The gloves are off

An attack website in the highly competitive supervisorial race is setting the tone for a very contentious 50-day sprint to Election Day

An attack website labels Alameda County supervisorial candidate John Bauters as untrustworthy and anti-union.

ELECTION 2024

50 days to Election Day

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - DISTRICT 5

—FRONTAL ATTACK—Alameda County supervisorial candidate Nikki Fortunato Bas made it clear over the weekend that she intends to forcefully engage her opponent, John Bauters, in the District 5 fall runoff to replace long-time Supervisor Keith Carson.

—An attack website titled, “Truth about Bauters” recently appeared online and it is making quite a stir.

—The webpage highlights Bauters’ attempt as an Emeryville councilmember to roll back the city’s minimum wage in 2019, while casting suspicions about his trustworthiness.

—The attack website has been deployed to malign an opponent from time to time in local East Bay elections over the past decade. But often the strategy is put out by a faceless independent expenditure committee.

—Quite a few insiders over the weekend were quick to notice that Bas put her own name on the attack website. The upshot being, somewhat surprisingly, that it may be Bas, not Bauters, that is the aggressor in this race.

—ON THE RECORD—The Bas attack website against Bauters calls him a “shill for developers.” If he is, then developers are not likely to be happy about his comments at Saturday’s Alameda County Democratic Central Committee endorsement meeting.

—Bauters helped author Emeryville’s tenants protections and just cause ordinance, he told Alameda County Democrats. “I’m happy to have eviction protections, and for tenants rights for attorneys.”

—Bas, though, was far more specific about her support of renters. “I would make sure that we champion tenant protections,” Bas said. She also supports Proposition 33, the statewide initiative to rollback the Costa-Hawkins Act.

—At the onset of the pandemic, Bas helped Oakland pass one of the strongest covid moratoriums in the state.

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