Conservative Opponents of Plan Bay Area Turn To Satire

TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT | Plan Bay Area is likely the biggest local controversy you've never heard about.

The initiative led by four Bay Area government agencies aims to foster economic sustainability through conservation over the next few decades.

However, it is the specifics of the plan for high-density housing around transit centers, among other issues, that has attracted vociferous opposition at numerous public meetings over the past two years.

Although many of the opponents of Plan Bay Area are Tea Party supporters, it is an inclusive bunch that, on some occasions, attracts liberal voices  and some from the Occupy movement.

They accuse the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) of faux transparency while actually controlling the discussion and public comments, in addition to institutional obfuscation. There is also an air of shadowy conspiracy attached to some against the plan.

However, who says liberals are funnier than conservatives? While opposition to Plan Bay Area has nearly been thwarted by MTC and ABAG, the hardy group has now turned to hard-nosed satire.

Below is a Simpsons-inspired video skewering Plan Bay Area. See, if you agree the goateed MTC character seems vaguely Canadian, eh?



Also, Chris Pareja, the former congressional candidate last year in the 15th District reels off a playful attack recently on Plan Bay Area using the acronym "WTF."

Then, there's the more serious fare:

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PROLA NAMED SAN LEANDRO’S VICE MAYOR; SOUZA FEELS SNUBBED

New Vice Mayor Jim Prola

SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | San Leandro Councilmember Jim Prola was appointed vice mayor this week. The motion was made without discussion and passed, 4-3. Then there was a pause.

Councilmembers detailed their mostly mundane past two weeks. Councilmember Michael Gregory rode his bike with the mayor. Prola attended every event in the county and Pauline Cutter said something akin to thinking out loud, then came Councilmember Diana Souza’s turn to speak.

“Many of you know I have not been vice mayor,” said a sorrowful Souza. “I would have embraced the opportunity to be vice mayor and, yes, I am disappointed that I did not have the support of my colleagues.”

Nearing the end of her second term on the City Council, Souza had never been elected by her peers to serve the entirely ceremonially title of vice mayor. Along with Souza, Councilmembers Ursula Reed and Benny Lee also voted against Prola’s appointment, all without any acrimony towards the victor.

However, it was clear Souza was hurt by the snub, even alluding to apparent horse trading that may have occurred during the run-up to Monday’s quick vote. To win the appointment, Souza said, she would have had to “compromise my values and integrity that got me elected and some would say, ‘that is just politics’ and I say, ‘that is not my politics.’”

She went on to criticize the current council environment for producing “conformity rather collaboration.” The latter point holds some truth. Over the past few years, the San Leandro City Council has shown a propensity for middling city-wide discussions and leaders who almost always lead from the back rather than the front.

Prola, also in his second term on the council, had been similarly passed over for vice mayor the last two years before getting the nod this week.

The council’s decision is also a slight blow to Souza’s potential run next year for mayor against Stephen Cassidy. Even if Souza was successful Monday night, the term for vice mayor only extends one year, leaving a roughly six month space before the November 2014 election.

However, as stated before, the campaign season starts now and the title of vice mayor to the layperson carries an air of importance, even though now-former Vice Mayor Gregory once labeled the job’s sole duty as making certain the candy dishes on the council member dais is filled.

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Corbett Bill Treating E-Cigarettes Like Tobacco Products Passes State Senate

Blu e-cigarettes

STATE SENATE | Although not yet as ubiquitous as regular cigarettes, nor as unpleasant to the nose as a burning pack of Marlboros, e-cigarettes are growing in popularity. Yet, although both devices are nicotine-delivery systems, the rolled variety is well-regulated, while the other is not.

A bill that would regulate e-cigarettes, plastic devices similar to conventional cigarettes that use smoke-less nicotine cartridges, passed the State Senate, 21-10, Friday. Today is the final day of the Legislative calendar for bills to pass through the house of origin or remain in suspense for the next year.

SB 648, authored by State Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett, regulates e-cigarettes sold in California, but also places conditions on their use in public spaces similar to other smoke-free bans on cigarettes.

“We must always stand on the side of public health since we still do not yet fully understand the safety of chemicals present in e-cigarette vapors or when nicotine itself leaks from the products,” said Corbett. “It simply makes sense to regulate e-cigarettes as a tobacco product when they are already prohibited in many public spaces.”

This is not the first time Corbett has taken aim at e-cigarettes in the senate. Two years ago, Corbett's  bill seeking to rid independent vendors of e-cigarettes from selling to minors, with penalties, was signed into law. Some cartridges for e-cigarettes are flavored with fruity flavors some critics charge is a veiled effort to market the burgeoning devices to children.

Amtrak has a ban on their use on trains and the Navy prohibits e-cigarettes in submarines, says Corbett’s office, and the U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing a ban aboard airplanes.

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After Major National Security Speech, Lee Still Has Concerns Over Use Of Drones

CONGRESS 13//DRONES | While some opponents of the Obama Administration’s use of military drones were placated by the president’s major national security speech Thursday, East Bay Rep. Barbara Lee, however, still has concerns.

Preceding the president’s speech Thursday morning, Lee introduced the Drones Accountability Act in Congress, which would require disclosing legal opinions and justifications leading to the uses of drones abroad. During President Obama’s speech, the issue of adding a layer of accountability to the issue of deploying drones in the Middle East was addressed. Obama again floated the idea of creating a secret court for signing off on the specifics use of drones.

In recent months, Lee has been one of the leading voices for limiting the use of drones, in addition to repealing the controversial Authorization of Use for Military Force (AUMF) passed in the wake of 9/11. In contrast, Alameda County's other House member Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-15) backs military drones, while also expressing support for the use of non-lethal domestic drones in the East Bay.

“I continue to have grave concerns over the use of lethal drone strikes and the current lack of Congressional involvement and oversight,” said Lee. “For the integrity of our Constitution, we must ensure that we have full accountability and sufficient transparency in our nation’s war powers, and I will continue to fight for a full and public debate on this issue.”

Earlier this year, Lee offered legislation (H.R. 198) to repeal the AUMF. She praised the president’s comments Thursday to potential rewrite the authorization of force within. “As the only Member of Congress to oppose the AUMF in 2001,” she said, “I warned about the state of perpetual war that our nation has now entered into. It’s far past time to repeal this overly broad, blank check for war, and I am encouraged that the President called for it today."

Drones, say Lee, are an offshoot of the expansive powers given to the government following approval of the AUMF. “The lethal use of drones is but one example in the disturbing expansion of war powers that have been justified under the AUMF.”

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An Early Shot Across Tuman’s Bow

Joe Tuman

OAKLAND//MAYOR 2014 | What exactly likely Oakland mayoral candidate Joe Tuman thought he was getting away with when he placed personal political aspirations in the middle of his syllabus is unclear.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday Tuman for a class assignment asked his political science class at San Francisco State to imagine—just imagine—creating a campaign strategy for a generic black conservative running for Congress in the Central Valley, or, I don’t know, a slight, balding, middle-aged white man running for mayor of Oakland.

Sounds like Tuman. That’s because it was Tuman of which Tuman was referring and he reportedly told students if the idea was good enough, he just might use it for his run at unseating Mayor Jean Quan next year.

According to the article, neither San Francisco State nor Tuman believe his assignment, which counts toward the majority of the student’s grade, was unethical. However, the Fair Political Practice Commission and other groups, say the article, disagree and believe the potential fruits of the students labor could be construed as a campaign contribution.

The news of Tuman's more than hinky gambit is raising eyebrows, but also is the appearance of this disclosure being a shot across Tuman’s bow by unknown political opponents. As the cards of the 2014 ballot get shuffled and become more certain in the coming weeks, more than a few Oakland insiders believe Tuman has real shot to unseat Quan, or, at least, the best shot.

During his last run in 2010, Tuman finished a strong fourth and showed the polish of being a political expert on local television and the ability to convey his ideas with a sense of gravitas. And, with ranked-choice voting and a potentially underwhelming group of challengers, as many are saying, anything can happen.

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Donald Evans Named Berkeley's New Superintendent

EDUCATION | Hayward Superintendent Donald Evans was confirmed as Berkeley’s new school superintendent Wednesday and will start his new job July 1 after spending just 18 months at the helm in Hayward.

Evans would not clarify why he was leaving Hayward after spending such a short while with the district but said he is “very excited” about going to Berkeley.

“This a better fit for me,” said Evans who spoke well of Berkeley’s diversity and being “very collective.” Evans said the Hayward community has been “good to him” but wouldn’t state why he is leaving Hayward. “I’m not going to answer that,” he said with a nervous laugh.

Sources, however, have elaborated further on Evans' departure citing the district’s problems being too difficult for him to handle and the board’s past drama, such as the Jesus Armas/Maribel Heredia sex scandal, having created an intimidating environment for Evans.

Evans formerly served as an associate superintendent in Compton, Calif. and oversaw Oakland’s elementary schools. Evans was originally named Hayward’s superintendent in November 2011 with high expectations.

Although, some inside sources in the past few months, who wish to not be named, said Evans was a “disappointment,” and are glad to see him move on. One source though spoke well of Evans but believes he is leaving because of a new board that is more aggressive towards its goals rather than what she said should be more “collaborative.”

In the past month, Evans presided over two town halls concerning his vision for Hayward, but neither of those town halls offered a distinct vision for Hayward outside of a few summer academies to help improve student literacy and math skills. Although there has been a slight uptick in the district’s API scores the district still rates the worse in the county.

Berkeley’s choice of Evans comes after the retirement of former Superintendent Bill Huyett in August 2012. The district then failed to name a permanent replacement on two occasions until finally settling on Evans.

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As Time Runs Out, Council Gives Oakland Army Base Tenants A Reprieve

Oakland Army Base from the sky.

OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | A few businesses at the Oakland Army Base will not face imminent eviction in advance of a planned $270 million makeover of the waterfront. The Oakland City Council Tuesday directed its real estate manager to not issue unlawful detainers against tenants during a 15-day period starting June 1.

However, time is of the essence, says the city. If the land at the Oakland Army Base is not prepared for redevelopment by September, it risks losing $176 million in federal grants. While some tenants have found refuge at new locations at the Port of Oakland, some have not and the back-and-forth has been divisive over the past six months or more.

Council President Pat Kernighan, though, said tenants at the base have been aware of their temporary status for, at least, the last nine years. “It’s not quite the simple good guy, bad guy thing,” says Kernighan. “We’re looking for win-win for everyone, but it is not simple.”

A 200,000 square foot plot of land at the Port of Oakland called “The Notch” is a possible landing spot for some of the remaining businesses, but one, OMSS, a trucking company owned by businessman Bill Aboudi, is still facing problem striking a deal with the Port.

Last month, the city offered the Port a contract giving OMSS five acres on a month-by-month basis. The Port, however, declined the offer, said John Monetta, the project's real estate manager. A similar proposal is on the Port’s June 13 agenda slated for approval. “We have to sign this,” said Aboudi. “We have no choice.”

Despite the frenzy of last minute deals, the time frame for clearing the base is extremely tight, says Monetta. A sentiment also espoused by Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney, who represents the waterfront on the council. “Time, Mr. Monetta, is not our friend. I understand that,” she said.

Monetta said without the potential use of legal strategies to evict the tenants in such a short time frame, inaction poses a great threat to the entire project. He argued, at this late date, repossessing a property could take up to two months to secure. In addition, any personal property left behind by former tenants could add another three weeks to notify and potentially auction off property. In total, such delays run smack up against the Sept. 1 deadline, says Monetta.

“This is a really important to me and this is my baby and I do intend to give birth to her in a grand fashion,” said Gibson McElhaney, who has received plaudits for her work of late in moving together warring stakeholders at the base. On Tuesday night, she cited Oakland’s struggling business community crave certainty and clarity from the council. “Folks are paying attention to what we’re doing on this dais,” she said.

But, just as a comity appeared to come forth on the issue, the nagging questions of transparency over the Oakland Army Base persists. A legal opinion issued earlier in the day by Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker found the project’s developing firm led by Oakland businessman Phil Tagami and a panoply of his companies had, indeed, possessed a business license when he made the deal for base in 2010. Question over the legality of the 2010 agreement for the base had been nagging.

However, Parker’s office found, not all of the subsidiaries had, at least, until this month. The city’s tax revenue office showed Prologis/CCIG and Oakland Global LLC did not possess tax certificates when the Lease Disposition and Development Agreement (LDDA) was signed by the Tagami group, but such an occurrence would not invalidate the deal, according to Parker’s legal opinion.

Councilmember Desley Brooks reiterated a common complaint made by detractors of Tagami, one of the most powerful developers in the city and the Oakland Army Base project as a whole. “It is problematic that the developer is also the property manager because they have a vested interest,” said Brooks.

Although seven council members agreed with Gibson McElhaney’s motion for leniency against the army base tenants, Kernighan chose to abstain, saying only, “There’s thing I may not know.”

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Popular San Lorenzo Superintendent Announces Retirement

Dr. Dennis Byas will retire Aug. 31.

SAN LORENZO | San Lorenzo School Superintendent Dr. Dennis Byas, made a surprised announcement Wednesday that he will retire Aug. 31 after spending six years at the head of the unincorporated area's school district.

Byas couldn’t get three words into his speech without crying. He has commonly referred to his position as a lifestyle rather than a job and calls the district’s students “his kids.” A packed room felt for Byas’s speech as they encouraged him to finish with a round of applause.

“I have been fortunate to have been able to work beside you and live in this beautiful community,” said Byas, “The Lord has allowed me to have a blessed life and I now have the desire to go do the Lord’s work for the remainder of my life.”

Byas said he will never forget his community and its members who are the “most supportive and caring people in the nation.”

Byas started his career in education 23 years ago and said he fell in love with each and every one of the students he has had. “I discovered that each student had a different life and each of their lives had and has a very important story to tell. Many of the students have made me smile and many have made me cry,” said Byas, “But most importantly, each has touched me deeply and helped guide and fulfill my life.”

Byas, 62, said he is leaving to spend more time with his wife, his five children and his four grandchildren. “Time can’t be bought and it can’t earn interest, it can’t be extended it can only be spent,” said Byas with tears in his eyes. He couldn’t look up once from his podium, he said, because he feared he would cry more.

Byas came to a school district six years ago struggling with attendance issues and high expulsion rates. Byas helped reduce those to staggeringly low levels with much fanfare. And for much of that work Byas received many thanks after his speech with district staff and other attendees praising him. "Thank you so much," said one attendee as she cried and hugged Byas.

Byas said he will convene with the board at a later date to help decide on a replacement.

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Chan Says Sutter Health Made First Move On San Leandro Hospital Negotiations

ALCO Supervisor Wilma Chan

SAN LEANDRO HOSPITAL | After years of ambivalence by Sutter Health to even negotiate with Alameda County or the Eden Township Healthcare District over San Leandro Hospital, it approached Supervisor Wilma Chan on its own last February, she said Monday.

Chan was in San Leandro Monday night to update the council on details of a plan to save San Leandro Hospital from closure, whereby Sutter Health transfers title of the facility to Alameda Health Systems along with a one-time $22 million subsidy for operations.

“They called and said we’re ready to talk,” Chan told The Citizen. In the subsequent months, Chan said the community was able to get a far better deal than one offered late last year that included Sutter leasing the hospital to AHS, but without any money for operation.

A letter of intent to begin negotiations between Sutter and AHS through July 1 was signed last week. If the framework of the current proposal is agreed to, the transfer of the facility could occur as early as this October.

Following over four years of uncertainty whether the hospital and its emergency room would stave off closure, Chan, who was elected back to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in the middle of the controversy, admitted she wasn’t always confident it could be saved.

Chan said sometimes the battle felt like a “hopeless cause.” She added, “I didn’t necessarily feel like it was going to work.”

Nonetheless, members of the San Leandro City Council praised Chan for her efforts. “You have taken a situation thought to be impossible and made it possible,“ said Councilmember Benny Lee. Councilmember Jim Prola was more pointed. “Without Wilma this would not have happened.”

Despite any unforeseen problems hampering the current proposal from being approved, how multiple entities continue to fund operations at the hospital is still unknown. Sutter Health says it lost up to $2 million on a monthly basis over the past two years at San Leandro Hospital. In addition, a second prong of the current proposal includes the Eden Township Healthcare District pitching in a one-time $20 million subsidy to fund the second year of operations.

Already low on revenue, the District, which no longer has a hospital to run, may have to sell off some of its real estate assets. Chan said San Leandro city officials met with a few members of the District’s elected board of directors early Monday.

A parcel tax, either led by the District or the city, has also long been a possibility for funding the hospital. Chan says the county is also looking to offer a ballot measure reauthorizing Measure sometime in the near future. However, she said, last year’s foundering performance by a county-wide zoo parcel tax, gives them pause for concern.

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Northern California Tea Party Group Takes Lead In Growing IRS Non-Profit Scandal

TEA PARTY | The first of a likely long line of Tea Party organizations seeking relief from allegations the Internal Revenue Service targeted them and other conservative non-profit groups comes from Northern California.

The NorCal Tea Party Patriots, centered in Colfax, Calif. filled a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court accusing the IRS of violating its constitutional rights. The lawsuit alleges the IRS the engaged in “intensive and intrusive scrutiny" while it sought non-profit tax status.

The group says it took well over two years for it to obtain its non-profit status under Section 501(c)(4) of the tax code. It finally received the exemption last August, but only after turning over onerous amounts of paperwork detailing emails between members, names of contributors who gave minuscule amounts of money and copies of speeches given at their events.

The Tea Party group is also seeking damages and will attempt to gain class-action status for the complaint. Nearly 300 conservative groups may have been flagged by the IRS because of attachments of words like “Tea Party” and “conservative” in their names.

“We stand shoulder to shoulder with all those known and unknown who have been abused by a federal government run amok. Instead of just playing defense, it is time for the citizens to go on offense,” said Mark Meckler, a founder of Tea Party Patriots and president of Citizens for Self-Governance, the group behind Monday’s lawsuit. He added, because the Congress provides funding and guidelines for the IRS, neither Democrats or Republicans can be trusted to reform the tax-collecting body.

Although the Bay Area is a well-known denizen of liberal thought and support, the outer lying areas in the north and east of the Highway 580 corridor are increasingly supportive of the conservative-tinged cause. One of the largest Tea Party events in the state, in fact, occurred over two years ago at the Pleasanton County Fairgrounds.

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Saving San Leandro Hospital Is A Rare Populist Success Story

SUNDAY COLUMN | After four years of uncertainty, San Leandro Hospital appears to have been saved, at least, for the next few years. However, the fits and starts that have been a hallmark of this community-fueled uprising to save its hospital, is far different than at any time in the last few years. The main difference: this deal excludes Sutter Health from the equation.

It is this single attribute that is entirely unique to the long struggle led by residents, politicians and the nurses union. The plan offered this week by Sutter Health hands over title to the facility to Alameda Health Systems (formerly Alameda County Medical Center) along with up to $22 million in subsidies to run the first year of operations. The plan keeps the emergency room open and expands the vacant fourth floor for acute rehabilitation services.

Eden Township Healthcare District Board

Director Dr. Vin Sawhney advocating for

keeping San Leandro Hospital open. 

It is the same plan that fell to the wayside earlier this year, except Sutter Health had only offered to lease the hospital to Alameda Health Systems and without the lucrative subsidy.

However, there is still work to be done. It is unclear whether we should put much trust in Alameda Health Systems CEO Wright Lassiter, a former Sutter co-conspirator. If San Leandro Hospital’s finances should go sideways in the next two years and its ER faces another round of uncertainty, don’t worry. Whereas, the threat to the ER used to mean facing down a cold, faceless corporation, it may entail in the future screaming at the Alameda County Board of Supervisors for safety net funding.

Despite what your complacent neighborhood news organization said this week, the saintly Sutter Health did not “donate” the hospital. Instead, Sutter Health capitulated. They laid down their arms and walked away. They finally viewed the headache associated with San Leandro Hospital, in terms of public relations, was less important than its entirely prosperous empire.

In times when Americans feel like they are powerless against immense financial and political interests, the people of sleepy San Leandro (of all places!) showed if we band together, the bad guys will scamper. The rich and powerful, in the back of their minds, are always aware there are way more of us than there are of them.

Quotable
“You can’t shoot people if you don’t have ammunition,”
-Assemblyman Bill Quirk, May 17 in Oakland, extolling the virtues of Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner’s bill to tax ammunition in the state, at an Assembly hearing on gun violence in the East Bay.

The Week That Was
>>>Haggerty Gets Dirty: Closed sessions at Alameda County Board of Supervisor’s meetings just got more intense. From the fallout of a lawsuit against Supervisor Scott Haggerty by his former chief of staff comes allegations he routinely objectified women and asked male staffers, “Who would you fuck? Wilma Chan or Gail Steele?”

>>>Oakland Looks Away: On second thought, the Oakland City Council will not discuss the contents of an explosive audit offered last March charging Councilmembers Desley Brooks and Larry Reid with repeatedly violating the city’s charter against council members interfering with the business of city staff. Council President Pat Kernighan, in effect, said there is other more pressing matters to deal with. Earlier, the council also put off debarment of city contracts with Goldman Sachs for another two weeks.

>>>Disconnect: Assemblymembers Rob Bonta, Nancy Skinner and Bill Quirk, along with State Sen. Loni Hancock all posed for news cameras Friday advocating for tougher gun control measures following a three-hour hearing on the subject inside the State Building in Oakland. However, community leaders, instead, continually pressed for more funding to help the lives of the youth before they turn to solving problems with firearms.

>>>Zermeno First In For Hayward Mayor: In a surprise move, Councilmember Francisco Zermeno announced he will run for mayor in 2014. Mayor Michael Sweeney is said to be uncertain whether he will run for a third term. Zermeno nearly lost his seat on the council last June and if Sweeney runs, things could get caliente. Sweeney, Zermeno and former school trustee Jesus Armas all play on a basketball team named “Los Chilones.”

>>>Quan’s 2014 Opponents: Port of Oakland Commissioners Bryan Parker and Gilda Gonzales are looking at possibly running against Oakland Mayor Jean Quan. So is City Auditor Courtney Ruby and professor and community activist Joe Tuman. More names are likely to show interest in the next few weeks.

>>>’It’s News To Us’: Although the long San Leandro Hospital saga is nearing a positive conclusion, nobody bothered to tell the Eden Township Healthcare District they may have to commit institutional suicide in order to make the deal work. Supervisor’s Wilma Chan’s plan asks the District to pay $20 million in subsidies for the second year of operations at the hospital. The District, though, knew nothing about the plan and say their assets are worth $29 million; largely from one asset that conversely generates the most revenue.

Tweet of the Week
“Jean Quan shared a bunch of photos from a roller derby match on FB. That means they're probably going to move to the South Bay too.”
-@OakScott, making light May 12 of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan’s perennial problem with keeping its sports teams content.

Best Reads
>>>Sometimes the best way to understand what is around you is through the lens of someone outside looking in. Here is an article describing the bare bones Oakland Police Department. (Los Angeles Times, May 18).

>>>In a progressive city like Oakland, it seems more cops are never the answer. But, over the years, with a rapidly shrinking police force, even progressives are sheepishly rethinking this argument, but should they? (East Bay Express, May 15).

Voice of the People
“Is a gang member really going to say, "Oh darn, that bullet costs 10% more, I guess I won’t do my drive-by shooting now"? Less guns do not mean less guns for criminals...”
-Anonymous, commenting May 18 on “East Bay Legislators Call For Stringent Gun Control Laws.”

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East Bay Legislators Call For Stringent Gun Control Laws

Asm. Bill Quirk at the State Building in Oakland.

ASSEMBLY//OAKLAND/GUNS | Lest we forget the East Bay is still a bastion of liberalism, a few of its Democratic legislators Friday reminded voters, even though societal factors like unemployment and an eroding middle class may be a cause for rising gun violence, firearms are also to blame.

Although Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner and State Sen. Loni Hancock targeted guns and residual violence in the media and video games at Friday’s Assembly Select Committee on Gun Violence in the East Bay, it was freshman Assemblyman Bill Quirk who flashed the hottest rhetoric calling for more prohibitive gun control measures.

[SEE ALSO: Community Leaders Say Gun Violence Is A Public Health Crisis]

“We have a disconnect in the Legislature,” said Quirk of Republican colleagues who believe the use of firearms for personal protection and for sport are equal. “We know the best to get killed by a gun is to have a gun in your house for self-protection,” he said.

Quirk also applauded Skinner and Assemblyman Rob Bonta’s pending legislation to tax bullet sales. “You can’t shoot people if you don’t have ammunition,” Quirk said.

Oakland Mayor Jean, Alameda County Sup.

Wilma Chan, Asm. Rob Bonta, Oakland

Interim Police Chief Sean Whent

The best way to promote safety, Quirk said, is to prohibit guns, except for sport. But, the East Bay is mostly an urban landscape, he says. “In the area we come from guns are for killing people.” He also skewered conservative second amendment proponents for their strict constructionist beliefs over the right to bear arms. “They claim to follow the Founding Fathers,” Quirk said, “but they don’t.”

Skinner and Hancock agreed with Quirk’s interpretation of the second amendment and its adherents.

“It says a regulated militia,” said Hancock. “It doesn’t say anybody can carry anything anywhere they are.” She added, “Limiting access to guns is a part of the solution.”

Just the presence of guns in the home is a problem, said Skinner, who said, “I vary on notion on the second amendment.”

“The presence of guns in homes does nothing for public safety,” she said. Skinner also advocated for “limiting” the number of firearms and ammunition available. This year, Skinner advanced various gun control bills in the Assembly expressly aimed at slowing the proliferation of guns on the streets.

Oakland Councilman Noel Gallo

However, she said, “Legislation alone won’t be enough.”

Later, Skinner faulted the federal government for failing to pass meaningful gun control legislation in the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn. shootings last December that killed 20 elementary school children and six adults.

Although Friday’s assembly hearing was chaired by Bonta, who represents Oakland, San Leandro and Alameda, he offered none of the heated rhetoric of his fellow lawmaker other than to promote a discussion on how to find solutions to lower crime in Oakland, including its perception of lawlessness, seen by many in the surrounding East Bay.

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Community Leaders Say Gun Violence In The East Bay Is A Public Health Crisis

Asm. Rob Bonta at an Assembly hearing
on gun violence May 17 in Oakland.

ASSEMBLY//OAKLAND/GUNS | An Assembly hearing focusing on rising gun violence in the East Bay, instead evolved into a string of community and faith-based leaders clamoring for answers over how to heal what they say is the root cause of violence in places like Oakland--socio-economic despair.

Oakland Assemblyman Rob Bonta, chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Gun Violence in the East Bay brought three panels of local officials, youth counselors and pastors together Friday to discuss the continuing rise even in crime less than 24 hours after the city suffered two more homicides Thursday night. Thirty-seven homicides have occurred in Oakland this year.

Even as an ambitious package of gun control bills sponsored by Bonta, Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner and State Sen. Loni Hancock wind through the Legislature, most panelists instead chose to focus on ideas that will foster hope, rather than the need to pick up a firearm and shoot.

[SEE ALSO: East Bay Legislators Call For Stringent Gun Control Laws] 

Olis Simmons, a community organizer with Oakland’s Youth UpRising says gang activity; the often mentioned cause of gun violence is not the issue. “It’s a clique issue,” she says resulting from staggering unemployment in Oakland, especially in the black and Latino community, and fear. “They carry guns not because they’re a predator, but because they’re desperate to feel safe.”

“This is a public health crisis,” said Pastor Zack Carey of Oakland’s True Vine Ministries. “They’re shooting each other because there’s no jobs.”

Guillermo Cespedes, a expert on gang

reduction in Los Angeles and Asm. Bill Quirk.

Richmond’s charismatic director of Neighborhood Safety DeVone Boggan said he has heard many of the same solutions over the past two decades to no avail. The impetus should be on helping the youth make better decisions to avoid conflicts when they invariably occur on the streets, he said. “Help us to understand what is required to motivate you to put your gun down,” Boggan said. “When you truly want to live, you make better decisions.”

Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillin, whose rapidly growing Central Valley city, like Oakland, has both high rates of crime along with a large minority population, says community policing has helped foster trust between residents and law enforcement and forced those in need take advantage of various local social programs. You can’t rely on troubled residents to seek out the programs on their own, he says. Instead, his officers take the programs to their front door.

He also his instructs officers to immerse themselves in the community while eschewing zero tolerance strategies to create safe neighborhoods. When events necessitate the use of police force, McMillin says, the community is far more understanding if there is perception law enforcement had already done everything they could in the past. However, he says, “Some people are just too dangerous and need to be locked up.” McMillin realizes his strategy is also costly. “It is expensive. It’s a question of resources,” he said. “but it absolutely works.”

Many at Friday’s hearing agree the rise in gun violence would be better framed as a public health crisis. Dr. Randi Smith, a surgeon-in-training at Oakland’s Highland Hospital, says the vast majority of patients she sees in the emergency room are predominately black and Latinos consistently delivered from the same streets in Oakland. They are also repeat customers, she says.

Citing a national statistics, Smith says 44 percent of young blacks who experience a gunshot wounds will likely receive another in the next five years. It is not uncommon, Smith says, for doctors treating patients for a single-entry bullet wound at Highland to notice previous gunshot wounds on x-rays. Sadly, Smith says, “There’s a revolving door of gun violence.”

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List Of Possible Challengers To Oakland Mayor Quan Begins To Emerge

Left-right: Bryan Parker, Gilda Gonzales,

Joe Tuman, Courtney Ruby.

OAKLAND//MAYOR 2014 | Even the though the 2014 election season in Oakland is over a year away that doesn’t preclude potential candidates from starting early. Not only is attracting local community support important, but more importantly, those who wait too long risk losing out on hiring the cream of the crop when it comes to political strategists.

It’s why San Leandro Councilmember Ursula Reed dove head first into running for Alameda County superintendent of schools next year. Reed’s hired the services of Doug Linney, possibly the best political consultant in the East Bay.

It’s also why the number of challengers for Oakland Mayor Jean Quan’s is quickly rising.

This week, Port of Oakland Commissioner Bryan Parker launched an exploratory campaign for mayor. Parker, who incidentally, was appointed by Quan to the Port last summer, unveiled a splashy, well-done introductory YouTube video.

Parker is vice president for a leading kidney dialysis company who may attempt to tailor his message to the city’s growing demographic of young professionals with money to burn. However, there is already chatter among Alameda County Democrats the treasonous nature of running against Quan is fostering distrust over his motives.

Others reportedly showing interest, include another Port of Oakland President Gilda Gonzales, a former chief of staff under former Mayor Jerry Brown and activist Joe Tuman, who finished fourth in 2010.

The other possible challenger is Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby. Although the Oakland City Council led by Councilmember Pat Kernighan withdrew scheduled discussions of Ruby’s controversial 14 alleged violations of the city charter by Councilmembers Desley Brooks and Larry Reid, the issue of wrongdoing still exists.

Regardless of, if or when, the issue returns to the council, Ruby is undoubtedly positioning herself as the candidates of those who feel corruption in Oakland has run amok.

One high-profile name you won’t see running for mayor in 2014, according to Democratic insiders, is Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

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Eric Swalwell Wants You To Know He Works Really, Really Hard

ILLUSTRATION/Steven Tavares PHOTO/Joseph Geha

CONGRESS 15 | There’s hard work and there's hardly working, then there’s tooting your own horn about the former. Rep. Eric Swalwell built his campaign last year on the slogan of new energy. Now that he’s in Congress, he appears to have a deep sense of insecurity whether his constituents now exactly how much time he’s putting in at the office. Right down to the second.

PHOTOS/@RepSwalwell

In recent weeks, Swalwell has even laid out specific metrics to show voters how much he is doing in Washington with a graphic posted on Twitter. In the tweet, he touted flying 18,000 miles in April alone, holding two video conferences with area students, attending eight committee hearing and delivering four House floor speeches. Mind you, all endeavors that entail sitting.

Swalwell also played goalie in a Congressional soccer game and attended two military homecomings in the Tri Valley. Earlier Thursday morning, he tweeted, “Today someone asked the length of my workday. I had [zero] idea. Then just saw I forgot to turn this off from today's 5k.” The attached photo showed a smart phone timer clocking in at over 17 hours.

Of course, this type of schedule is not conducive for any divorced 33-year-old to navigate the dating meat market that is D.C., which is why he told the San Francisco Chronicle last year he wasn’t looking to settle down and start a family anytime soon, but maybe later.

Depending on your perception of his monthly log of activities, Swalwell is either extraordinarily more busy than you or alienating some poor Latino woman in Hayward working two jobs, caring for four children and wondering how she’s going to fix the blown engine on her 1998 Nissan Sentra.

Most interestingly, though, is the continued mention of Swalwell’s travel habits between the 15th Congressional District and Washington. His repeated and masterfully dishonest conceit Pete Stark had become stranger in his own district angered many progressives in the area.

On Election Night last November, one Democratic Party central committee member, already perturbed by Swalwell’s upset of Stark, angrily instructed me to follow Swalwell’s travel habits. “Make sure he’s in the district every weekend,” they said. "Request his travel records!" Through his recent social media activity, Swalwell seems very well aware of this criticism, although, some may not be convinced. Let’s just hope he doesn’t know about FitBit.

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Reid Withdraws Proposal To ‘Audit the Auditor’s Audit’

OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | Oakland Councilman Larry Reid has withdrawn an item from next week’s agenda asking for an outside auditor to look into allegations made against him and Councilmember Desley Reid by the city’s own auditor.

Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby, in a statement Wednesday afternoon, said Council President Pat Kernighan has also withdrawn an item to discuss the charges laid out her report issued in March.

In the audit, Ruby’s office accused Brooks of violating the city charter’s non-interference laws on 12 separate occasions and Reid in two other incidents pertaining to a construction contract for the Oakland Army Base.

Kernighan cited the council’s heavy workload, including on-going budget and labor discussions and instability at the Oakland Police Department, as reasons for placing the item to a side burner.

“While I recognize the City Council's priorities at this time, the issues identified in this report are critical to moving Oakland forward,” said Ruby. “I will keep you posted when the President re-introduces this item for discussion at the City Council.”

Despite non-action by the council following the scathing report, Councilmember Noel Gallo broached the subject during a meeting two weeks ago. Gallo called for the city auditor to answer council questions over the allegations and allow for greater transparency in the matter.

Critics of Ruby have consistently charged Ruby with engaging in a political vendetta against certain council members. In the meantime, political insiders in the Democratic Party, continue to insist Ruby has recently shown interest in running for mayor next year.

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Healthcare District: $20M Subsidy For San Leandro Hospital Is News To Them

SAN LEANDRO HOSPITAL | On Tuesday morning, Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan was trying to get ahead of news reports detailing an impending deal to save San Leandro Hospital leaked to a business reporter the night before.

However, while the report laying out the framework of proposed deal allowing Sutter Health to transfer title of the health care facility to Alameda Health Systems along with a $22 million one-time subsidy hit the airwaves, very few local public officials were aware of its imminent execution. Not fellow Supervisors Nate Miley, Keith Carson and Scott Haggerty.

Curiously, not even the Eden Township Healthcare District, which Chan said Tuesday may be on the hook for funding the second year of the hospital’s operation with its own one-time $20 million subsidy.

“It’s news to us,” said Carole Rogers, the chair of the district’s Board of Directors. “You know more than us.”

Dev Mahadevan, the district’s CEO, said no official representative has formally brought the proposal to the District for discussion. In essence, Mahadevan added, good luck in getting the money. The District doesn’t have it.

In the aftermath of the protracted legal fight that ended with the District losing title to San Leandro Hospital to Sutter Health, the government body founded in 1948, has been forced to tighten its financial belt just as its real estate holdings suffer in the current economy and while it fights for tenants at its newly-constructed medical office building in Castro Valley.

Since the healthcare district has not been a tax-collecting body since 1975, it’s inability recently to generate cash flow forced it to reduce the amount of grants it gives out to various health-related entities within its district. And, without a hospital to oversee, its basically functions as a charity organization.

The issue of the District’s viability as a health care district has been raised in the past by Chan, who angered its board of directors last year when she hung the specter of dissolution over the body if it did not contribute to a multi-entity proposal similar to the deal announced Tuesday requiring Alameda County, the city of San Leandro and the District to pay a 3-year/$3 million subsidy to help offset costs for Alameda Health Systems to run the hospital.

But, the District countered by pledging to contribute its expected cash revenue in the next two years, topping out next year at over $1 million to the pool of money. That deal fell apart after Wright Lassiter, the CEO of Alameda Health Systems, pulled the plug on the proposal.

Although, the District may be cash poor, it also owns potentially lucrative real estate in Dublin with the Gateway Medical Center, along with its medical office in Castro Valley. Ironically, the District bought the property less than a decade ago to block a threat by Sutter Health to close Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley for potential greater returns in the Tri Valley.

Chan, however, may be again using the threat of leveraging the District’s future to obtain what she called a “sizable” subsidy. In fact, the Alameda County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), which Chan is a member, has raised the possibility of determining the district’s efficacy as a government body over the past few months. On Tuesday, Chan again raised the issue of LAFCO and the District at a Board of Supervisors meeting in Oakland.

The District isn’t taking the threat lightly. Mahadevan reiterated previous statement any attempt by LAFCO to strip the District of its authority would meet stiff opposition from health care district’s across the state who are in a similar situation; existing without a traditional hospital facility to oversee. Mahadevan said such a move by LAFCO would be unprecedented and could be met by a stiff legal challenge.

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DEAL TO SAVE SAN LEANDRO HOSPITAL IS ON THE TABLE

ILLUSTRATION/ Steven Tavares PHOTO/CNA

SAN LEANDRO//HEALTH CARE | Sutter Health and the Alameda Health System are set to sign a letter of intent to begin negotiation terms of an agreement that will keep San Leandro Hospital open for, at least, the next two years.

Under the proposed deal, Alameda Health System (AHS), formerly known as the Alameda County Medical Center, would gain title to the entire facility, estimated to be worth between $30-40 million, along with a one-year subsidy from Sutter in the neighborhood of $18-20 million, said Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan.

Sutter, would, in essence, wipe its hands clear of San Leandro Hospital, which would maintain emergency room services, in addition, to remodeling its vacant fourth floor with up to 30 beds set aside for acute rehabilitation services. Sutter would also walk away from an operation it estimates is bleeding monthly losses of $2 million.

Under the proposed terms of the non-binding letter of intent, which will run through July 1, Chan said, there is no covenant for how AHS will run San Leandro Hospital in its current configuration, nor how long. If a deal is struck the facility could be turned over to AHS as early as this October, said Chan.

The proposal is similar to one that broke down earlier this year calling for the county, city of San Leandro and Eden Township Healthcare District to each contribute a 3-year/$3 million subsidy to cover the hospital’s operations under AHS. That framework is also part of this deal, said Chan.

The Eden Township Healthcare District, though, balked at the terms of the previous deal and charged Chan was deliberately threatening the body with dissolution. After losing San Leandro Hospital in a lengthy legal case to Sutter, the District no longer possesses a hospital to oversee.

Those terms appear to be again on the table for the District. Part of the deal involves asking the health care district to contribute a one-time $20 million subsidy to cover the hospital’s second year of operations. The District’s Board of Directors meets for their monthly meeting on Wednesday.

Alex Briscoe, the director of Alameda County Healthcare Services, says the deal on the table today is nearly identical to those discussed in 2009 when Sutter first announced its intention to close the hospital and turned it over the Alameda County Medical Center for acute rehab services. Those beds were lost with the closure of nearby Fairmont Hospital, which the county deemed too costly to undergo seismic upgrading.

One key difference this time around may be Chan’s decision in April to withhold a nearly $2 million county subsidy earmarked for Sutter’s rebuilt Castro Valley Medical Center for trauma services. The subsidy is matched by federal funding doubling its value to Sutter. Chan pulled the item from the board’s consent agenda in what now appears to be a move to leverage the trauma subsidy against Sutter. Under terms of the letter intent, said Briscoe, the county would release the trauma funding to Sutter by May 21.

Chan lauded the deal for its ability to keep San Leandro Hospital in operation while gaining a valuable asset for the community at no cost to taxpayers. “Worst-case scenario, said Chan of AHS, “they own a building and have to decide about other services.”

There is still room for great caution, though, says Briscoe. “I have deep concerns,” he said. “It’s not a done deal.” While this may be the facility’s last great hope for staving off closure after four years of tumult, great uncertainty still remains. “If the deal goes under,” Briscoe added, “Sutter will close the facility.”

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Hayward On! Zermeño to Run for Mayor

HAYWARD//MAYOR 2014 | Hayward Councilmember Francisco Zermeño had a surprising announcement Monday afternoon. He's running for mayor in 2014.

Zermeño’s announcement was unexpected considering that little talk has been heard of him eyeing the mayor’s seat belonging to Michael Sweeney. In a lengthy announcement today on Facebook, he laid out his plans for the June 2014 race.

Known for his trademark slogan, “Hayward On,” and his online posting touting the benefits of “localnomics,” his announcement showed the same enthusiasm for a creating a “strong local economy” in Hayward.

“To accomplish this Vibrant Hayward Economy, I will work to guide individuals interested in pursuing their dreams of having a small, medium, or large business in our City,” said Zermeno, “I will do this aggressively, because it will begin to fill the empty properties throughout our City, thus realizing the potential of underutilized storefronts. This can be done by working with, among other things, our Economic Development Plan and Congressman Eric Swalwell’s ‘Main Street Revival Act’. That in turn will bring new, good paying jobs for our Youth and for our Unemployed.”

Zermeño won re-election last year, but barely beat out former Councilmember Olden Henson for the last open slot on the City Council. Zermeño finished fourth, garnering 15.58 percent of the vote during the primary that also re-elected Councilmember Barbara Halliday and added Al Mendall and Greg Jones.

There are no official competitors as of yet, but Councilmember Mark Salinas is another name long rumored to be eyeing the mayor's office in a city that boasts the East Bay's largest bloc of Latinos with over 40 percent of Hayward's population. Henson, a long-time former council member, has also shown interest in running for the city's top job.

Mayor Michael Sweeney was contacted for comment but has not responded at this time but according to sources Sweeney is uncertain about running for re-election for a third time. In 2010, he ran virtually unopposed and received over 98 percent of the vote.

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Lawsuit Alleges Haggerty Posed His Male Staff Questions Of Sexual Fantasy

ALCO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS//GRAY LAWSUIT | The office of Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty was a den of masculine sexual bravado and hostility towards women, including against those who served with him on the Board of Supervisors, says his former chief of staff, in court documents.

Haggerty, according to the lawsuit filed by Chris Gray in Alameda County Superior Court, routinely posed questions of sexual fantasy to his staff, regularly commented on women’s breast sizes and openly watched and displayed pornographic materials on county-issued computers.

In some cases, Haggerty even referred to the sexual attributes of the women he served with on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. As reported last week, Haggerty was accused of watching the infamous sex tapes of former Alameda County Supervisor Nadia Lockyer at work, which was briefly linked on this new site, but Gray says Haggerty once posed a hypothetical question regarding a preference between other female supervisors, among others, in a game of “Who would you fuck?”

“Who would you fuck?” Gray alleges in the lawsuit, “Wilma Chan or Gail Steele?” Chan is the current District 3 county supervisor and Steele is the long-time District 2 supervisor who retired in 2010.

Other iterations of the line of questioning also included, “Choose [who you would fuck] or die,” and “I would do [fuck] her and her and her,” Gray alleges Haggerty saying.

Gray, in addition, alleges Haggerty often openly speculated about various women’s bra size and their sexual orientation. “Mr. Haggerty often admitted that when he spoke to females, he could not stop staring at their breasts,” says Gray, in the lawsuit.

Descriptions of a testosterone-infused work place go further, according the lawsuit, where inappropriate photographs of women were proffered by the supervisor. “While on work premises and time, Mr. Haggerty repeatedly and regularly displayed photographs and videos of naked and scantily-clad women that he obtained,” says the lawsuit. “Mr. Haggerty would regularly call over Plaintiff [Gray] and other males to view these photographs and videos and listen to Mr. Haggerty’s sexual commentary about the women.”

In the lawsuit, Gray asserts he was terminated in June 2012 after detailing Haggerty’s alleged transgressions to county counsel. Gray says upon his return from a medical leave of absence due to sleep apnea and diabetes, his day-to-day dealings were extensively scrutinized by Haggerty and his staff. Eventually, Gray was dismissed after 27 years as a chief of staff in Alameda County for using the Internet for his own personal use during work hours.

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Despite Council Support, Debarment Of Goldman Sachs Is Gummed Up

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein says

he won't let Oakland out of its rate swap deal.

OAKLAND//DEBARMENT | During the Great Recession, some financial institutions were deemed “too big to fail,” but as Oakland faces numerous fits and starts in moving forward with the debarment of Goldman Sachs from city contracts, it is becoming clear the administration views the process as “too small to care.”

Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan acknowledged last Tuesday the indecision and confusion surrounding the council's latest attempt to begin the debarment of Goldman Sachs was before the council for the third time since last year. Yet, she noted with faux whimsy, “it mysteriously fails to be agendized properly.”

The disenchantment with Goldman Sachs follows a controversial rate swap agreement between the financial behemoth and the city in 1998 which ultimately led to a bad bet for Oakland and costing it millions every year during times of great budget instability. However, numerous outside investigations have found banking intuitions like Goldman Sachs rigged both sides of the bet to great success.

Proponents of debarment realize the act would be only symbolic and would not amount to any savings to the city. Instead, some council members have framed it as the city defiantly speaking out against the treatment of these big banks toward Oakland, and by extension, the progressive populace of the East Bay. However, behind the scenes, the wheels of government have been locked up by the Quan administration.

Not only has the item been before they council without any additional clarity, but it’s seen the light of day on numerous occasions at the council committee level. Last month in a Finance and Management Committee meeting, Councilmember Desley Brooks blasted the city administrator’s office for failing to provide any information for how the council would proceed with the debarment of Goldman Sachs. Instead, an vague report provided by Assistant City Administrator Scott Johnson was resubmitted.

The footdragging has continued. Last Tuesday, following a request by Brooks for the council to reaffirm its desire to begin debarment, the items were again muddled by the exclusion of language that would allow for the debarment resolution to be amended. Moving forward on such an item, without it being first agendized, would be a violation of state sunshine laws, said an assistant city attorney. Brooks said the wording of the resolution stated at a committee meeting last week intended to "reaffirm" the desire of the council, which Councilmember Libby Schaaf also corroborated. However, the word “reaffirm” was somehow absent from the committee’s minutes.

Despite the confusion, a motion to vote on the resolution was almost successful before Mayor Jean Quan hurriedly interrupted the discussion to allow the assistant administrator to pose whether the proposed legislation would immediately forbid Goldman Sachs from bidding on the city’s bonds without a debarment hearing. Brooks, though, took umbrage with the apparent obfuscation from the mayor.

“It was inappropriate for the mayor to pretend like she wanted a point of clarification when was trying to pressure us in how we set policy for this city,” said Brooks, who believes the question could have been asked by Quan beforehand.

Johnson’s main contention though is practical and logistical. What if Goldman Sachs were to anonymously bid for Oakland bonds and be found to be the lowest and winning bidder? The scenario is “conjecture and speculation,” Brooks said “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

In fact, the wording of the resolution before the council last Tuesday may be inherently in violation of the city’s disbarment ordinance. According to the resolution’s wording, "if Goldman Sachs refuses to terminate the swap agreement within 60 days, then they will be excluded from any future business with the city of Oakland.”

“This is not speculation, said Council President Pat Kernighan, “That is direct language.”

Instead, following a motion by Schaaf to consider approving the “spirit” of the council’s past support for beginning the debarment process, its voted, 8-0, to “reaffirm the sentiment of the resolution.” In essence, the council once against agreed that they agreed last year to begin the act of disbarment against Goldman Sachs.

In the meantime, the robber barons of the new Gilded Age march forward as the victim it robbed through extreme financial chicanery squabble over how to punish the perpetrator. In fact, Oakland will never come close to extracting an eye for an eye from Goldman Sachs. It seems the best punishment possible is choosing which hair to violently pluck from the luxurious and thick shock of hair that rest on head of a financial Goliath.

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Meet The East Bay's Newest Progressive Patron Saint

ILLUSTRATION/Steven Tavares PHOTO/Matt Santos

SUNDAY COLUMN | Linda Lye, the whip-smart attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union was ecstatic. Walking out the Alameda County Administration Building last Valentine’s Day, Lye had just tweeted her followers, “I heart Richard Valle.” No, she didn’t love Valle for his thick, perpetually well-trimmed white mustache, Lye, like a growing number of county residents are starting to realize what many in south county already know, Richard Valle is the East Bay’s new progressive patron saint.

Valle speaking to voters last November

in Union City. PHOTO/Matt Santos

In the past three months, Valle, who was election to the seat he was appointed last year after the resignation of Nadia Lockyer, has been at the forefront of the two of the most contentious issues in the local progressive community, both emanating from the office of Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern.

One involves drones hovering over the East Bay and, the other, undocumented immigrants being held in county jails for extended periods of time. In both case, Valle has been easily most vocal progressive voice on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and possibly the only politician in the region willing to stand up to the stubborn and increasingly authoritarian Ahern.

During a county public protection committee meeting last February Ahern detailed his desire to purchase drones for Alameda County. Valle, though, was not buying it and expressed great doubt whether privacy afforded to residents will be protected by the use of drones spying in the East Bay skies. Of course, comments like these is what facilitated Lye’s amorous tweet afterwards.

However, what makes Valle wholly unique in these parts is both his opposition and support seems based on his own moral beliefs system and devoid of scoring political points or corny grandstanding. Even when the bullying Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty attempted to coax him into a public fight last month, you could also most witness Valle entering into his own personal Zen. There’s a reason for that. Valle is a practicing Buddhist and often speaks of his leadership in terms of harmony with the universe. During his campaign last year against former Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, he seemingly told a group of voters he had never killed a fly. "You can’t take a life unless you can replace it," he said.

Last month, following a spate of incidents in the Hayward area involving undocumented residents being detained by the sheriff and held for extending periods of time under the federal Secure Communities program, Valle singlehandedly drew up a resolution asking the sheriff to relent. In one memorable sequence, Valle asks for respect towards the area's undocumented residents.

“They have families. They have families in our schools. They work in our hotel and our restaurants. They work as care-givers,” said Valle. “Some of them are my neighbors and friends and a lot of them have fear of Secure Communities because they don’t want to get swooped up in that net.”

The dazzling scene of a politician standing up for the needy appeared to have caught the cynical Haggerty off guard and he unloaded on Valle for rocking the boat and cracking the board’s façade of comity. Supervisor Wilma Chan, another solid liberal, agreed with Valle and the resolution passed even as Haggerty condescendingly called it just a worthless piece of paper. “The sheriff can do whatever he wants,” Haggerty said, and that is exactly what worries Valle and many others in the county.

The only other politician south of Oakland who consistently stood for the progressive values of helping the poor, children and minorities as he fought off the right was Pete Stark. He’s gone now, but a vacuum was created. In just a short time, though, a new warrior for the left has taken his seat on the left hand side of Rep. Barbara Lee.

Quotables
“If you don’t take it down, I’m going to burn it down.”
-Scott Haggerty, Alameda County supervisor, May 9, during a public protection hearing in regards to the Golden State Warriors flag flying over San Francisco City Hall. Although, Haggerty made the statement in jest to San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar, no doubt he meant it.

"We can’t keep changing quarterbacks, coaches every other week or year or every two years. We’re gonna be just like the Oakland Raiders, in last place.”
-Noel Gallo, Oakland council member, May 10, telling NBC Bay Area, the recent spate of changes at the command of the Oakland Police Department is creating instability in the city.

The Week That Was
>>>2 OPD chiefs resign: What a wild week in Oakland. In just two days starting last Wednesday, a succession of three police chiefs came and went. Howard Jordan resignation followed the demotion of Anthony Toribio and Mayor Jean Quan named Sean Whent interim chief on Friday. There is a growing belief the major shakeup at OPD was facilitated by the new compliance director Thomas Frazier, who was in town this week following a scathing report on Jordan’s handling of Occupy Oakland in 2011. Frazier also slammed the department’s inability to investigation police misconduct.

>>>America’s Cup crewman dies in the bay: Two-time Olympic medalist Andrew Simpson, a crewman for Sweden’s America’s Cup entrant, Artemis Racing, which is based in Alameda, died while the team was testing a new 72-foot catamaran in the bay. The speedy, some say dangerous iteration of the America’s Cup boat, was just delivered to the team’s headquarters in Alameda earlier this week. Reports say the boat may have broken up in the water and trapping the 35-year-old Simpson underwater.

>>>Pot dispensaries can be zoned by cities: The California State Supreme Court found local municipalities have the right to create zoning restrictions for medical cannabis dispensaries within their cities limits. For some East Bay cities, like Hayward, for instance, the ruling will likely reaffirm what it has already been doing as an opponent of dispensaries. However, neighboring San Leandro is in a gray area. Although it had once followed Hayward’s lead on the issue, its mayor and some council members have begun to lead the city in the opposite direction. The ruling, this week, will certainly embolden the opposition in San Leandro and make this a likely hot-button political issue next election season.

>>>Haggerty sued: Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty was sued in Alameda County Superior Court by his former chief of staff. In the suit, Chris Gray, asks for $110,000 in annual salary and reinstatement of his job. In addition, Gray, who was Haggerty’s right hand man for 16 years, unleashed a barrage of very serious allegations against his former boss, including kickbacks, shady lands deals with county assets, forcing his staff to work on his re-election campaign on the taxpayers’ dime and an accusation Haggerty asked Alameda County sheriffs to cover up evidence that he was arrested across the bay.

>>>AB 180 to Assembly floor: Oakland Assemblyman Rob Bonta’s bill that could one day allow Oakland the right to ban handguns passed committee this week. AB 180 would create an exception from state law allowing Oakland to enact its own gun laws. Gun advocates say, if one jurisdiction is allowed the consideration, more will follow and infringe on the rights of lawful gun users. The bill may not have legs, but many are getting the feeling Bonta is using the high-profile gun control issue, among many issues, to burnish a run for much bigger position in the state’s Democratic hierarchy.

>>>Fruitvale Station trailer debuts: Fruitvale Station, the highly-acclaimed film about the final day of Oscar Grant, the Hayward man who was killed by a BART police officer on New Year’s morning 2008, is coming to theaters later this summer. In the meantime, a trailer for the film starring Michael B. Jordan and Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, debuted this week. Watch it here.

Tweet of the Week
“Anybody else notice the name of the new Acting Deputy Chief in charge of Internal Affairs is Outlaw? #oakland #excitingcity”
-@dto510, tweeting May 10, following the major shakeup of leadership at the Oakland Police Department this week.

Best Reads
>>>Glenn Greenwald writes a belated love letter to Rep. Barbara Lee over her Sept. 14, 2001 speech against the authorization of military force that led to the Iraq War. (The Guardian, May 7). 

>>>If the state Republican Party is to ever have a chance, it’s going to come from the ideas of Ruben Barrales and GROW Elect. Here may be the Democrat’s weak spot: ”There are signs of tension among California’s Democrats: between the wealthy whites, who largely represent coastal areas, and poorer, inland Latinos. Latino lawmakers have backed several recent regulatory and education-reform measures, often setting them against members of their own party or their union backers.” (The Economist, May 4).

>>>Exhibit A for why the Bay Area’s corporate media does not have your back: How did they miss the most important part of the scathing Frazier reports against the Oakland Police Department’s top brass? Ali Winston details how some of the most notorious police misconduct cases could be soon revisited. (East Bay Express, May 8).

Voice of the People
“Hey Gray, how long have you known that this was going on with Haggerty before your conscience kicked in?.."
-Anonymous, commenting May 10 about Scott Haggerty's former chief of staff, Chris Gray, suing him this week and alleging corruption on "Fired Chief Of Staff Accuses Alameda County Supervisor Of Major Corruption."

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