The greatest filing deadline story ever told has a third act
Oakland mayor’s race has 21 candidates, but how many will qualify? Alameda County DA candidates want more diversity in prosecutorial ranks; Filing Deadline Day update
ELECTION 2022
DEADLINE DAY
—FAMOUS AMOS STORY—With just minutes before the 6 p.m. filing deadline for candidates running in Alameda’s 2018 elections, Amos White, an expected candidate for city council, rushed to City Hall to finalize his candidacy.
—With his paperwork seemingly in order, the city clerk told White, according to his telling, “All I need is your payment.” But White said he misplaced his checkbook and the city clerk had no way of swiping his debit card. Alameda’s assistant city attorney added, “You have eight minutes.” White was in a serious bind.
—But the story was not entirely true, according to city officials. Instead, White rushed into the city clerk’s office roughly two minutes before 6 p.m. and never produced a method of payment.
—Simply put, White’s procrastination ended his campaign, but before this came to light, he duped his followers into believing his tale of unreasonable government officials denying him the opportunity to represent his community.
—Two years later, White arrived at the city clerk’s office with plenty of time to spare and qualified for the 2020 Alameda City Council race. White came very close to winning before Trish Herrera Spencer narrowly grabbed the second at-large council seat available that year.
—Earlier this week, White pulled papers to again run for the city council in the fall. Now his third act begins.
—A new controversy surrounding White is emerging. White still owes the city $3,827.66 for a ballot statement that’s been due since his 2020 race, according to a public records request initiated last month by an Alameda resident. His last payment to the city was Oct. 12, 2021.
—For more than a year, the city clerk’s office has been trying to collect from White, according to city emails. After several unsuccessful attempts last year at getting their money, the city clerk arranged a payment plan with White.
—“You indicated the first payment of $1,000 would be made May 1st,” Alameda City Clerk Lara Weisinger wrote to White in August 2021. “Then, after payment was not received, you indicated payment would made July 1st. It is now August and a payment still has not been received. Please submit payment by the end of next week.”
—The payment plan did not work as planned, although White made a few small payments later, according to the emails. As White was in the early stages of forming his 2022 council campaign earlier this year, the city clerk was still hounding him to pay up.
--The city is actually in quite a bind here. Concrete actions to get their money from White might saddle the city with some bad PR. White, for instance, could label any bill collection effort as being politically-motivated. There is also nothing that precludes White from running again this fall even with his embarrassing debt.
—However, White’s inability to pay his campaign bills is certain to be a big issue this fall in a race that could include seven candidates vying for two at-large council seats in Alameda.
ALAMEDA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
—DIVERSITY AT THE DA’s OFFICE—Earlier this week, Alameda County District Attorney candidates Pamela Price and Terry Wiley met with the Asian Pacific American Democratic Caucus. It didn’t go well for Price who seemed to forget she was speaking to Asian American voters. But on the question of greater diversity at the DA’s office, both hit the mark.
--Wiley told the Democratic club the DA’s office is ahead of the curve when it comes to hiring African Americans, but woefully behind when it comes to Asian and Latino prosecutors. “We have got to improve,” he said, and precisely with Asian American prosecutors, he added. Three Asian American prosecutors were hired in the last month, Wiley said. “You’re going to see a continued push to bring more Asian prosecutors in to reflect Alameda County.”
--Price was not as specific, but said, “The office has become entrenched in how it does business. It needs a lot of new blood. It needs greater diversity at all levels.” For current employees at the DA’s office the comment may come a little too close to Price’s infamous threat to them from four years ago that, if elected, she would “fire all of you motherf—kers!”
--MISDEMEANOR MISQUOTE--At the tail end of Price’s 2018 bid for Alameda County DA, her comment saying she would not charge misdemeanor crimes reduced her campaign to rubble. During this race’s primary, Price has chosen to focus not on the quote, but the fact well-financed Independent Expenditure Committees jumped all over her misstep and plastered it on several mailers during the final stretch of the 2018 June primary. In recent months, Price has suggested numerous times that she was misquoted, but according to the San Francisco Chronicle she said it.
EAST COUNTY BALLOT MEASURE
–NOTHING TO HIDE–Give Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley credit: He’s a straight shooter. Miley clearly dispelled any ambiguity on Wednesday about whether a local county ballot measure coming to the fall ballot is about benefiting two of his most valued donors in the East County.
–In 2000, voters approved Measure D, a bid to limit growth in rural Alameda County. But over the past decade, Miley supporters such as Chuck Moore and Karl Wente have pushed for amending Measure D to allow for a larger floor-to-area ratio. In Moore’s case, to construct a larger equestrian arena at his property in Castro Valley, and for Wente, to expand his operations in the Livermore Wine Valley.
–In a press release distributed weeks ago, but was tweeted by Miley’s office on Wednesday afternoon, Miley is extremely forthcoming about what the upcoming ballot measure is all about. In both cases, the press release references Moore’s equestrian facility, and Wente’s wine operations.
OAKLAND SCHOOL BOARD
—OCCUPYING OUSD—Oakland school board meetings are some of the most raucous in the county. Remember a few years ago when parents and protesters tried to hop over barricades to approach school board members? What does it tell you that barricades were already in place at the meeting? Then there was the time when a sitting Oakland school boardmember attempted to choke a kindergarten teacher at a rally protesting a board action.
—With an election around the corner for three seats on the Oakland school board, there’s a possibility the school district might want to start thinking about putting its meetings on pay-per-view. The scuffle that occurred last week at Parker Elementary between parents and activists occupying the school of protest of its closure by the school board and security guards included at least three candidates for the school board this fall.
—According to media reports, District 2 school board candidate Max Orozco and District 6 candidates Valeria Bachelor and Joel Valasquez were among those at the scene last week. Orozco told KTVU that he was injured during the altercation and detained against his will.
OAKLAND MAYOR
—BIG CITY, BIG FIELD—As of Friday afternoon, 21 candidates have pulled papers to run for Oakland mayor. In just the past few days, four aspiring mayoral candidates have indicated an intent to run. But with just hours before today’s filing deadline, only six have qualified for the November ballot. They include the Big 3+1—Loren Taylor, Treva Reid, Sheng Thao, and Ignacio De La Fuente. Oakland raconteur and perennial mayoral candidate Peter Liu also secured a spot on the ballot, along with John Reimann, the self-described “Oakandsocialist.”
SACRAMENTO DISPATCH
—FROM ALCO TO HIGH COURT—Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kelli Evans was named to the California Supreme Court on Tuesday. Gov. Gavin Newsom chose the Oakland resident to take the seat left open after Justice Patricia Guerrero was elevated on Tuesday to become chief justice. Guerrero becomes the first Latina to serve as chief justice and Evans becomes the first lesbian to service on the state’s high court.
--Evans only served a year on the bench in Alameda County. Prior to that, she was chief deputy legal affairs secretary in Newsom’s office. The pair of moves comes ahead of current Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye’s term ending in January.
DEADLINE DAY
—PULLING PAPERS—Alameda County’s filing deadline is TODAY. If the incumbent in a race does not file, then the deadline is Wednesday, Aug. 17. Below is the list of candidates who recently pulled papers. *-denotes incumbent.
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL—Bradley Mart (District 4).
HAYWARD SCHOOL BOARD—Lisa Brunner, George Drapeau (short term).
EMERY SCHOOL BOARD—Brynnda Collins.
PLEASANTON SCHOOL BOARD—Urvi Shah (Area 2).
NEW HAVEN SCHOOL BOARD—Edwin Mack Agbuya (Area 4).
LIVERMORE VALLEY JOINT SCHOOL BOARD—John Kupski.
EDEN HEALTH DISTICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS—Gordon Galvan (Area 3).
ALAMEDA HEALTHCARE DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS—David Sayen.
