The District Four Experience

Miley, Esteen faceoff in Castro Valley; Yet another recall is afoot in Alameda County; Oakland NAACP slams judicial candidate for saying he backs DA Price; BLee's big debate is tonight

Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley and District 4 opponent Jennifer Esteen at a candidate forum in Castro Valley on Saturday morning.

ELECTION 2024

43 days to Primary Day

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - DISTRICT 4

—NATE-JEN DEBATE—Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley is banking on his three decades in city and county government will win him a sixth term on Board of Supervisors next March.

—Miley is using his years of experience a cudgel against his opponent, Jennifer Esteen, someone who has never held elective office.

—Esteen, however, is not shying away from the experience question.

—At a candidate forum last Saturday in Castro Valley, Esteen repeatedly questioned whether Miley has succeeded in using his accumulated experience to improve District 4, which has some of the most impoverished areas in the county.

—Miley on his experience:

• “I bring seasoned leadership. I bring seniority to the Board of Supervisors. There is basically four new supervisors on the board. I work well with all three of the current supervisors and Supervisor [Keith] Carson, who is leaving office.”

• “There are things that I think I can usher through as the seasoned, senior supervisor that I haven’t been able to do in the past,” he said. “Furthermore, I can nurture the new supervisors and teach them, and show them how to be supervisors.”

• Since 2020, two supervisors have passed away, one retired, and another is set to retire at the end of this year, Miley said. “I think it is important that we have continuity, experience, stability, a seasoned veteran on the Board of Supervisors to help deal with the complex, deep issues, multiplicity of issues that come up.”

—Esteen on the incumbent’s experience:

• “As we heard, continuity and experience is what’s being offered and the experience of our county right now is that lawlessness is happening on the incumbent’s watch,” Esteen said. “We need reinvestment. We need improvement and we need energy and vigor to get that done, and I’m excited to bring it.”

• “We also lost all of our professional sports teams (Warriors, Raiders, and Athletics),” Esteen said. “The Coliseum ownership that the county held also gone to the billionaire who refused to sit at the table and negotiate with us in order bring community development where we need it.”

• Esteen referenced Coliseum City, a defunct plan from 2012 to redevelop the Coliseum with a football stadium, ballpark, retail and housing. “Another beautiful plan that never came to fruition. We have to have leadership that will take action, not just make plans that are basically worth the paper they are printed on. I’m here to bring action.”

—At one point, while making the argument for a greater emphasis on health care and social services in the county, Esteen, a psychiatric Registered Nurse, flipped the experience question on its head, saying, “experience matters.”

—Each candidate was asked whether they enjoy apples or oranges. To underscore the deep differences between the candidates, Esteen said, apples. Miley said, oranges.

—CLOSING STATEMENTS—

Jennifer Esteen: “We have an opportunity for generational change, for vision, for leadership, for bold action that our county has been sorely missing.”

Nate Miley: “Nate delivers. Nate gets things done. Nate collaborates and works with folks. Nate is somebody that is a teambuilder.”

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