D5 supe candidates begin mad rush for money and endorsements
SD7: Dan Kalb's own poll shows he's winning, Lybarger gets more labor support; Mobile home rent increases pop up at county, San Leandro. Plus, big download of campaign finance data, and more!
ELECTION 2024
76 days to Primary Day
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - DISTRICT 5
—PUMP UP THE BAS—Nikki Fortunato Bas’ campaign for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in District 5 received a big financial boost on Tuesday.
—Quinn Delaney, the wealthy progressive philanthropist, contributed a maxed-out $20,000 donation to Bas’ supervisorial campaign.
—For a unique primary campaign like this one that involves virtually no start-up time for the candidates, such a large infusion of cash puts Bas in a good early position.
—EARLY D5 ENDORSEMENTS—Nikki Fortunato Bas pulled out one of the biggest endorsements in the deck on Tuesday. Bas announced her campaign for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in District 5 received the endorsement of the person many believed was a shoo-in for the seat, state Sen. Nancy Skinner.
—Skinner, of course, chose not to file last week for the open seat abruptly left open by Supervisor Keith Carson. Here’s a roundup of the candidates’ top early endorsements, as of Tuesday night:
NIKKI BAS
State Sen. Nancy Skinner
Oakland Councilmember Kevin Jenkins
Progressive philanthropist Quinn Delaney
JOHN BAUTERS
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks
Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf
State Sen. Scott Wiener
Emeryville Mayor Courtney Welch
KEN BERRICK
Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Alysse Castro
Former Oakland Councilmember Pat Kernighan
Alameda County Board of Education Trustee Angela Normand
Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf
7TH STATE SENATE
—DAN’S THE MAN—Dan Kalb shared an internal poll that shows him—surprise!—leading the wide-open 7th State Senate District primary.
Dan KALB 14%
Jesse ARREGUIN 13%
Jovanka BECKLES 9%
Sandre SWANSON 8%
Kathryn LYBARGER 6%
Undecided 48%
—Generally speaking, this internal poll may actually be all about name ID.
—Kalb, Arreguin, and Beckles are likely the most recognizable names on the list. Kalb has served 12 years on the Oakland City Council, Arreguin almost 14 years on the Berkeley City Council, Beckles has more than a decade in Richmond and county government, and Swanson still has a following in Oakland and Alameda following his time in the state assembly.
—Notably, Lybarger registers low on the list. It’s another realization that the labor leader will need all the union support and money she can get over the next two months in order to introduce herself to voters.
—AND HERE’S THE $$$— East Bay Working Families for Kathryn Lybarger for State Senate 2024, the new IE backed by AFSCME Local 3299, received $40,000 on Tuesday from Faculty for our University's Future, a committee sponsored by the California Faculty Association.
—East Bay Working Families has now raised $140,000 for the IE supporting Lybarger’s campaign, according to finance reports filed this week.
—In addition, labor appears to be planning two fronts in order to get Lybarger elected to the State Senate. A new IE also backed by AFSCME Local 3299 was created on Monday.
—“UC Berkeley Cooks, Custodians and Nursing Assistants for Kathryn Lybarger for State Senate 2024” filed a statement of organization with the Alameda County Registrar’s Office.
—Lybarger is a former president of AFSCME Local 3299.
U.S. SENATE
—LEE SPEAKS FOR PORTER?—Two recent polls indicate Barbara Lee’s strong support for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza is popular with voters. Now, one of her opponents wants a piece of the action.
—Fellow progressive Katie Porter called for a “bilateral ceasefire” in the Israel-Gaza conflict on Monday, Politico reports. Porter has mostly avoided references to a ceasefire since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel.
CITY NEWS
UNION CITY
—LUMPS OF COAL—Union City Mayor Carol Dutra-Vernacci’s grip on her council continues to be loosening. A majority of the five-member city council rejected her choice for vice mayor last week.
—The mayor’s choice for vice mayor, Councilmember Scott Sakikihara, failed to get a third vote for approval. Councilmember Jeff Wang, meanwhile, secured the votes.
—Afterwards, Dutra-Vernacci moved to pull an item she had previously placed on the agenda that laid out the council’s committee assignments for next year.
—Councilmember Jaime Patino, whose rivalry with Dutra-Vernacci suggests no Christmas cards were exchanged between them, questioned the mayor’s ability to pull the item without concurrence from the majority of the council.
—Dutra-Vernacci’s reaction to losing a council vote is reminiscent of last summer when she again clashed with Patino and the majority of the council over appointments to the city’s various committees.
SAN LEANDRO
—COPYCAT—A day before the Alameda County Board of Supervisors was set to possibly vote on a temporary moratorium on mobile home rent increases of more than four percent, San Leandro Councilmember Bryan Azevedo sought to stem reports of large rent increases in his own city.
—Azevedo, citing 20 percent rent increases at San Leandro’s Trailer Haven mobile home park, asked the council to take up an emergency ordinance to give mobile home tenants the ability to challenge rent increases at the city’s rarely-used Rent Review Board.
—“Those cases need to be heard,” Azevedo said on Monday night. But, like the county, San Leandro’s mobile home ordinance already limits mobile home rent increases to four percent.
—In addition, San Leandro’s Rent Review Board has never had the ability to hear complaints related to mobile home rent increases, said Tom Liao, San Leandro’s community development director.
—That’s because mobile homeowners typically own the structure, and rent the land it sit on from the park owner, Liao added. If the mobile homeowner did not own their unit and, instead, paid rent on the structure, under this scenario a tenant could petition the Rent Review Board.
—Nevertheless, Azevedo’s referral only narrowly failed with three in support, and three in opposition.
—EVEN MORE CAMERAS—The San Leandro City Council approved 38 more stationary Automated License Plate Readers on Monday night. This is in addition to 41 cameras approved last year. The vote was 6-0, with Councilmember Celina Reynes absent.
—SURLENE SAYS—Former San Leandro Councilmember Surlene Grant asked the city council on Monday to complete and release the independent investigative report on allegations against San Leandro Police Chief Abdul Pridgen before the end of the year.
—Pridgen was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 11 for unspecified violations of the police department’s policy.
—GAZA—A large number of public speakers again demanded the San Leandro City Council approve a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
COUNTY NEWS
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
—MOBILE HOMEOWNERS WAIT—The Alameda County Board of Supervisors postponed two items involving its mobile home rent ordinance from consideration on Tuesday. Some mobile homeowners in Castro Valley said they received rent increases of about $500 a month.
—The board had scheduled a discussion for a temporary moratorium on mobile home rent increases of more than four percent, along with an amendment to the existing ordinance that would change the definition of “mobile home.”
—A tenant at the Avalon Mobile Home Park in Castro Valley, the flashpoint for the issue, said the owners of the property rescinded the rent increases in a letter to tenants on Monday night.
—But the issue still persists, according to the tenant, who added other tenants have recently received rent increases, while some were given 120-day eviction notices.
—“We promise you this owner is a bad actor and is not ignorant to the actions they are taking,” the mobile homeowner told the Board of Supervisors.
—The tenants will have to wait longer before they may receive relief from the county. The Board of Supervisors will not meet until Jan. 9.
ELECTION 2024 cont.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE DATA
—MONEYBALL—Below is Form 497 campaign contributions filed Dec. 18 through Dec. 19.
ALAMEDA COUNTY
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
—Nikki Fortunato Bas (District 5), Quinn Delaney of Oakland, $20,000 (Dec. 17).
—Jennifer Esteen (District 4), Wilson Riles of Oakland, $1,000 (Dec. 10); Penelope Anne Hughes of Castro Valley, $1,000 (Dec. 15). TOTAL: $2,000.
ALAMEDA
—Alameda Forward (Measure E - Alameda USD parcel tax measure), Bay Farm PTSA, $3,000 (Dec. 16).
SAN LEANDRO
—Dylan Boldt (San Leandro City Council, District 6), United Association of Journeymen & Apprentices of the U.S. & Canada Local 447 Federal PAC, $5,000 (Dec. 15); U.A. Local 38 Cope Fund, $5,000 (Dec. 18). TOTAL: $10,000.
STATE LEGISLATURE
STATE SENATE
—East Bay Working Families for Kathryn Lybarger for State Senate 2024, Sponsored by AFSCME Local 3299 (7th State Senate), Faculty for our University's Future, a committee sponsored by the California Faculty Association, $40,000 (Dec. 19).
—Kathryn Lybarger (7th Senate District), Standing Committee On Political Education Of The California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO SCC, $10,900 (Dec. 18).
—Jesse Arreguin (7th Senate District), William Falik of Berkeley, $1,000 (Dec. 9); Charles Fleming of Berkeley, $1,000 (Dec. 11); Sophie Hahn of Berkeley, $1,000 (Dec. 12); Charles Mark Humbert of San Francisco, $200 (Dec. 15); John Benson of Oakland, $1,000 (Dec. 17); Niagara Bottling, LLC, $1,000 (Dec. 18); Alexander (Sandy) Dean of San Francisco, $1,000; California Apartment Association PAC, $5,500 (Dec. 18); California Building Industry Association PAC, $2,000 (Dec. 19). TOTAL: $12,700.
—Jovanka Beckles (7th Senate District), Mara Schechter of Oakland, $2,500.
—Sandre Swanson (7th Senate District), Fiona Ma for Lieutenant Governor 2026, $2,500 (Dec. 18).
—Dan Kalb (7th Senate District), Sue Levin of Oakland, $1,000 (Dec. 15).
—Tim Grayson (9th Senate District), DRIVE Committee, $1,000; Club One Casino, Inc., $1,000; US Bank Corporation Federal PAC, $3,000 (Dec. 15); IBEW Union 302 PAC Small Contributor Committee, $5,400 (Dec. 18); Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association of America PAC, $2,000; Allstate Insurance Company, $2,500; Ernst & Young US LLP, $1,000; Calpine Corporation, $5,500; PBF Holding Company LLC, $4,000 (Dec. 18). TOTAL: $25,400
—Jerry McNerney (5th Senate District), Anthony Bernhardt of Berkeley, $1,000 (Dec. 13); Mark Headley of Jackson, Wyo., $5,500; Josh Becker for Senate 2024, $5,500; Martin Hellman of Stanford, $1,000 (Dec. 18). TOTAL: $13,000.
—Carlos Villapudua (5th Senate District), American Express, $2,500 (Dec. 18).
STATE ASSEMBLY
—Buffy Wicks (14th Assembly District), SEIU Local 521 Candidate PAC, $2,500 (Dec. 18); The Dentists Insurance Company, $5,500 (Dec. 19). TOTAL: $8,000
—Mia Bonta (18th Assembly District), SEIU Local 521 Candidate PAC, $2,500 (Dec. 18); The Dentists Insurance Company, $5,500; California Teachers Association/Association for Better Citizenship Small Contributor Committee, $10,900 (Dec. 18); United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 PAC, $5,500; Ernst & Young US LLP, $1,000 (Dec. 18). TOTAL: $25,400
—Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (16th Assembly District), California Teachers Association/Association for Better Citizenship Small Contributor Committee, $10,900; Resource Recovery Coalition of California PAC, $2,000 (Dec. 18). TOTAL: $12,900.
—Liz Ortega (20th Assembly District), SEIU Local 521 Candidate PAC, $2,500 (Dec. 18); California Teachers Association/Association for Better Citizenship Small Contributor Committee, $10,900; Resource Recovery Coalition of California PAC, $2,000; SEIU Local 721 CTW, CLC State and Local Small Contributor, $10,900 (Dec. 18). TOTAL: $24,300.
—Alex Lee (24th Assembly District), SEIU Local 521 Candidate PAC, $5,500 (Dec. 18); California Teachers Association/Association for Better Citizenship Small Contributor Committee, $10,900 (Dec. 19). TOTAL: $16,400.