Observations
Price recall; The best councils in the county; Alameda County Democratic Party; Reparations; Rebecca Saltzman. Plus, campaign finance data
PRICE RECALL
—After upsetting 12th-ranked Notre Dame last weekend, Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney said, “I know we're down and everybody's throwing dirt on us, but if Clemson's a stock, you'd better buy all you freakin' can buy right now!”
—The Pamela Price recall campaign could be saying the same thing. Recall campaigns are extremely difficult to run and many believed the attempt against Price would be an extremely heavy lift.
—But the Price recall campaign has impressed a wide swath of local politicos, even some Price supporters because of its speed and fundraising prowess.
—Making matters worse for Price, at seemingly every turn, she has made their job even easier.
—Price started by equating Jan. 6 insurrectionists to supporters of the recall. In reality, she was calling Democratic voters insurrectionists.
—She needlessly angered the families of victims by ignoring their desire to meet with her. It’s no surprise they reached out to the media to slam her.
—As the recall was gathering strength, Price did nothing. Now the recall is already closing in on the requisite number of signatures and has raised at least $600,000 with more on the way.
—The next realization is that Price has very little support among Alameda County elected officials and labor unions. Where are they? If she had support, they would have rallied for her months ago.
—Price has no money, no institutional support, and no momentum.
—So, if the Price recall were a stock, buy as much as you can right now.
HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL
—In an effort to defend approving a large pay raise for himself and his Hayward councilmates, Mayor Mark Salinas said he believes they are one of the best council’s in Alameda County.
—I wouldn’t go that far. A more factual comment would be the Hayward City Council is the least experienced in the entire county.
—Due to a pair of appointments this year and two new members elected in November 2022, four of the seven-member council has less than a year on the dais.
—However, the new blood on the Hayward City Council appears to have potential.
—So which cities have the best councils? That’s always a tough question to answer because there’s many variables to consider, such as the size of the city. But here goes:
—I think the Alameda City Council is one of the best. However, while they have four stellar members, they also have the worst councilmember in the county, Trish Herrera Spencer. And it cannot be overstated how much her antics bog down the council’s and staff’s efforts.
—The Berkeley City Council is strong and, if you can believe it, the Oakland City Council really isn’t as bad as people think. But again, it’s difficult to compare Oakland to other cities since their council is supported by large individual staffs, while councilmembers in other cities are basically part-time elected officials.
REPARATIONS
—I watched a Zoom meeting of the Russell City Reparative Justice Project a few weeks ago and became a believer that success for the reparations movement can be attained.
—A woman who grew up in Russell City, the former unincorporated area long-ago forcibly annexed by Hayward, also attended the remote meeting. She now lives in Florida.
—She reminisced about her childhood and then asked others about the whereabouts of some of her old friends. “Does anybody knows the Harrises,” she asked. In an instant a member of the Harris family popped up on the screen.
—To see the delight on the woman’s face and the happiness to reconnect with another time that was lost brought a few tears to eyes, I’m not going to lie.
—Getting reparations done is going to be a very heavy lift in Alameda County. But stories like these present the harm to African Americans in this county in a way everyone can understand. We’ve all lost something, especially friends and family.
—But if the attitude is “how we gonna get some,” as one of the member of the Alameda County Reparations Commission said at its first meeting on Monday, then the reparations question is only going to divide everyone.
ALAMEDA COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY
—The Alameda County Democratic Central Committee is one big mess. Igor Tregub, the party’s chair is not at fault. His instincts are to focus the party on its core jobs: raising money and getting Democrats elected in Alameda County.
—But this bunch has been taken over by far-left Oakland and Berkeley progressives that have a singular focus on social issues, and now the Israel-Hamas war, and little else.
—For at least the last six monthly meetings, Alameda County Democrats have repeatedly failed to talk about the issues affecting all residents in this county. Issues like crime and affordable housing, among others.
—Instead, the repeatedly call minorities to the carpet for missing meetings and pass resolutions against anyone perceived to be an enemy of the LGBT community.
—If the central committee was truly working for residents, they could, for example, start by strategizing a plan to urge the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to pass rent protections for the unincorporated areas.
REBECCA SALTZMAN
—I have a unique connection to Rebecca Saltzman, the BART Board Director who announced this week that she will not seek another term in office next year.
—We were part of the vaunted Oakland blogosphere, a band of citizen bloggers covering the East Bay in the early 2010s just as the local mainstream papers were beginning to significantly downsize.
—Saltzman wrote Living in the O before running for the BART Board in 2012. Unfortunately, it looks like I’m the last one standing. In this East Bay Express article back in 2012, I sure had a sunny outlook for this business and I still do.
—Good luck with your future endeavors, Rebecca!
ELECTION 2024
BART BOARD OF DIRECTORS
—ON BOARD—Parlor talk about who may take over for BART Board Director Rebecca Saltzman after next year only lasted a day.
—Barnali Ghosh, a Berkeley planning commissioner and transportation advocate, will announce her candidacy for the District 3 BART Board seat on Monday.
—Saltzman announced on Tuesday that she will step down from the BART board after next fall’s election. Ghosh also announced that Saltzman is endorsing her campaign.
—“I’m running for BART Board because the system is facing a post-pandemic fiscal emergency. We need a seasoned transportation policy activist representing District 3 capable of navigating the complex challenges ahead,” Ghosh said in a statement.
OUSD DISTRICT 5 RESULTS UPDATE
Jorge LERMA 2,006 votes 57.40% (+614 votes)
Sasha RITZIE-HERNANDEZ 1,489 votes 42.60% (+650 votes)
Turnout: 13.92%
CAMPAIGN FINANCE DATA
—MONEYBALL—Below is Form 497 campaign contributions ($5,000 or more) filed Nov. 3 through Nov. 9.
ALAMEDA COUNTY
PRICE RECALL
—Save Alameda For Everyone: Recall DA Price, Reviving the Bay Area, $50,000 (Nov. 6).
STATE LEGISLATURE
STATE ASSEMBLY
—Buffy Wicks (14th Assembly District), Uber Technologies, Inc., $5,500 (Nov. 9).
—Mia Bonta (18th Assembly District), Stones South Bay Corp. dba Seven Mile Casino of Chula Vista, $5,500 (Nov. 3); California Dental Association PAC, $3,000, $2,500 (Nov. 8).
—Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (16th Assembly District), California Real Estate PAC (CREPAC) -California Association of Realtors Small Contributor Committee, $7,000 (Nov. 7).
—Liz Ortega (20th Assembly District), Operating Engineers Local Union 3 Statewide PAC Small Contributor Committee, $5,500 (Nov. 1); SEIU Local 2015 State PAC Small Contributor Committee, $10,900 (Nov. 2); Faculty for our University's Future, a Committee Sponsored by the California Faculty Association Small Contributor Committee, $5,000 (Nov. 6).
—Alex Lee (24th Assembly District), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 Small Contributor Committee, $10,900 (Nov. 6).
STATE SENATE
—Edith Villapudua (5th Senate District), Los Angeles Police Protective League PAC, $10,000 (Nov. 3); California Real Estate Political Action Committee, $10,900 (Nov. 7).
—Jesse Arreguin (7th Senate District), Laborers Pacific Southwest Regional Organizing Coalition PAC, $10,900 (Nov. 3); Laborers Local Union 270 PAC, $5,500).
—Tim Grayson (9th Senate District), Operating Engineers Local No. 3 Statewide PAC Small Contributor Committee, $5,500 (Nov. 6).