Margarita Lacabe

New Political Blog

 New Political Blog  Community  No Responses »
Oct 032018
 

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, San Leandro Talk has, for a long time, covered politics in other parts of Alameda County.  Indeed, in the last few years, most of what we’ve written about has been about candidates and politics beyond San Leandro.  We hope to return to the real point of this blog, and thus we are migrating our political coverage to a new blog, California Politics.  This blog will cover politics in the whole state, but will concentrate on Alameda County.  Content exclusively about San Leandro will stay here.

If you love politics as much as we do and would like to contribute to the blog, please e-mail Marga Lacabe.

Progressives Should vote NO on the SLUSD Parcel Tax

 Progressives Should vote NO on the SLUSD Parcel Tax  Schools  No Responses »
Aug 062017
 

There is no doubt about it, our schools need money.  Teachers deserve better salaries, we should update our school supplies and classrooms need to be brought into the 21st century.  As the mother of two students in San Leandro public schools, I’m well aware of what good more money could do.  The question, however, is who should pay for it.  The San Leandro School District has decided that the burden should fall on the poor.  I disagree.

The parcel tax on the ballot is not only an extension of the current parcel tax, but a doubling of it.  It’s a fix sum of $78 per parcel.  This means that a family of six living in an 800-sq ft cottage will pay the same than a millionaire investor with a mini-mansion in Bay O’Vista.  This is unconscionable.

Many of my neighbors are immigrants who worked extremely hard at minimum wage jobs for years, living in cramped conditions, multiple families to a rental, in order to save and afford to buy a house.   It is just immoral to ask them to work a full day in order to pay for this tax, while a lawyer must only work 15 minutes to do the same.  It is particular immoral to do so in a mail-in election, where most of the people voting are likely to be those least affected by the tax (seniors can get an exemption from paying it).

We have to stop stealing from the poor to fund the services of the upper middle classes.  Voting no in this tax is a start.

The Business of Democracy: How California Democratic Party Chair Candidate Eric Bauman Profits from Politics.

 The Business of Democracy: How California Democratic Party Chair Candidate Eric Bauman Profits from Politics.  Politics  No Responses »
May 162017
 
Eric Bauman

Eric Bauman

Eric Bauman, the so-called kingmaker of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party (LACDP), is now seeking to become king himself.   He is running to become Chair of the California Democratic Party (CDP), potentially turning the institution into the largest pay-to-play operation in the States.

Eric Bauman, a nurse turned manager turned legislative staffer, already receives a generous six-figure salary from his job as senior adviser to whoever the Assembly speaker is at the time – he’s done it for John Perez, Toni Atkins and now Anthony Rendon -, but his real money comes from Victoryland Partners, a political consultancy business he runs together with his husband, Michael Andraychak, and Adam Seiden , the Executive Director of the LA Democratic Party.  In 2016 alone, Victoryland Partners received over $450,000 from the campaigns behind (or opposing) several ballot propositions.   Among their clients were pharmaceutical corporations that wanted to fight Prop 61, which would have reduced the cost of medicines paid for by the California government.   Despite being endorsed by Bernie Sanders, the Nurses Union and every progressive in the state, Prop 61 failed to get the endorsement of the California Democratic Party.  After a campaign against it that reached nine figures, it was defeated at the ballot box.  Bauman seems unwilling to take credit, but he won’t disclose who, exactly, is funding his campaign for Chair of the Party.

As LACDP chair and vice-chair of the Party, Bauman uses his influence to get the Democratic Party to endorse candidates of his liking.  He then profits from these endorsements through a loophole on campaign finance law.   While campaign finance laws limit how much money candidates for state office can receive from any one contributor, political parties and PACs (known in California as independent expenditure committees)  have no such limitations.   PACs are not allowed to coordinate their ads with candidates.  Both must list contributions, but as PACs receive theirs from fewer sources, it’s easier to link a candidate with the industry that supports him.  Getting contributions from a dirty money PAC can quickly become a campaign issue.

Campaign laws, however, allow political parties to send out as many campaign ads as they want supporting political candidates to their members through member-to-member communications.  Corporations trying to quietly support candidates can thus contribute money to the Democratic Party, which will then spend it on the candidate of their choice. The ads will say that they are paid for the California Democratic Party, rather than paid by the bad PAC, and no one will be the wiser.  The corporation’s contributions will be seen as contributions to the Party rather than to a specific candidate.    While it’s illegal for these contributions to be earmarked, earmarking is virtually impossible to prove, and therefore it’s rampant.  These member-to-member communications can only be done for candidates that have been endorsed by the Party – the true value of the Democratic Party’s endorsement, and the reason why candidates fight fiercely for it, is that it allows them to use the Party to launder such campaign contributions.

At the state level, the leaders of the Assembly and the Senate are the ones that decide which candidates the party will launder money for and which consultants they will use.  Both the party and the consultants take a cut for their services.  Bauman has a very close relationship with both John Perez and Toni Atkins, who were the Assembly speakers in 2014.  In that year, he raked somewhere between $10K and $100K  as a “salary” from the California Democratic Party.  The Party doesn’t pay vice-chairs; according to Party insiders, he was paid these funds as the consultant.

At the local level, money for endorsed candidates is funneled through Central Committees and sub-regional “United Democratic Campaigns” or UDCs.  I have written about how the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee, where I serve, and the Ohlone Area UDC have engaged in this semi-legal money laundering before.   Eric Bauman would apper to also rake in money “consulting” for the Los Angeles Democratic Party, of which he is chair. Indeed, he also lists a $10K to $100K salary from that institution for 2014 and 2015.  The position of county party chair itself is not paid.

As if these ways of financially exploiting his relationship with the Democratic party were not enough, Eric Bauman has also made money as a “consultant” to the “Democratic Club Slate Mailer“.  Slate mailers are mailers sent to voters that sound like they are coming from some official organization, but in actuality they are put together by people trying to make a quick buck, and paid for by the candidates appearing on them.  Bauman made between $1K-10K in 2014.  It’s not clear who is actually behind the slate mailer, but the treasurer is Mark Gonzalez, a member of the LACDCC.  This particular slate mailer seems to have been put together mostly to push John Perez, who at the time was running for Controller.   Mark Gonzalez was a senior field rep for Perez.

Delegates to the 2017 California Convention will have a serious choice to make: elect as Chair someone who has seen the Democratic Party as a source of profit and who has shown little concern about how dirty the money he takes is, or elect an honest outsider who wants to thoroughly reform the Democratic party for all of us.

The Alameda County Democratic Central Committee Starts A New Term with Few Changes

 The Alameda County Democratic Central Committee Starts A New Term with Few Changes  ACDCC  2 Responses »
Jan 052017
 

Democrat Donkey

ACDCC Passes Strong Resolution Urging No Collaboration between Local Law Enforcement and Trump Administration

Last night, the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee (ACDCC) swore in (ceremoniously, as it turned out) its new membership.  It wasn’t very different than its old one.  Six of our 33 elected members are new, but three of them had previously been alternate members.  In Assembly District 18, where we actually elected three new members, the three defeated incumbents will now be alternates.  The Committee’s Chair remains the same, as do the two secretaries.  The Vice Chair is now the Treasurer and the Treasurer has now been hired to be the professional accountant/treasurer.  We do have a new Vice Chair, who was elected after the outgoing Vice Chair made a surprise announcement at the meeting that he would not seek re-election.  Before members had a moment to digest these news, nominations for his position were closed and a vote had been called for the sole candidate.  Business as usual at the Democratic Party.

There were a few changes with respect to Assembly District Vice-Chairs.  The ACDCC is divided into five caucuses, one for each Assembly District that falls within Alameda County.  The vice chairs for AD 15, 20 and 25 remained the same, but AD 16 decided to replace the incumbent vice-chair, who had rarely been seen in the last three years, with her closest acolyte.  Neither were present at the meeting.  In AD 18, after a lot of behind-the-scenes drama and machinations, the incumbent Vice Chair was forced out, two activist members were sidelined and Assemblymember Rob Bonta‘s paid staffer and alternate member, was put in.  Once again, business as usual.

Less business as usual was the resolution we passed, unanimously, that urges local City Councils and the Board of Supervisors to declare “themselves to be Sanctuary Cities and refuse to honor any request by the Trump Administration to use any of their resources, including Police and Sheriff’s Deputies to participate in any arrests or internments mandated by the Trump Administration.”   This is a move that I wished we had done a long time before, given the Obama administration widespread use of local police power to make immigration-related arrests.  But I am thrilled that we passed this now.  Now, we need to work to make sure City Councils in Alameda County implement this resolution.

And while minor, there have been  changes.  Two of the new elected members, Guillermo Elenes and Pamela Price, are avowed civil rights activists that come to the Committee planning to push an agenda of progressive reform.  Newly elected Congressman Ro Khanna has named as his alternate former Marine and Bernie Sanders delegate Cullen Tiernan, who along with a few other alternates and associates are bringing the energy of the Bernie Sanders movement to the Committee.  Cheryl Cook-Kallio, who unsuccessfully ran for Assembly against the Republican incumbent in AD 16, has joined as an ex-officio member and her experience as an award winning Government teacher already proved useful in helping us shape the resolution described above.

Ultimately, it’s anyone’s guess whether the forces of change will defeat those of stagnation, a happy medium will be reached, or the whole thing will blow up.  I’m betting on the first.

 

Grassroots Democrats Seek to Transform the Democratic Party: Help Them!

 Grassroots Democrats Seek to Transform the Democratic Party: Help Them!  ACDCC, Politics  No Responses »
Dec 302016
 

reformVote for Delegates to the California Democratic Convention at January 7th Election Caucuses.

Every two years, the California Democratic Party holds caucuses to elect delegates to the State Convention.  Elected delegates get to vote on the Party’s platform and leadership, as well as on which candidates for state and national office should get the Democratic Party’s endorsement.  Given that California is a heavily Democratic state, the Party’s endorsement can often propel a candidate into a win.

Generally, the only people who run for these positions are party insiders and supporters of politicians that sponsor a given slate.  The traumatic failure of the Democratic Party nationwide, however, has propelled hundreds of progressives to run for these positions and try to transform the Democratic party from within.   While in 2014, only 25 candidates ran for the 14 available seats in  AD 18 – there are 64 such candidates now vying for those positions!

Candidates often organize themselves on slates.  Elected officials sponsor some of these, with the understanding that the people running in those slates will vote to endorse them when they run for re-election or for higher office.  Some sponsoring politicians, like Assemblymember Rob Bonta, go further and require their members of the slate they sponsor to “consult” with them as to all their votes.  In previous elections, Bonta asked delegates elected through his slate to support former Assembly speaker John Perez for State Treasurer, despite the fact that Perez had no background on economics and no college degree, instead of far more progressive and well-educated candidate Betty Yee.  Bonta also asked his delegates to vote to endorse then state Senator Alex Padilla for Secretary of State, despite his own former troubles with the Fair Political Practices Commission, instead of the far better qualified Derek Cressman, a voting rights advocate.

The following are the slates of reform-minded and independent candidates running in Alameda County.  To vote, you must be a registered Democrat in the Assembly District where you go to vote (if you are not sure where that is, check here).  If you are not a registered Democrat, you can register on site.  There is a $5 donation requested from voters, but you can ask for a waiver for financial difficulties. Please note the location and time for the caucus.

You can find other Bay Area progressive slates here.

AD 15: Southwestern Contra Costa County/Northwestern Alameda County

Saturday, January 7, 2017
speeches: 11:30am, pick-up ballots:  12pm – 2:00pm
Albany Community Room at the Albany Library
1247 Marin Ave.
Albany, CA 94706

Democrats Rising slate:

Ben Choi; Richmond City Councilmember-elect; Urban Habitat Boardmember
Charlie Davidson; Environmental Justics Organizer; Medical Researcher
Hussain Gilani; Nephrologist and Chief Medical Advisor at Livzo, inc.
Alejandro Soto-Vigil; Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Commissioner; Legislative Aide, Berkeley City Council
Alex M White; Sanders Delegate; UX Designer & Documentary Filmmaker
Melvin Willis; Richmond City Councilmember; Community Organizer, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment
Alfred Twu; Berkeley Zero Waste Commission Chair;Berkeley Student Cooperative Alumni Association Boardmember

Kori Anderson; Graduate student, Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley; E-board member, East Bay Young Democrats
Yelda Bartlett, Attorney; President, Berkeley Democratic Caucus
Christina Murphy; Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Commissioner; Housing Coordinator, Berkeley Drop In Center
Seren Pendleton-Knoll; Program Director, Berkeley-Haas Center for Responsible Business; Commissioner and Policy Chair, Alameda County Human Relations Commission
Julia Schnell; Transit Planner, Western Contra Costa Transit Authority; Deputy Chair of Communications, Young Professionals in Transportation International
Joey Smith; Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) Richmond/Contra Costa Chapter, 1st VP; Tradeswoman/Water Conservation
Selina Williams; President, Hercules Democratic Club; CADEM E-Board Member 2015-2016

AD 18: Alameda, San Leandro and the Oakland Flats

Saturday, January 7, 2017
9:30AM speeches – pick up your ballot: 10AM – 12PM
Sheet Metal Workers Local 104
1720 Marina Blvd
San Leandro, CA 94577

The Groundswell Progressives slate

Eleanor “Ellie” Casson, former community organizer with Greenbelt Alliance and homeless rights activist.
Amber Childress, mom and newly elected Trustee on the Alameda County Board of Education.
Lisa (LaFave) Cysewski, a registered nurse, CNA member and veteran of the successful Campaign to Save San Leandro Hospital from closing
Gabrielle “Gaby” Dolphin, community activist in Alameda and Bernie Sanders delegate to the DNC
Pamela Harris activist, former Fullbright scholar and Oscar-nominated filmmaker
Rabia Keeble, Muslim political activist and author
Mara Schechter, Campaign Director at Daily Kos

Sean Dugar, former Western Regional Director for the NAACP and former Co-Founder and Chair of the California Young Democrats Black Caucus.  Please also vote for Sean for E-board on separate ballot.
Michael Fortes, musician and Bernie Sanders delegate to the DNC
Mike Katz (Lacabe), Director of Research for the Center for Human Rights and Privacy and former San Leandro School Board member.
Carter Lavin, Climate Hawk and activist  involved with the fights to Save Knowland Park, Stop the Domain Awareness Center, No Coal in Oakland, and expand bike lanes and transit options for Oaklanders.
Michael “Mike” Lee, Bernie Sanders volunteer
Jeromey Shafer, founder of San Leandro for Bernie and Bernie Sanders delegate to the DNC
Daniel “Dan” Wood, long time campaign volunteer and former state delegate

AD 20: Hayward, Union City, Unincorporated Alameda County and north Fremont

Saturday, January 7, 2017
9:30AM speeches – pick up your ballot: 10AM – 12PM
28870 Mission Blvd, Hayward

Fun Progressives Slate
Moira “Mimi” Dean, teacher in the San Lorenzo Unified School District and food justice activist.
Raisa Donato, Bernie Sanders delegate to the DNC
Michele Jenkins,  Bernie Sanders volunteer
Jennifer Kassan, attorney and anti-money-in-politics activist.
Miki Nakamura, millennial inspired by Bernie Sanders
Diana Silva
Althea Weber

Frederic Morrison, Bernie Sanders campaign volunteer
Seth Rediker, US Air Force veteran and graduate student
Cullen Tiernan, US Marines veteran and former Bernie Sanders delegate to the DNC

 

 

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