oakland Mayor's Race, are totally awful. It's one thing to have an informed view of a candidate you cover, but to toss hard nasty insults about a candidate you don't know, in a race you know nothing about, is something else. Heck, I don't even do that to Republican candidates on the national stage.

For example, one of the milder ones:

SFWeekly SF Weekly
Don Perata deserved to lose the race for Oakland mayor. Why? Because he acted like he deserved to win. http://bit.ly/b5BssX
23 minutes ago

Actually that's not true: every candidate acted like they deserved to win, not just Don. Terrance Candell also skipped several mayoral forums, but with the exception of this blogger, no one, and especially not SFWeekly, mentioned him.

And if it wasn't SFWeekly chiming in with blog from the cheap seats, it was twitterers like focalintent tossing hard insults:

focalintent focalintent
And really, Perata, if you claim you don't comprehend how RCV works, either you're lying to make a political statement, or an idiot.
58 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Or this one by some random person on Twitter:

DummieBear510 The Dummie Bear
YEAH JEAN QUAN IS #OAKLANDS NEW MAYOR!!! FUCK YOU DON PERATA!!!! HAHAHA
1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Okay.

With all those, and other tweets, one would think Don actually did something to the people issuing them. But when you really think about it, he didn't do anything at all.

Frankly, I'm happy for Jean, but I'm really not happy with the classless way a number of Oaklanders, from mainstream media types, to Twitter participants today, have conducted themselves. Shameful.

The collection's more like classless workers in a garbage skow on a prison planet than civilized people. In fact, I may have just insulted the classless workers in a garbage skow on a prison planet.

Sorry.

It's apparent the era of class politics is out of the window. Don Perata, to his credit, never once said anything negative about his opponents to me either on or off the record. That's not true for his opponents, however, and that includes Quan and Kaplan.

Now, Mayor Elect Jean Quan, by the grace of God, becomes the person in the position Perata planned to get two years ago. Jean, by the grace of God, now has the position that, if she handles it incorrectly, could cast her in the role of the new Don Perata.

Stay tuned.

Jean Quan Is Oakland's Mayor-Elect; Don Perata Considers Lawsuit

The Oakland Mayor's Race is both over and heating up yet again. First, big congratulations to now-former Oakland Councilmember and Oakland Mayor-Elect Jean Quan, who won the Ranked Choice Voting mayoral election by 50.98 percent to 49.02 for Former State Senator Don Perata. This after all absentee and provisional ballots were counted today by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, Wednesday.

Jean becomes Oakland's first female and first Asian mayor.  That, alone, is massively cool.

Second, the outcome has rankled the Perata Campaign, which has put out strong signals that it plans to file a lawsuit to have the vote count "reconsidered."

As Perata Campaign Manager John Whitehurst has said to the media

"It's a travesty that a candidate that wins 78 percent of the precincts and leads by more than 11,000 votes (after first-choice votes are counted), with a margin of nearly 10 percent, loses the election. In any other contest it would be a landslide win, not an election loss. Ranked-choice voting is an injustice, and Oakland will pay the price."  


But that's the media spin, and add to that the Perata camps assertion that Don won "all of the African American precincts." The Perata Campaign and supporters are putting out all of the signs that point to only one conclusion: a lawsuit. None of my sources would deny that possibility.  Moreover, the Perata camp is issuing a press release that contains a blog post from Lance Williams that, until now, has not been mentioned in any of the media coverage.

The title of the blog post says it all: "Confusion about Oakland’s voting system may have affected election."  And these three paragraphs are key to its message:

One out of every 10 Oakland voters showed signs of confusion about how to vote for mayor using the city’s new ranked-choice voting procedure, according to a computer analysis of returns obtained by California Watch.
The confusion was so great that it may have flipped the final results of the extraordinarily tight mayor’s race between former state Senate leader Don Perata and city council member Jean Quan, the analysis shows....
More than 5 percent of voters marked the same candidate for their first, second and third choices, the analysis shows. But a voter can only vote for a candidate once, so for these 4,900 voters those second and third choices went uncounted.

The other factor upsetting the Perata campaign is that  Quan and Councilmember Kaplan openly "gamed" the Rank Choice System.  Now, from this blogger's perspective, not making voting deals with the other campaigners was a massive error.   The Perata Campaign should have fought fire with fire, but openly chose not to do so.  The result is Jean Quan wins, but in doing so sets a dangerous precedent for future Oakland elections.

Now, Jean's the target, and if she does not do well as Mayor (which I personally don't think will be the case because I'm going to be on her 24 and 7), the same voting games that got her in, will be the ones that cause her to be out in four years.

That written, Quan can be a great Mayor of Oakland - perhaps the best we've had for a host of reasons I will get into later.  It will be exciting to see what she does.  Installing a new Chief Administrative Officer to replace Dan Lindheim will be her first major official action.

Mayor-Elect Quan Does Not Have A Mandate

With all of this, Mayor-Elect Quan must be sure to realize that she does not have a mandate; she did not score the majority of popular votes.  That should be of concern for her.  The Mayor-Elect must - and I think will - be open to people.  Moreover, Jean must - and this can't be overstated - develop a very thick skin. She must work to jettison the idea that people who criticize her aren't in her corner.  Not so.  She's Mayor of Oakland, now, and that means she's got a PR-issue to deal with every day.

As Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris told me, "Zennie, there are a thousand games you can play in City Hall every day.  The question is which one you should play?"   What Elihu was saying to me is you always have to watch your back, figure out where the arrows are coming from, and then have a plan to strike back, if it's worth doing so.  If you have the right temperament , the game's fun.  Jean's got to develop that to be successful.

But that's all to come.  Right now, the Perata camp is seething.

Stay tuned.

KPFA Morning Show Cancelled: Cost Cuts, Enemies Of Show Host To Blame

As of this writing, The KPFA Morning Show is no more, but you can attend a protest of the action at 11 AM at KPFA on 1929 Martin Luther King Jr Way, near the intersection of Martin Luther King and University Avenue in Berkeley.

On Monday, four employees of The Berkeley, CA-based, Pacifica-owned KPFA Morning Show, KPFA's most popular locally-produced program - were fired as part of what was called a "cost-cutting" move.

The staff includes the two KPFA Morning Show hosts Aimee Allison and Brian Edwards-Tiekert, and Morning Show Executive Producer Laura Prives and Esther Manilla.

Many Oaklanders know Aimee Allison as the local personality for Comcast, as well as a former candidate for the Oakland District Two Council Seat that's currently occupied by Pat Kernighan, who won another four year term on election day. Meanwhile, according to a source via email, Brian Edwards-Tiekert was pointed to as the person who made "enemies" on the KPFA Board of Directors.

Brian Edwards-Tiekert's name was on a list of people to be fired that was, reportedly, created by three members of Pacifica's National Board.

The email describes Edwards-Tiekert as a "key player" in the "SaveKPFA slate" that is now in power after October's KPFA Board elections.

KPFA's Arlene Engelhardt Said To Be The Problem

Save KPFA members point to KPFA Executive Director Arlene Engelhardt as the person who made the decision to sack The Morning Show. Save KPFA reports that:

Engelhardt has rejected most of the alternative proposals put forward in a Sustainable KPFA Budget backed by workers, the local station board, and KPFA management, and refused to reveal her own salary and those of other high-level managers. While Pacifica’s plan would lay off a large portion of the union staff, the Sustainable Budget would reduce bureaucratic overhead and board expense rather than cut on-air programming.

Engelhardt fired the KPFA Morning Show staff and replaced it with "piped-in" programming from Pacifica's KPFK station in Los Angeles.

KPFA Protest At 11 AM in Berkeley

There will be a protest of this action today at 11 AM at KPFA on 1929 Martin Luther King Jr Way , near the intersection of Martin Luther King and University Avenue in Berkeley.

 Save KPFA asks you to call Arlene Engelhardt. Ms. Engelhardt's office number is (510) 849 - 2590, ext 208 and her cell number is (510) 402 - 9880.

Oakland Mayor's Race: Final Ballot Count Delay Due To Provisional Ballots

The much-anticipated final Oakland Mayor's Race ballot count that was to take place at 4 PM today (and had television media rushing to the Alameda County Registrar's Office at 4 PM just as this video blogger was leaving) has been delayed around 24 hours.

According to David Mac Donald, who was the hero of the Alameda County effort to handle the massive turnout for the 2008 Presidential Election that saw Barack Obama elected the first African-American President of The United States, the reason is a "crowded election."

"We've had more ballots to process in this election, than in any election in history," Mac Donald said. "And the reason is because with Ranked Choice Voting, every voter in Oakland, Berkeley, and San Leandro got three ballot cards. And so it's triple the amount of paper that we have to handle. So it's been a big effort, but we're making a lot of progress. We're getting there."

Mac Donald said that he's received calls and visits from "some of the candidates" who have been watching the count closely.

And for good reason.

When the first round Oakland Mayor's Race ballots were counted, Former Senator Don Perata was ahead of Councilmember Jean Quan 33.96 percent to 24.54 percent, with At-Large Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan close by at 21.48 percent.   Only a massive transfer of votes in the second round of counting to determine voters second choice could place Jean Quan ahead.  That happened.

When the second round and successive rounds were calculated to get to a 50 percent majority for one candidate first, (now former as of January 2011) Oakland Councilmember Jean Quan took the lead:

10th round (final)

43,825 - 51.09% - Jean Quan
41,949 - 48.91% - Don Perata

9th round
36,816 - 40.21% - Don Perata
28,399 - 31.02% - Jean Quan
26,333 - 28.76% - Rebecca Kaplan

(Transferred 15,426 to Jean Quan / 5,133 for Don Perata, which is the "impossible scenario" some observers offered.)

When that was reported, the Perata camp's collective head sunk, and the Quan supporters broke out the bubby:



And for good reason: Quan will be Oakland's first Asian and female mayor if the lead holds up.

Meanwhile, this blogger fielded calls, emails, and messages of concern that Quan, considered at times aloof and insensitive, was going to be Oakland's new leader.

The difference as of this writing is just 1,876 votes between Perata and Quan. And, according to the Registrar of Voters there were over 10,000 absentee ballots that were counted, but an unknown number of provisional ballots that are being counted.

It's the provisional ballots that are taking more time.

What are they? I can use myself to give an example. The information containing my polling location was incorrect, so in going to what was printed as the correct place, that was closed. In a rush, I went over to vote at another location, where I filled out a "provisional ballot."

The problem for David Mac Donald and his crew at the Registrar of Voters, is that a ballot that was filled out from someone who lives in Livermore, but dropped off in Oakland, creates more sorting work for that person. David Mac Donald's people have to separate those provisional ballots and then count the Oakland-based ballots that deal with Oakland, and those are "Ranked Choice Voting" designed.

Got it?

With all this, it's too early for anyone to celebrate. Still, we have to allow Jean Quan's supporters a moment of partying and drinking, considering their hard work. "Gaming" the Ranked Choice Voting system - telling supporters who to vote for - worked. Moreover, Kaplan and Quan teamed up to battle against Perata, who didn't try to "game" the system. In doing so they set model for future Oakland elections.

Good or bad for Oakland? That's for discussion.

Wade Phillips Fired By Media, Not Jerry Jones Or Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Wade Phillips posted one of the most pathetic post-game speeches this blogger has ever heard by an NFL coach after the Cowboys were slammed 45 to 7 against the Green Bay Packers. Now, with a 1 and 7 season so far, the media's calling for Coach Phillips head to be rolled.

Indeed, Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, who must feel like he's being cursed for making fun of the idea of drafting Tim Tebow, said that people would feel a change.

The Cowboys lost to a good team in the Packers and an excellent quarterback in Aaron Rogers, but the collapse of Dallas was shocking. It started with a 28-point second quarter, and that's when it was apparent the Cowboys were going to be blown out of the building. They were.

The Cowboys suffered their most embarrassing loss of the season, and then on NFL Network Sunday night, Coach Phillips took the podium.



Afterward, NFL Network analysts Deion Sanders, Michael Irvin, and Steve Mariucci got into a lively and emotional conversation on what they saw. Irvin said "I want him to tell me how we're going to be better. I didn't hear that." Sanders said he didn't need to be motivated by the coach, and that the Cowboys problem was the players, not the coach. Mariucci said he's "been there" and understands what Phillips is going through.

The thinking here is Wade Phillips should not be fired, but there should be changes in scheme. The Dallas problems are fixable. They lack a good short passing system; Jason Garrett must install one. Defensively, they have to use more exotic coverages, because teams spread them out and force them into a base man-for-man approach. The answer: to blitz.

But the fact is Jerry Jones isn't going to be swayed by the media, and Cowboys players don't think it's going to help either.

Jerry Brown, Arnie Fields, Oscar Grant, Mehserle Verdict and The Raiders

Last Tuesday night, the night of the 2010 Midterm Elections, as now Governor-Elect Jerry Brown was making his way through the audience of media and well-wishers, and this video blogger was filming the action, Brown turned right, and into my camcorder's lens. The first thing out of Jerry's mouth - well the second thing after "there's that blogger" - was referring to the comments that Arnie Fields made about him during our interview.

Arnie Fields ran for Mayor and lost, again, big time. Arnie knows in his heart of hearts that he's not going to be the Mayor of Oakland unless he makes a concerted effort. But that's another blog post. Arnie's ran twice because he's got Jerry Brown on the brain, and doesn't like the "10K" - Jerry Brown's project that brought thousands of units of apartment and condo housing to downtown Oakland, and helped transform Oakland's population. Ok, we've been through that discussion.

But instead of focusing on the Governor's race when he saw me at his election party at the Oakland Fox, the now Governor-elect Brown could only think of my interview with Arnie. And just because Arnie was critical of Jerry. Geez. Here, I endorse the guy - Jerry - for Governor of California the previous day, and all he and his press people can think of is that. Well, so be it. I wasn't going to argue about it on camcorder with Jerry because I don't do TMZ, so I shut the thing off.

That action really upset one of my YouTube fans, who wrote that I should have kept the camera going. You know, after a lot of thinking about that, he's right. No more Mr. nice guy - well, I can't -- I just can't do full on TMZ.com with the challenging questions and the camera in the face. I don't like that. I just can't. Maybe half TMZ. Ok. Half.

On Oscar Grant And The Mehserle Verdict

Just one thing here: I think protests do very little here. Wonder how many of the protesters voted on Tuesday? Love to take a pole. If we want change, how about filing a lawsuit? Why not blame now former-Alameda County DA Tom Orloff for posting a "first-degree murder" charge he knew would not stick? That's what started this whole deal. No wonder Orloff retired.

The only good Oscar Grant and Mehserle Verdict protesters have done is boost ratings for the local Bay Area Media. You can't tell about society's problems if you're not willing to work to change society.

The Oakland Raiders

There's a video from the game coming today, but how about those Oakland Raiders! Amazing win, and on the day of the Raiderette Reunion! The first game the Raiderette's performed in was Chiefs vs. Raiders in 1960, if my source, a Raiderette who performed then, is correct.

What happened Sunday? Raiders top the Chiefs 23 to 20 in overtime. As my friend Charlie Santana, Jr. said, "I'm so happy now, I can't talk." You said it, man.

The Oakland Mayor's Race

Final results are supposed to be released today, which should include the absentee ballots.  Stay tuned.

Jean Quan | Oakland Mayor's Race Update: Quan News Outrages Oakland Cops

The news that Oakland Councilmember Jean Quan may be the next Mayor of Oakland has outraged Oakland Police Officers. This blogger just got a call this evening from a long time friend who's name I will not reveal and who's working "out in the field" on the streets of Oakland after the Mehserle verdict, who said "Hey. It's busy out here, people on the street, but we've got it really well contained. We're way over-prepared for this, this time."  (Which explains why he was able to take time to call this blogger.)

Then his tone changed. This is someone who doesn't get that upset a lot; not this time. He said "You know me. I generally don't pay attention to politics, but whoa! This shit out here is nothing compared to what I was told. You're politically in the know, so I call on you. Is it true, we're going to have Jean Quan as our Mayor!? If that's the case, I'm outta Oakland, and I'm taking as many people as I can with me." (He didn't mean that the way you might think.)

"This shit's ridiculous," he said."What was the count?" (I explained it was 51.9 for Quan to 48.9 for Perata.) "Man. It was that voting system (referring to Ranked Choice Voting). That shit. That. The people I talked to were so confused by that. They didn't know who they were voting for."

So we continued to talk about the ballot design and how a person may be tripped up by it, then he said "That's shit's wrong.  Someone can't.  We can't have her as our Mayor."  So I asked him what he had against Councilmember Quan.  Boy, I got an ear full:  "Well, of course there's the issue of the 80 police officers.  But she's been hostile to police and our needs....And when she was at (Oakland City) Council, she was reading The New York Times while the discussion around the 80 or 85 cops was going on.  She was indifferent.  I hope this doesn't happen."

My friends view doesn't reflect my own, and I can't confirm or deny the New York Times claim, but it's really important to record what's being said out there in public, and a call from an Oakland Police Officer is a valuable look into how Oakland's rank-and-file feel about what happens in Oakland politics.   One thing is clear, the Oakland Police don't like Quan.

Moreover, they totally hated what they saw as a "political grandstanding effort" by Quan and Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan when the pair got in a line with the Oakland Police in an effort to clear the streets of people after the last Oscar Grant /  Mehserle protest.  As one cop told me at Perata's event "I'm almost 300 pounds. Do you think I need protection and help from Quan."

Like this blog post or not, it's an honest view of the road ahead for Mayor-Elect Jean Quan, should the numbers hold up.

For it's part, the Perata Campaign had this to say via email:

It appears that there might be a reversal of fortune.
We're unclear about Alameda County’s processes and await a final and accurate count.
The mystery of Ranked Choice Voting continues.

Stay tuned.

Oakland Mayor's Race Shocker - Jean Quan Is Unofficially Mayor Of Oakland

The unthinkable just happened. Oakland District 4 Councilmember Jean Quan outpaced Former California State Senator Don Perata 51 percent to 48 percent and unofficially won the Oakland Mayor's Race.  If the results hold, Quan becomes Oakland's first female mayor and its first Asian mayor.

This news is according to the Alameda County Registrar's Office. Congratulations to Mayor-Elect Jean Quan, if these results hold up. The numbers are really, really close.

The results, the product of the new Ranked Choice Voting system, went through 10 computerized rounds. Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan and Councilmember Kaplan transferred the largest number of votes, so it must be surmised that their strategy of supporting each other actually worked. If you think about it, and look at the numbers, that means three-fourths of the second choice results were for Jean Quan. That's amazing.

This is really funny, in a good way. It means the system worked, even if some may not be happy about it.

"That means I'll have to leave Oakland," one City Hall insider said to this blogger. Indeed, Councilmember Quan wasn't the favorite of some insiders because she's frankly perceived as a rather indifferent at times. And I will not shy away from my public statement that were it not for that, Jean would be the best candidate.

So, in a weird kind of way, the best candidate won. The reason I'm happy is because we had a really democratic system that did work. It gave a level of much needed unpredictability to a race that seemed predictable.

YAHOO!

Now, it's a sad day for Don Perata, who was already announcing his first action, that of reinstating the 80 Oakland Police Officers. But now, that's probably going to be off the table.

A Note To Mayor-Elect Quan

Mayor Elect Quan is blessed to be in this position. But this blogger hopes she remembers to just be nice to everyone and greet Oaklanders with a smile and a hand shake. We need that now. God has given you an amazing blessing. I know you have it within you to be a great mayor, all you have to do is be a great mayor. Good luck.

Oakland City News: Jane Brunner and Dan Lindheim On Police Positions

In a small press conference Thursday, Oakland Councilmember and City Council President Jane Brunner and Oakland City Administrator Dan Lindheim sat down to talk about the election and the status of Oakland Police staffing. Well, it was really all about Oakland Police staffing, and not so much about the ranked choice voting election.

Oakland Mayor-Elect Don Perata (which we can say because his 11 point first vote lead coupled with the first and second choices yet to be counted puts him closest to the needed 50 percent majority), said at his election party that his first action as Mayor of Oakland will be to reinstate the 80 police officer positions eliminated to trim Oakland's huge budget deficit. Here's the video containing Perata's comments at the 4:28 mark:



Don Perata's proposed action was met with some hesitation from new Oakland District 4 (Montclair - Oakland Hills) Councilmember Libby Schaaf, who said that she wasn't willing to rubber stamp Perata's intentions without knowing where the money to do it was going to come from. Here's the video with her comments:



Council President Brunner Agrees

In today's press conference, Council President Brunner echoed Schaaf's view. Brunner said "You know there's no money in the General Fund. I have had conversations with Perata about where else you could look for money in this system. It's probably the other funds. It's Redevelopment. Somebody's going to have to come up with something really creative. I don't know if he has a detailed plan at this point, but I don't think you can find $14 million out of $28 million. You may be able to find a few million. But we're all going to sit down right away."

Brunner said she wants to be careful not to call Perata the "Mayor" just yet because they're still counting votes.

Redevelopment Code And The Police

I pointed out that Section 33678 Subdivision (b) (C) of the California Health and Safety Code...

This:"(C) None of the funds are used for the purpose of paying for employee or contractual services of any local governmental agency unless these services are directly related to the purpose of Sections 33020 and 33021 and the powers established in this part."

Allows for the use of tax increment revenue for the provision of police services, but only if the redevelopment plan specifically points to its use. That means a redevelopment plan which doens't have such a provision must be rewritten. Lindheim said that using funds would not require rewriting of the plan, but here's where he's wrong. It does and the code really calls for this, just to keep yourself legally safe from attack.

I didn't attack him on the issue, because I wasn't there to do that, the quotes on the Perata statements were top priority. Plus, I can use this form to point out that if the City of Oakland's using tax increment revenue in a way that's legally unsafe, and it does seem so, it should stop doing so.

This is part one. Part two on Friday.

SF Giants Parade: Bauer's Transportation To Carry Giants Players, Family

If first choice results hold under Ranked Choice Voting, and given his 11 percent lead, there's little reason to think otherwise, Don Perata will be Oakland's Mayor-Elect.

Mayor-Elect Perata got 35 percent of the first choice votes; the full results will be by Friday, but his lead's large enough to pull the top Oakland politicians, from Councilmember Larry Reid to AC Transit Executive Director (and former Alameda County Supervisor) Mary King to his party at Z-Cafe on 27th and Broadway.

But in apparent victory, Perata set up what will be his first political battle of his mayoral term: the reinstatement of 80 Oakland Police Officers.

Laying off 80 Oakland Police Officers this year was a controversial move to cut the City of Oakland's budget, and caused a packed City Council meeting where police officers listened to a community that didn't seem to like them very much. Not so Don Perata.

Asked on video to come by this video-blogger what his first move will be as Mayor, Perata, in a horse voice, said "I'm going to reinstate the 80 police officers."

But newcoming District 4 Oakland City Councilmember-Elect Libby Schaaf wasn't so fast to rubber stamp Perata's desire. At her celebration party at Monahan's in the Oakland Hills, Schaaf said that Oakland Police and public safety are very important, but she's not ready to do it "without the money." Schaaf's very concerned to know where the money will come from to take that action.

And that frames the politics of money for Oakland. In an environment of scarce resources, paying for service ideas is much harder, and the Oakland City Council much more skeptical of any idea, even the reinstatement of 80 police officers, without a plan for paying for it.

Stay tuned.

Oakland Mayor's Race: Don Perata, Then Tuman, Kaplan For Mayor

Today marks the end of a long and exciting Oakland Mayor's Race. This blogger has talked extensively on and off camera with all 10 of the candidates, created over 300 minutes of video interviews, and read a lot of information on all of them. Former State Senator Don Perata who will be the best choice for Mayor. The simple reason is, for all of the issues lobbed at him, Perata is a leader who gets things done.

That written, political newcomer Joe Tuman is the second choice, followed by At-Large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan. This was tough, because for a long time, Perata's run for Mayor was a surprise in that a higher office seemed the more logical direction - like Senator. But Perata, for some years now, has expressed desire to be Mayor of Oakland, got an early start, kept his focus, and never looked away. Perata followed the advise then-Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris gave to me more than once: make sure they're always talking about you. And everyone has. Meanwhile, Perata has been above the fray, talking about the need to support Oakland's police and bring leadership back to the Mayor's Office.

In Oakland, Perata has a lot of chits to cash in. When I left the City of Oakland after The Super Bowl, it was Perata who's support for me never wavered. Perata, from the time I was a columnist for The Montclarion to my work for Oakland, has never once turned his back on me. And that's true for a lot of people.

What swayed my vote to Perata was that others like some at the Welstone Democratic Club, were talking about Perata helping "big developers like Phil Tagami" as if that's a bad thing. First, Phil, who's a friend, is not a "big developer" but a hard worker. Second, I knew Phil when he was working in real estate and struggling to make it. Phil's an Oaklander who worked his way up, while some of the same people who are now in the Welstone Club were working for Oakland City Council people, and in some cases sleeping with them.

I'm sick and tired of Oaklanders pulling other Oaklanders who've made it down. It was the comments from those who were doing this, that was the final issue for me. Before that point, I'd considered Rebecca for a long time, and still feel she would do a good job as Mayor. But Rebecca doesn't have quite the gravitas that Perata has. Indeed, Joe Tuman has more. Moreover, Joe really get that people are upset with the Oakland Parking Problem. He will work to stop predatory parking, and I don't think Rebecca will do that.

Tuman is a surprise. A 29-year Oaklander who really has groomed himself into "Citizen Joe," a man who can lead Oakland. I've had hours of conversations with Joe and continue to be impressed with his grasp, not just of the issues, but of the structure and culture of Oakland leadership - that's rare.

Finally, I give a special tip of the hat to Green Party Candidate Don Macleay. As I wrote last week, Don's campaign effort has grown and matured and he's developed a "man of the people" brand, that had he started a year ago, could have pushed him into the Mayor's Office. Don's a good man who's an Oakland treasure.

Oakland Mayor's Race: Arnie Fields Hates Jerry Brown

Arnie Fields is, from this bloggers view, the unofficial Mayor of Oakland. The block of 7th Street that runs next to the BART tracks and contains the BART West Oakland Station, is marked by "Fields For Mayor" signs, all over the place. Only a billboard for "Marcie Fields For Mayor" provides a momentary break from the "Fields For Mayor" images. That, and Fields owns the popular Revolutionary Cafe that's in the middle of the block at 1612 7th Street, which also has his signs.

Arnie Field may not win the race for Mayor of Oakland, but Fields is certainly a force in Oakland. Arnie Fields is an energetic, friendly, and knowledgeable Oaklander who's primary reason for running for Mayor is his anger with former Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, who he describes as a "kook." This blogger reminded Fields that that "kook" was about to become Governor of California - or so it looked - and Fields said "I hope not." Arnie Fields blames Jerry Brown for making Oakland into what he says is "Gotham City."

That gives you some idea of the kind of conversation Fields and I had and is in the video above.

Arnie Fields Real Estate Guy

There are people who don't take Arnie seriously, but in meeting and talking with him at length, especially off-camera, that's a mistake. This effort has been as much for the objective of eliminating the stereotypes people in Oakland have about the candidates, and in Fields, I've succeeded. Arnie Fields is a married father of three children between the ages of 13 and 21 (two boys and one girl to "even out the testosterone in the house" as he said), who specializes in rehabilitating properties in Oakland. Arnie grew up in Oakland and eats, sleeps, and drinks the culture of our city.

He says that prior to 2000, there was "a house for everyone in Oakland," but Jerry Brown's 10K program - which caused the construction of market rate high density housing in downtown Oakland - took out that era of reasonably priced homes and made Oakland a place where such inexpensive single family home ownership is not longer possible.

Talking With Arnie

Arnie Fields talks started with a kind of introduction to the block of West Oakland he built. Pointing to a neighboring clothing business, he said "People come all over to buy her clothes, she's the best in the Bay. Come and visit her." Arnie says they brought in a bike shop and "the Berkeley Liberation Radio, which is right around the corner, on Peralta" as well as the Revolution Cafe.

Fields says the City of Oakland was trying to demolish the entire block; they saved it, he says, when he and his wife created a historic district. He blames Jerry Brown for getting rid of the old Lincoln Theater, and essentially trying to erase the culture and infrastructure of West Oakland. Arnie says it's wrong for the City to try and destroy its historic structures. Fields forcefully says Oakland has "the largest stock of historic buildings in the country."   Fields says the housing stock in Oakland is "almost 80 years old."

As you can see, Fields has so much to say and has done so much in Oakland, it's hard to keep him on the basic topic of running for Mayor of Oakland, but I did succeed. But it's also why Fields does not perform well in forums: his mind is all over the place, and forums can't pin him down by the way they're ran.

Arnie Fields Is Fighting Corruption

Arnie Fields says his run for Mayor is to root out corruption. In our talk, he pointed directly to the Community and Economic Development Agency and repeated what's become a common theme: that CEDA is corrupt and using fees on building owners to help the City of Oakland pay for services outside of its department responsibilities in areas like building permits and enforcement. If elected, Fields would kick out much of the CEDA management.

Fields also says he will "get rid of the blight ordinance" which he says causes buildings to be slated for demolition and have gotten rid of the inexpensive housing in Oakland. He says that Oakland's population has decreased because of these actions by about 10 percent. (Now, in 2010, Oakland's population is at 399,484, in 2005 it was at 395,274, which is a net increase. Sorry Arnie.)

Arnie Wants To Cut The Fat

Fields asserts that as Mayor he's going to cut 500 CEDA code enforcement officers that he will reduce to 250 positions. Arnie's more interested in shifting money from CEDA to public service, but overall he doesn't have a plan for reducing the deficit. "I want. We're going to become pro-business...cut the red tape," he says, "and eliminate the tax liability" Oakland has at present.

Fields wants to restore Oakland's old buildings to pass on affordability to Oaklanders.  "Before Jerry Brown showed up, you were able to rent a house in Oakland for $600 to $700 a month," he says, "the whole house."  

Fields As Mayor

Fields says his Mayor's office is going to be "a beacon of love and hope" for all.  He will thin down the Mayor's staff and be at all of the council meetings.   "We are going to have a zero-tolerance for litter" in Oakland.

Fields Supports BB

Arnie Fields supports Measure BB because he says "We need more education."   He also says he will push for a 100 percent high school graduation rate.

Fields Will Not Sue The A's

Fields does not want to sue the Oakland A's.   He wants to work with the A's to make them see the benefits of being in Oakland.

You can learn more about Arnie by visiting his website Fields4Change.com and watching the video.

Stay tuned.

Oakland Mayor's Race: Marcy Hodge Interview

Peralta Community College District Board Member Marcy Hodge has labored as one of the lesser known candidates, who's activity in the Oakland Mayor's Race was punctuated by having her sister Nicole Hodge file a defamation lawsuit against The East Bay Express. In the video interview, Hodge talks about why she decided to run for Mayor and her approach.

Hodge says she decided to run for mayor because she didn't think any of the candidates were talking about the issues Oaklanders were dealing with. "I didn't really feel really excited about the candidates."

She's ran a campaign that features billboards and lawn signs all over Oakland.  What's interesting is as this day approached, more and more "Marcie Hodge" lawn signs have appeared around Oakland.  A signal that some Oaklanders had not decided on a candidate and were swayed toward Hodge.

The East Bay Express and Hodge

Robert Gammon has, for some reason, consistently and dangerously attacked Hodge for running for Mayor of Oakland. Gammon has written that, for all practical purposes, Hodge is a "tool" of Oakland Mayor's Race competitor Don Perata, and asserted that overall her campaign is "illegal." What's interesting is that Gammon didn't make a matrix of what the other Oakland Mayor's Race candidates have done in filling reports, he just focused on Marcie.

While the charge was not supported by any Oakland legal official, just Gammon, and he caused the lawsuit with a series of sloppy blog posts, to his credit, Gammon came back with a very good and through follow-up last week.

The video was created before Gammon's latest work. In that one, Robert's done his homework and raises a good point Marcie should address. Marcie told this blogger she was going to file her financial reports last week. But with that, it doesn't explain why Gammon focused on Hodge in the way he did.

Improving Oakland

Hodge says the best way to reduce the Oakland budget deficit is to attract more businesses to Oakland and grow the tax base; she does not favor bankruptcy as an option. "We have to find creative ways of reducing the deficit...We need to look the way China does it (budgets). They plan (the budget) for 100 years."

On Oakland Sports

Hodge, like many of the candidates, does not favor using "public money" to retain the Oakland A's.  While she wants to retain them, she does not offer an alternative solution but wants to see "creative ways" to keep them.  Hodge doesn't favor suing the Oakland A's or the City of San Jose, favoring the approach of fostering a "cordial relationship" with both parties.

City And Mayor's Office Under Hodge

On the subject of City of Oakland morale, Hodge says that when there's no vision from the city's elected officials, there's no reason for workers to get behind the city and that impacts morale.  She's not willing to point at Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums by name, but does so by comments in our conversation.

On the matter of the Oakland Police, Hodge doesn't favor reducing police salaries and feels that they "take a beating" in the public eye.

The Hodge Candidacy

Marcie Hodge is a good person who's campaign, while marked by a single-person media attack, has been largely successful.  Why?  She's visible and attractive, which may be the reason she's getting attention from undecided Oaklanders.  Will all of that be enough to gain a substantial number of votes is the question of the day.

Oakland Mayor's Race: Video Interviews With All 10 Candidates

If you haven't made up your mind on who to vote for in the Oakland Mayor's Race on election day, today, this series of Zennie62 on YouTube videos should help a little.

They comprise over 300 minutes of conversations and 15 videos that in total make up the most ambitious video blog effort I've ever done.   The idea was to give you a view of all of the candidates, not just some of them.  (That effort's the biggest example of local print and television media prejudice and attempt to control information I've ever seen.  And if someone calls them by a name that brings up Nazi Germany, they'll start whining and crying, but at this stage, given their antics, I don't care what they think.)

So in honor of The San Francisco Giants as World Champions and Tim Lincecum, this blogger says FUCK YEAH! (OK. Lots of San Francisco street party hoping and killer videos in celebration last night, but I digress.)

The videos represents all of the candidates: Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, Joe Tuman, Don Macleay, Don Perata, Councilmember Jean Quan, Larry Lionel Young, Arnie Fields, Marcie Hodge, Terrance Candell, and Greg Harland.  Plus, there' are two forum overview videos and one commentary on the Sierra Club forum when it was messed up, trying to segregate candidates from attending.  (Thank God that was corrected.)

The video playlist below has all of the candidates video interviews. The order does not indicate who this blogger endorses for Mayor of Oakland:



I will also post summaries of interviews conducted last week, and my recommendations, before 12 noon PDT.

Stay tuned.