STATE LEGISLATURE
—END OF AN ERA—On Monday, Hayward and surrounding areas will have someone other than Assemblymember Bill Quirk representing them for the first time in a decade.
—In recognition of Bill’s accomplishments and service to the East Bay, I want to share a story about his role in what I do in getting the local news out to you on a daily basis.
—Many don’t know this, but Bill played a pivotal early role in my journalism career. While attending Cal State East Bay I quickly determined that local news was dying and trying to hustle the standard career at mainstream news outlets would ultimately waste my time and force me into a different profession. So I decided to go it alone and that’s pretty much what I’ve done since.
—But getting attention and respect was the key at the start and it was Bill who greatly helped me on two very important fronts to gain a bit of gravitas for my endeavors.
—Even in the early 2010s, the Daily Review, as it was then named was already cutting back coverage of Hayward City Hall and the entire city for that matter. This appeared to bother Bill, then a Hayward councilmember. I don’t recall the issue being debated that night, but the council chambers was quite empty.
—At the end of Bill’s council comments, he looked at me sitting in the audience and wondered out loud why the local mainstream press was not there to cover the meeting. However, he verbally noted my attendance and my work. For someone like me, who at the time probably had 50-100 readers, validation of my work was a tremendous shot in the arm. I’ve never forgotten it.
—Not too long later, Bill probably isn’t aware, but he helped my work get discovered in 2011 by the East Bay Express, a partnership that lasted a decade. As a councilmember, Bill was an early forerunner on the issue of cannabis. It was not a popular stance in 2010, at least not in Hayward.
—I received a message from Bill about the Hayward police union president’s surreptitious attempt to shut down a dispensary in Hayward. Bill subsequently provided the documents and emails and I wrote a story about it. It was later read by Bob Gammon, an editor at the East Bay Express, and who now works for state Sen. Nancy Skinner.
— “Good shit” is what I remember Bob telling me. He ran the piece in the Express and invited me to pitch him stories. The rest is history.
—Writing for the Express gave me power when it came to getting people to talk to me. It helped the East Bay Citizen, and gave me access to people like Bob, who helped mold my writing and news judgment.
—When I ended the East Bay Citizen, took a break, and returned earlier this year with the East Bay Insiders newsletter, I was not surprised that Bill was one of my first subscribers.
—With my deepest gratitude on the eve of your retirement, Bill, I wish continued health to you and your family, and thank you for your support over the years.
—SWEARING-IN ON MONDAY—State Senator-elect Aisha Wahab and Assemblymember-elect Liz Ortega will take the oath of office in Sacramento on Monday morning.
COUNTY NEWS
ALAMEDA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
—NEW DA PREPARATIONS—Alameda County District Attorney-elect Pamela Price has finalized her transition team to take over from retiring DA Nancy O’Malley, she said this week.
—O’Malley congratulated Price on her victory over Alameda County Chief Deputy DA Terry Wiley in a letter last week.
—“I am offering any assistance you may want, or need, as you assume the leadership of the Office,” O’Malley wrote. The DA, who defeated Price in a bitterly-fought election in 2018, later added, “At your request, I will do as much as I can to make this a smooth transition.”
—O’Malley’s offer is generous, but we heard the same sentiment last summer from Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern after his shocking defeat at the hands of Yesenia Sanchez.
—Initially, at least, there was little collaboration between Ahern and Sanchez’s transition team.
CITY NEWS
SAN LEANDRO
—OOPS—San Leandro School Trustee-elect Jackie Calderon Perl is off to bad start when it comes to government transparency. It’s never a good sign when a candidate and later an elected official begins blowing past campaign filing deadlines. Perl filed the last pre-election campaign finance forms, due in late October, nearly a month late.
—The amounts were modest—nearly $4,000 in contributions received during the final month of the campaign, and nearly $7,000 in spending. Missing the deadline by a few days happens from time to time. But those who start blowing by the deadline often do it again and again. Ask Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle.
OAKLAND
—GOOD MORNING OAKLAND—Oakland Mayor-elect Sheng Thao went national this morning. Thao was featured on Good Morning America.
—JEAN’S WORLD—Former Oakland Mayor Jean Quan had a curious take on the city’s recent mayoral race. Quan tweeted about the success of two progressive mayoral candidates despite not leading the money race. Loren Taylor was tops in contributions, but not by much over Sheng Thao.
—However, Quan focused on the surprisingly strong performance from progressive Allyssa Victory and her $24,000 in contribution, a paltry number in the city’s politics.
—But Quan neglected to mention that Thao benefitted from nearly $1 million in support from Independent Expenditure Committees backed by labor, and Victory’s campaign also had its fair share.