Dellums Watch: Keeping Tabs on Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums

Because we care deeply about Oakland, we want Mayor Dellums to succeed. However, we strongly opposed his election because he never held a municipal position in Oakland and has lived in Washington for the last thirty-five years. We are wary of some of his supporters, and wish to keep a close eye on local political machinations. This blog will be focused on politics and people, not policy perscriptions (unlike FutureOakland).

August 02, 2006

Dellums Exceeds Spending Cap

After the final disclosure forms were filed with the City Clerk, the Oakland Tribune reports that Ron Dellums' successful mayoral campaign exceeded the voluntary spending cap (which all candidates pledged to honor) by about $15,500. He also outspent Ignacio de la Fuente by more than $50,000. The Chronicle reported that most of Dellums' donations were from out-of-state political figures, as well. This just further demonstrates the arrogance of the Dellums campaign. They didn't want to debate, they refused to disclose a list of Dellums' lobbying clients or a tax return, they attempted to lie about his occupation on the ballot, they didn't engage Oaklanders, and they didn't feel they had to keep any of their promises (besides violating the spending pledge, which is really bad, where are Dellums' task forces? His veto power initiative? His six-month planning process? He said he would start as soon as he won, not go on a summer vacation).

This attitude that our ex-Congressman somehow deserves the mayoralty without earning it, or being involved in local issues whatsoever, is very frustrating to those of us who live here, and who are concerned with local issues. This arrogance and entitlement complex, which now has resulted in two serious violations of campaign ethics (the city clerk's "error" in Dellums' favor on the election summaries is the other), is a very alarming indication of Oakland's next mayoral administration.

Nancy Nadel is clearly quite pissed by this and the other improprieties that helped Dellums win outright by only 122 votes, saying "I hope that's not representative of how he would govern." It is unlikely that our mayor-elect can count on her support on the council, leaving him with only one political ally with a council seat (and no hope for veto power). We'll see what tone he takes when he returns from his drawn-out post-campaign vacation.