Alameda County Republicans gone wild

Alleged altercation broke out at last week's Alameda County GOP meeting; Breaking down BLee's debate performance; Hayward's new police chief is getting a nice raise; CSU strike is over

COUNTY NEWS

ALAMEDA COUNTY GOP

—ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM—The Alameda County Democratic Central Committee had their moment of absurdity earlier this month. Now, their colleagues at the Alameda County Republican Central Committee are saying, hold my beer.

—A member of the Alameda County GOP allegedly called one of the party’s candidates in the 18th Assembly District primary a prostitute.

—There were allegations of verbal assaults and shoves, calls for apologies, denials of the allegations, and a video of its aftermath.

—The exchange occurred at the end of the Alameda County Republican Central Committee meeting last Wednesday in San Leandro.

—Cheyenne Kenney, a member of the Alameda County Republican Central Committee and candidate challenging Assemblymember Mia Bonta in the 18th District this March, said she was verbally assaulted.

—“Last night, members of our party displayed an appalling lack of decorum and respect by verbally assaulting myself and my guests, using derogatory and offensive language. These members resorted to physical aggression towards both my father and I,” Kenney wrote in a letter to the central committee.

—”It is disheartening to see members of our own party engaging in such conduct, and it is even more disheartening to see others, like Mindy Pechenuk, standing by and allowing it to happen without intervening.”

—Kenney called for those involved in the incident to drop out of their primary races, including Mindy Pechenuk, a central committee member who is also running in the 18th Assembly District primary; Ned Nuerge, a candidate for the 12th Congressional District; and Hunter Cobb, a candidate for the central committee.

—Pechenuk denied the allegations in a letter to central committee members. “My Republican primary opponent, Cheyenne Kenney, is falsely and recklessly portraying an incident which occurred at the end of the Alameda County Central Committee meeting on Jan. 17,” Pechenuk wrote. “None of this is even vaguely true and many witnesses present have said so or will say so.”

—A video taken after the exchange showed Travis Kenney, the father of Cheyenne Kenney, angrily searching for the individual who allegedly called his daughter a prostitute. (Watch below.)

—There’s quite a bit of backstory here. But one of the main issues is simmering discontent among some central committee members toward Cheyenne Kenney’s decision to run for the 18th Assembly District seat after Pechenuk had already announced her own candidacy. There has also been clear tension between the Kenneys and the Lyndon LaRouche wing of the local party that includes Pechenuk.

Dems gone wild

—So why is there so much drama in a primary in which Kenney and Pechenuk are huge underdogs against Bonta, the well-financed Democrat?

—Alameda County Republicans are well aware they will never win these state legislative races in the deep blue East Bay.

—But a good showing in the primary, for example, a place in the top two November election, wins them additional delegates at the party’s state convention, and theoretically some level of increased power.

—This is why, despite the challenges Alameda County Republicans face, you rarely see an incumbent Democrat in a state legislative race run unopposed.

—For this cycle, only Assemblymember Liz Ortega in the 20th District is running unopposed, at least for now. Expect an official write-in candidate to challenge Ortega in November.

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