Youth voting is unlikely to be ready in time for November
Supervisor Carson asserts his board colleague opposes a woman's right to vote; Unincorporated ALCO renters upset about Just Cause postponement; Elected East Bay official is running in four races
COUNTY NEWS
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
—YOUTH VOTING DELAYED—Youth voting in Oakland and Berkeley school board elections, long delayed, is not likely to be ready in time for the November elections.
—The Alameda County Board of Supervisors formally approved a memorandum of understanding with both cities on Tuesday for costs and implementation.
—“Today we are not technically feasible” to run a youth voting election this year, Alameda County Register of Voters Tim Dupuis said.
—Since youth voting is not used anywhere in the state, its election vendor must create voting software from scratch.
—Dupuis did not rule out the use of youth voting this November, but cautioned time is quickly running out.
—CARSON VS. HAUBERT—News that 16- and 17-year-olds in Oakland and Berkeley may not be able to vote in this year’s election triggered an uncommonly terse back-and-forth between Supervisor Keith Carson, a supporter of youth voting, and Supervisor David Haubert, who questioned its constitutionality.
—Carson said he believes the arguments being used against youth voting are similar to those used against giving Black people and women the right to vote.
—“This is a new day and age that seems in my head to be revisiting the same day and age that people have been fighting for their right to be equally included in this country from the time we were brought here as slaves,” Carson said.
—“Now we’re going back to that,” Carson added. “I believe that certain people on this board have that kind of attitude.”
—Haubert took exception with the comment, telling Carson, “I respect those feelings, Supervisor Carson, but I can’t help but say you made a comment, almost an accusation, that would almost call some of us—one of us—members of this board, not supportive of a woman’s right to vote. That’s incredibly insulting.”
—CARSON VS. DUPUIS—Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson was also critical of Tim Dupuis, the registrar of voters, for not moving sooner to implement youth voting.
—His comments were some of the harshest yet by a member of the Board of Supervisors against the embattled registrar.
—Berkeley voters approved youth voting for school board elections in 2016. Oakland did the same in 2020.
—“We had eight years to prepare for this,” Carson said. “I don’t accept the fact that we are not ready to implement this.”
—Carson lambasted Dupuis, although not by name, adding, “That’s bad planning. That’s not advanced thinking. In that regard, I questioned whether or not a department head that knew it was coming is adequately addressing their job in a fundamental way.”
—Haubert abstained on the youth voting item on Tuesday, calling it unconstitutional.
—Alameda County is already being sued over the legality of allowing 16- and 17-year olds to vote in Oakland and Berkeley school board elections.
—1 DAY TO THE EAST BAY SUMMIT! Politics, refreshments, and a picturesque rooftop view of Downtown SF, Oakland, and the Port. GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY!
—STILL NO MOVEMENT—The Alameda County Board of Supervisors postponement of a Just Cause renters protection ordinance on Tuesday again triggered dismay from tenant advocates.
—The Just Cause ordinance for unincorporated Alameda County was pulled from Tuesday’s agenda by Supervisor Lena Tam, who cited the need for ongoing discussions between the board’s ad-hoc committee, tenants, and housing providers.
—Leo Esclamado of My Eden Voice, a group that advocates for tenants in the unincorporated areas, said they willingly returned to the negotiating table, but rounds of meetings over the past two years have yielded little progress.
—“We are really, really appalled by this delay,” Esclamado told the Board of Supervisors.
—“We are all pros at meetings, but we have just taken 24 hours of policy, deliberation, testimonies,” he added. “Twenty-four hours of our community members time only to be met with continued delay.”
—Derek Barnes, CEO of the East Bay Rental Housing Association said landlords involved in discussion with the county and tenants groups want “balanced policy and legislation that makes sense and does no harm.”
—Barnes, though made reference to My Eden Voice representatives walking out of a meeting last year with Supervisor Nate Miley and housing providers.
—“We have never left the table. We’ve never walked out of meetings,” Barnes said.
—The board’s ad-hoc committee comprised of Supervisors Elisa Márquez and David Haubert was supposed to have concluded its work with tenants and landlords earlier this month.
—However, no update has been offered about its progress toward a resolution to negotiations that have been deadlocked for about two years.
ELECTION 2024
102 days to Election Day
CHABOT-LAS POSITAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE/HARD/ORO LOMA SANITARY DISTRICT/EDEN HEALTH DISTRICT
—FOUR-SEATER—Over the past decade Luis Reynoso has proven to be a winner at the ballot box.
—So good, in fact, that in 2020, he won re-election to the Hayward school board and Chabot-Las Positas Community College District board in the same election.
—Now, Reynoso is readying four campaigns this fall, including his re-election to the Chabot-Las Positas board in Area 1.
—Reynoso has already completed the filing process to run for the Eden Health District Board of Directors (Ward 4), Hayward Area Recreation District Board of Directors (at-large), and the Oro Loma Sanitary District Board of Directors (at-large).
—“I’m running against entitlement. When they get elected, they stop doing their jobs. It’s like the rubber-stamping committee,” Reynoso said.
—“These people actually feel like these seats belong to them. I wish more people would run in local races.”
—Four years ago, the Hayward school board deemed Reynoso’s seats on its board and Chabot-Las Positas board incompatible. Reynoso did not challenge Hayward’s determination and was later sworn-in at the community college board.
—It’s unclear whether any of the four races are incompatible. But current Oro Loma Sanitary District boardmember Fred Simon serves concurrently on the San Leandro City Council. Oro Loma’s jurisdiction overlaps with San Leandro.
OAKLAND MAYOR
—MACHIAVELLIAN MOVE—There’s unconfirmed rumors in Oakland that Mayor Sheng Thao may resign from office soon, and at the behest of labor unions who helped her win the office two years ago.
—But, let’s assume for a moment that her resignation is imminent. In order to place Oakland progressives and labor in an advantageous position, the move would need to happen very soon if the endgame is to have a special mayor election appear on the consolidated Nov. 5 election.
—Progressives would rather hold a special election in November when voter turnout could top 80 percent. The percentage may be even higher with East Bay native Kamala Harris atop the Democratic ticket.
—Contrast that with a special mayoral election sometime in early 2025 that might attract half of the November election’s turnout.
—The deadline for adding a special election to the fall ballot is Aug. 9. That’s not much time for a series of actions to occur.
—Thao would need to resign. The Oakland City Council would need to call for a special election and allow a period of time for candidates to file for the open seat.
—There’s growing consensus that Thao will not leave office unless she is recalled this November, unless she has another job already lined up.
—However, everything changes if Thao and/or her partner Andre Jones face an indictment following the FBI raid on her home last month.
U.S. SENATE
—ADAM IN THE 12TH DISTRICT—The presumptive U.S. senator Adam Schiff is visiting Oakland Chinatown for a meet-and-greet on Sunday morning, along with Alameda County Assessor Phong La. The event begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.
—PULLING PAPERS—Candidates who pulled papers on Thursday. *-incumbent
*Ben Bartlett - Berkeley City Council, Dist. 3
*Alicia Gonzalez - San Lorenzo USD, Area 5
Adena Ishii - Berkeley mayor
Pravesh Kumar - Fremont City Council, Dist. 1
Dana Lang - BART Board, Dist. 7
*Mark McDaniel - Fairview Fire Protection District
Jean Paulsen - Livermore Joint USD
Darshan Saini - Castro Valley Sanitary Disitrict
*Jean Walsh - AC Transit Director, Area 2
*Courtney Welch - Emeryville City Council
—A free community screening of The Apology, the riveting documentary about the Alameda County Board of Supervisors forced removal of residents from unincorporated Russell City, is coming to Hayward on Aug. 2. Click the graphic below for more information.
