Miley, Haubert, and... Jerry Brown endorse Sheriff Ahern
Protest planned for tonight's Fremont City Council meeting, East Bay QAnon congressional candidate is back
ELECTION 2022
ALCO SHERIFF
—BIG THREE FOR AHERN—Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern re-election is clearly moving into high gear. His campaign posted strong year-end fundraising numbers last month. His Facebook page is even posting pics of the normally gruff Ahern with cute and cuddly dogs. This week, Ahern added two important endorsements from the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, and a news-making endorsement that for some reason was kept under his sleeve.
—Ahern’s campaign announced on Monday the endorsements of Alameda County Supervisors Nate Miley and David Haubert. Together, the pair represent the Tri-Valley, unincorporated Alameda County, and Fremont, although Miley represents portions of East Oakland.
—Having two-fifths of the board’s support for Ahern is not surprising. Miley has long supported Ahern over the years, as did Haubert’s predecessor, Scott Haggerty. During his first year in office, Haubert has shown similarly strong support for Ahern.
—But neatly tucked away in yesterday’s press release was news that former Gov. Jerry Brown endorsed Ahern’s campaign last month. The announcement was not a secret. It was posted to the campaign’s Facebook page on Jan. 6. But other than the post, Brown’s endorsement included no fanfare.
—The June primary for sheriff currently includes Ahern, Santa Rita Jail Commander Yesenia Sanchez, and San Francisco police officer JoAnn Walker. If no candidate wins a simple majority, a runoff election will be held in November.
10TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT
—FREMONT COUNCIL PROTEST—Fremont Councilmember Teresa Cox, the council’s lone African American representative, recently requested that a proclamation in honor of Black History Month be included on tonight’s agenda. But Cox said Fremont Mayor Lily Mei summarily denied the request without explanation. Now, Cox and the Hayward and South County chapter of Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) are leading a call to action against Mei, who is also a candidate for the open 10th Senate District seat this June. Calling the snub a “huge injustice,” Cox is urging BWOPA members to call into Tuesday night’s virtual council meeting to register their disapproval with Mei.
14TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
—EAST BAY QANON IS BACK—Alison Hayden, a Republican candidate this June again challenging Rep. Eric Swalwell’s re-election in the new 14th Congressional District, advocated on Twitter on Tuesday for Ivermectin, the horse deworming medicine some believe is more effective in combating Covid-19 than available vaccines. Hayden ran against Swalwell in the 2020 June primary.
—Hayden tweeted quotes from Dr. Michael Yeadon, a former scientist at Pfizer who has mad false claims in the past about Covid-19 vaccines. Hayden’s tweets on Tuesday asserted Ivermectin’s protection is safer and far more long-lasting than available Covid-19 vaccines. Hayden attracted a modicum of national attention as one of dozens of QAnon supporters running for Congress two years ago. Hayden won 19 percent of the vote in the June 2020 primary and advanced to November General Election against Swalwell, where she garnered 29.1 percent of the vote.
—ENDORSEMENTS—AD20 candidate Shawn Kumagai received the endorsement of the California Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus… AD20 candidate Liz Ortega-Toro received the endorsement of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus.
CITY NEWS
OAKLAND
—SCHOOL CLOSURE FIGHT—The Oakland Unified School District’s chronically underfunded budget is leading to a cost-saving proposal to close up to 16 of its 80 schools. Parents, teachers, and the public are upset and plan to voice their disagreement with the proposal at Tuesday’s school board meeting. And when you say there could be fight over the proposal tonight, you might be speaking literally. Fisticuffs have broken out at OUSD meetings in the recent past.
—The sorry state of OUSD’s finances is not a new storyline. Since the school district was placed in state receivership in 2003, internecine battles over school closures and underfunded classrooms, have become the norm in Oakland. In addition, a common response from Oakland officials is to ask the state for debt forgiveness. Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan once again dusted off the strategy last week, along with three other councilmembers, who penned a resolution calling for Gov. Gavin Newsom to forgive OUSD’s debt amid a $45 billion state budget surplus.
SAN LEANDRO
—REPLAY MEETING—A Feb. 1 San Leandro City Council Finance Committee meeting will be redone after it was found to have possibly violated the Brown Act, the state law ensuring transparency in public meetings. San Leandro City Manager Fran Robustelli said on Monday that incorrect Zoom credentials required for residents to participate in the virtual meeting were included on the Feb. 1 agenda posted for the public. The finance meeting will be rescheduled for sometime before Mar. 1, she added. The meeting’s agenda was primarily focused on city employee pensions.
—BLACK HISTORY OMMISSION—A number of speakers and San Leandro councilmembers also questioned why a Black History Month resolution did not appear on Monday’s city council agenda, the first meeting of this month.
D.C. DISH
—MCCARTHY’S DIG AT SWALS—During a House floor debate on a bill that aims to make significant investments in U.S. semiconductor production and supply chains amid China’s growing economic dominance, Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy referenced East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell’s reported dalliance with a Chinese spy.
—McCarthy argued the bill fails to prohibit federal funding for cultural centers at universities, such as the Confucius Institute. “Could you imagine, would they go as far and as deep to even meet somebody and spy on them when they’re in the city council?” McCarthy said. “Would they develop a friendship through a college, like we see here, Confucius—maybe help if the city councilperson wanted to run for Congress?”
—It was reported in December 2020 that Swalwell had been targeted by an alleged Chinese spy known as Christine Fang. She operated out of Cal State East Bay in Hayward, made connections with Swalwell while he served on the Dublin City Council, and was later hired to work in Swalwell’s congressional office. They were also rumored to have had a sexual relationship. Last month, McCarthy vowed to boot Swalwell from committees if the GOP retake the House next fall.
ON THE AGENDA
BERKELEY - TUESDAY, 6PM
—REDISTRICTING—Like San Leandro last night, the Berkeley City Council begins its redistricting process on Tuesday night. But unlike San Leandro, Berkeley residents have been sorting through redistricting since late last year. Berkeley’s Independent Redistricting Commission submitted 29 maps for public perusal. If all goes well, the city expects to have the new district boundaries set by April, and in time for the November elections.
DATEBOOK
—SHERIFF TOWN HALL—Alameda County Sheriff's Candidates Forum, hosted by BWOPA Oakland/Berkeley & Hayward/South County Chapters, Thursday, Feb. 10, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. For more information HERE.
—NEW PODCAST! Listen to “1-877-KARS-4KOPS. Donate to Ahern Today,” the latest episode of the East Bay Insiders podcast with me and co-host Shawn Wilson HERE!