tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-254093412012-01-30T22:04:35.836-08:00Because 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 <a href="http://www.futureoakland.com">FutureOakland</a>).Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-47028985523653354262007-05-07T14:05:00.000-07:002007-05-07T14:08:34.393-07:00

I am now blogging at FutureOakland.Wordpress.com. If you're interested in what's going on in Oakland's politics from a Smart Growth and youthful perspective, check it out!Also, I'm no longer using the handle Oakland Native, but dto510.

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com126tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1169231708670951992007-01-19T11:00:00.000-08:002007-01-19T18:42:01.263-08:00

My very first vote, on an absentee ballot while away at college, was for Jerry Brown as mayor of Oakland. Later, when he announced the 10k plan and spoke of his ambitions for Oakland, he articulated my own hopes and dreams for our beautiful city. Since high school I was determined to be a part of downtown, and to see it regain its rightful place as the center of the East Bay. As I wrote in my

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1168826528792803522007-01-15T11:00:00.000-08:002007-01-15T12:30:05.186-08:00

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums’ gala week of inaugural events did not prove to be in as poor taste as the contributors to this blog feared, although the murder of a Adams Point resident over a parking space, which happened while Dellums hobnobbed with big donors at the exclusive cocktail reception before the black-tie dinner, underlined the need for city leaders to focus on our gravest problems. J.

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1168296294839368112007-01-08T15:30:00.000-08:002007-01-08T16:34:52.060-08:00

Ron Dellums' formal inauguration kicked off only eight minutes late to a packed, but not nearly full, Paramount Theater. The School Board was sworn in, and they reelected District Two member David Kakishiba as President. City Auditor Courtney Ruby was sworn in, and gave a perky speech promising to work hard and dramatically expand public knowledge of "what works, and what doesn't work." Reelected

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1167937727268485632007-01-04T11:00:00.000-08:002007-01-04T16:33:42.483-08:00

According to the EBX's Will Harper, Tony West will not join Dellums' staff. I revealed that Mr. West was in line to be chief-of-staff in November. While apparently that's not the case, Harper says that insiders thought West was going to be a high-ranking staffer, so the reader knows that my sources aren't making things up. In the same blog, I also reported that several sources say Deborah Edgerly

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1167858497627425862007-01-03T13:00:00.000-08:002007-01-03T23:54:18.026-08:00

Not a good start for Mayor Dellums.SFist, whose Oakland correspondent considered, but rejected, joining a task force, calls him "last-minute mayor" for his "slapdash inauguration."Carla Marinucci of the Chronicle unflatteringly compares Attorney General Jerry Brown's low-key inauguration, and Schwarzennegger's lavish but two-day fete, to Dellums' inaugural week.Chip Johnson gratuitously

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1166822615967341362006-12-22T13:30:00.000-08:002006-12-22T17:13:51.356-08:00

During the divisive and narrowly-decided mayoral election in June, leftists speculated that, with a sweeping Dellums victory (which didn't materialize), Nancy Nadel would be an appropriate City Council President. Despite the obvious fact that Nadel didn't endorse Dellums, lefties lump them together as ideological soulmates. As ignorantly simplistic as that assertion is, Oakland's malcontents

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1166307696494969242006-12-18T15:00:00.000-08:002006-12-20T16:36:32.990-08:00

That's got to be the question on everyone's minds. Mayor-elect Ron Dellums attracted the support of anti-growth advocates while also promising to top the 10k plan with a 100k plan. His candidacy sparked furious opposition from anti-socialists, but has made recent moves to appear more pro-business. He is a towering local political figure, but, as the East Bay Express blog suggested, has recently

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1165362995890904872006-12-05T15:30:00.000-08:002006-12-05T16:11:48.480-08:00

Tonight, the Oakland City Council will vote to create an affordable housing fund, and then vote to allow a limited number of condo conversions with a fee paid to the housing fund. Councilmembers Nadel, Quan, and now Brunner have come out against it. Councilmembers Brooks, Reid, Chang, and de la Fuente support it. Pat Kernighan told the Trib yesterday that she is undecided. If she votes against it

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1164186137608324332006-11-24T11:00:00.000-08:002006-11-27T11:42:36.260-08:00

Long-time readers of this blog know that I started it to oppose Ron Dellums' mayoral candidacy, based primarily on his lack of touch with Oakland (since he hasn't lived here in 35 years), and my strong disagreements with the anti-everything activists that backed him (like Just Cause, PUEBLO, and the ORPN - that's a motley crew indeed). Before the election I expected it to be a referendum on

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com60tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1164054804198551492006-11-20T12:00:00.000-08:002006-11-20T16:50:06.570-08:00

The hysterical tone of many of the condo conversion plan's opponents was evident in last week's CED Committee meeting, where anxious upper-income renters and homeowners spoke passionately about the low-income renters who have nothing to do with this proposal. Now, renowned anti-capitalists Nancy Nadel, Lynda Carson, and Paul Hogarth have decided to spread misinformation throughout the media.

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1163624326220998642006-11-15T13:00:00.000-08:002006-11-15T13:30:08.563-08:00

Some gems from the condo conversion meeting last night:Andre Spearman, city employee union director: "We need an income conversion program!"Man from Tenants' Union: "This is the first proposal I've ever seen that intends to increase homelessness."Helent Hutchinson: "The League of Women Voters believes we need to protect the rental housing we have."Woman from Just Cause: "We need fair and equal

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1163031519478917232006-11-08T16:00:00.000-08:002006-11-09T00:06:33.946-08:00

It's almost more than I could have hoped for: Pat won almost 55% of the vote, beating Aimee Allison and her ideologues by over 800 votes. This was a stunning loss for the malcontents who are unhappy with the City Council's pro-growth, pro-downtown, consensus-based direction. Despite massive publicity of Allison's sharply negative campaign, Pat Kernighan earned a decisive victory.There are two

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1162887289795997842006-11-06T23:59:00.000-08:002006-11-07T00:17:21.146-08:00

There are, of course, many important issues that will be decided by voters tomorrow. I will spend all day mobilizing voters for Pat K., and so will be off the blog until Wednesday, when I'll write about what happened. While the wind is in Pat's sails right now (the revelations of Allison's SF-based and hypocritical support, Dellums' spokeswoman's condemnation of AA's negative campaign, and the

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1162503198960265092006-11-02T13:30:00.000-08:002006-11-02T13:35:50.900-08:00

In today's Oakland Tribune, Heather MacDonald writes about the hypocrisy of Allison's wealthy SF-based supporters exploiting OakPAC's loophole and sending out vicious, lying mailers blaming Pat Kernighan for the recent crime wave, even as OakPAC was denounced for attempting to spend its donations. This has outraged bloggers before, such as Pamela Drake of the Grand Lake Guardian and Will Harper

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1161980319923308162006-10-27T12:30:00.000-07:002006-10-27T15:27:52.260-07:00

Last night, Pat Kernighan was invited by District 2 DJs and bar owners to visit several establishments in the Grand Lake and Park Blvd neighborhoods. As Pat was leaving the Easy Lounge, Aimee Allison and an orange-shirted entourage showed up to crash the party. Ms. Allison spent several hours hanging with the clubbers, dancing to hip-hop while dressed atrociously (she was wearing a black velvet

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com56tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1161816741344547522006-10-25T16:00:00.000-07:002006-10-25T16:01:29.256-07:00

In today's East Bay Express blog, Will Harper provides two press releases from Ron Dellums' office. One invites the press to cover a mass meeting of his task forces, with him addressing them. The second clarifies that the press is not welcome, saying, "the meeting Wednesday night is a working session that is open to Task Force participants only." Oddly, I was invited via a mailer distributed to

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1161645408442041012006-10-23T16:00:00.000-07:002006-10-24T01:07:56.210-07:00

As her rhetoric grows more shrill and her opponent racks up endorsements, the Aimee Allison campaign for City Council is growing desperate. From tearing down lawn signs throughout District 2 to recruiting volunteers from San Francisco (for whom "Love Oakland" is merely "optional"), Allison clearly hopes that a last-minute barrage of extremism will make up for her utter failure to connect with

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1161216834001996312006-10-18T17:00:00.000-07:002006-10-21T15:41:39.510-07:00

In today's San Francisco Chronicle, Matier & Ross attempt to answer the question that's on many Oaklanders' minds: what the hell does Aimee Allison do for a living (besides run for Council, that is)? They found that she had deactivated two business permits in the last six years, and hadn't paid the city any independent-contractor taxes for four years.Is Oakland's favorite socialist a tax evader,

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1160468277481742942006-10-10T09:00:00.000-07:002006-10-10T02:14:43.346-07:00

On Friday evening, the district 2 council candidates met at City Hall to debate. They followed a debate between City Auditor Roland Smith and his challenger Courtney Ruby. The hearing room was packed, but it's not very big; I doubt anyone was there who hadn't already made up their minds. There were some members of the press, including a Trib reporter, a photographer from the Oakland Post, and

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1160037765513328902006-10-05T09:00:00.000-07:002006-10-08T04:03:24.416-07:00

The pivotal council race between Aimee Allison and one-year inclumbent Pat Kernighan may be close - certainly the campaigning is vigorous. The district includes much of the DTO southeast of 14th and Broadway (ie, Chinatown and Laney College), Eastlake, San Antonio, Park Boulevard, Grand Lake, Trestle Glen and Crocker Highlands. It is ground zero for some of the city's most controversial issues,

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1159912982119704542006-10-03T15:30:00.000-07:002006-10-04T01:39:04.416-07:00

While our mayor-elect cools his heels on the East Coast, Oakland has many controversial issues on its ballot. The city auditor and district two's council race are prominent, but Measure N and O are also important. Some may wonder, what does Dellums think of the candidates and of the measures? Unfortunately, he has declined to make an endorsement in any of two races or ballot measures.Mayor-elect

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1159306633806754852006-09-26T14:31:00.000-07:002006-10-09T19:22:04.923-07:00

According to Aimee Allison's campaign "blog," Mayor-elect Dellums is in town tomorrow for a Grand Lake Theater forum on Democratic efforts to take back Congress. The Mayors Brown will also be in attendance. I don't think I'll be able to go, but this sounds like it could be interesting. Does this mean that our mayor-elect is back in town, and may speak out on local issues? Does it mean that he's

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1157396456160818312006-09-05T12:00:00.000-07:002006-09-05T16:03:45.266-07:00

Aimee Allison's slick, union-funded campaign flyers are vague in the extreme. For District 2 residents confused on her stands, here is some information.Aimee Allison is part of the old Dellums crony network. Her fundraiser this week is hosted by Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson and the city employees' union.Aimee Allison thinks that Oakland, with about half the police per-capita of most

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1154556908106143252006-08-02T15:05:00.000-07:002006-08-03T19:23:48.993-07:00

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.

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1153256191536512802006-07-18T13:41:00.000-07:002006-07-18T14:08:13.943-07:00

Tonight's city council agenda includes the "inclusionary zoning" plan drawns up by CEDA (signed by Dan Vanderpriem, who is rumored to be keeping his job under Dellums) at the request of Councilmembers Brunner and Quan, at number 14. Rumors has it that several important city councilmembers received very negative feedback about the bill from their constituents and business interests, and will move

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1153180069088081212006-07-17T16:43:00.000-07:002006-07-17T17:16:05.850-07:00

The San Francisco Chronicle's Matier and Ross report that Dellums spokesman Mike Healy confirms Dellums will be taking the summer off. Nobody has mentioned veto power since he asked for it the day after the election, and it seems like that's going away without even a fight.It would have been impossible to get enough signatures to place the measure on the November ballot anyway. Since the number

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1149619893140717842006-06-06T11:35:00.000-07:002006-06-06T11:53:08.736-07:00

Please, everyone, make sure you get to the polls today. You can vote until 8 PM! If you don't know where your polling place is, you can find out here. If your polling place is inconvenient for you, know that everyone in Alameda County can vote at the County Courthouse at 12th and Fallon in downtown Oakland.In addition to supporting Ignacio De La Fuente for Mayor, the authors of this blog endorse

V Smoothenoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1149455067618156962006-06-04T14:04:00.000-07:002006-06-05T09:13:46.653-07:00

Cross-posted at Mayor of Oakland: An Optimistic PerspectiveRon Dellums has made the need for transparent and inclusive government one of the key points in his platform. I wholeheartedly agree that this is a commendable and absolutely necessary goal. But I see no evidence that Ron Dellums will encourage said transparency. Of three candidates, it is Ron Dellums whose campaign has been marked by a

V Smoothenoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1149205839929279182006-06-01T16:31:00.000-07:002006-06-01T17:16:52.056-07:00

Dellums has finally realized that his lack of accessibility to the media has been unproductive, and our lobbyist consented to several interviews recently. In the Sacramento Bee, reporter Herbert Sample characterizes the 100k plan as "wedging 100,000 new residents and workers into downtown high-rises." It is important to note that there are already about 100,000 workers and residents downtown, so

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1148279621440406742006-05-21T19:10:00.000-07:002006-06-01T17:12:29.763-07:00

Coming soon - the Ron Dellums, Desley Brooks and Aimee Allison ticket: corruption, misguided approaches, and the unholy alliance of old-fashioned cronyism and Green Party stridency.Okay, so, I never wrote this in the way I introduced it. It is interesting enough to report that Desley Brooks and the Green Party's Aimee Allison are sharing a ticket. Cronyism works by translating political power

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1147585333106457332006-05-13T22:41:00.000-07:002006-05-13T22:42:13.136-07:00

At long last, Ron Dellums seems to have blessed us with his much anticipated platform.I'm going to take it bit by bit here.He starts out with a little biography, and an explanation of how he entered the race due to a grassroots effort in the form of "the unprecedented 8,000 signature “Draft Dellums” community petition campaign." I think deckin has covered this pretty well over at Common Sense

V Smoothenoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1145994576941453402006-04-25T12:48:00.000-07:002006-05-13T22:11:19.130-07:00

What Chip Johnson said.

V Smoothenoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1145497422571437552006-04-19T18:15:00.000-07:002006-04-20T13:50:52.303-07:00

Ron Egging Them OnDuring the education debate last week, Lobbyist Dellums did not provide workable answers to Oakland's problems. Twice he answered a question by characterizing the issue as a "major national scandal." His calls to repeal No Child Left Behind and have national universal health care won applause, but not votes. I really disliked his call to abolish mandatory testing, as opposed to

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1144195043523384712006-04-04T16:52:00.000-07:002006-04-04T17:08:57.343-07:00

Something I've been telling my sports-fan friends about the mayoral election is that Dellums is going to lose the A's. The main reasons are: he doesn't care about the team (again, he hasn't lived here in thirty years), and he probably won't run for re-election. Iggy knows that, no matter what people say in polls, as mayor he will not get reelected as the guy who lost the A's.Now, confirmation

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409341.post-1144190604289464562006-04-04T15:39:00.000-07:002006-04-04T17:15:37.503-07:00

I am an Oakland native who is absolutely incensed by the candidacy of Ron Dellums for Oakland mayor. As a politican-turned-lobbyist he has not lived in Oakland for almost thirty years and is completely out of touch with the city as it is today. From engineering the special election of his chief of staff to his old seat, to his hypocritical embrace of "change" while collecting money from Elihu

Oakland Nativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02770159872074190399noreply@blogger.com24