Jesse Arreguin
SLT’s endorsements and recommendations are based upon personal or phone interviews, questionnaires sent to the candidates and other research on them. I only endorse candidates that I believe are truly progressive, support a clean government agenda, transparency and accountability.
Endorsing Jesse Arreguín for Mayor of Berkeley is a no-brainer and probably an exercise in futility. After all, Jesse has already been endorsed by both the Democratic Party and the Green Party, Alameda Central Labor and the Sierra Club, Democracy for America, Dolores Huerta and the Berkeley Planet, in addition to dozens of other progressive organizations, politicians and activists. Most importantly, Jesse has been endorsed by Bernie Sanders himself! So what can my humble endorsement mean among so many?
I’m endorsing Jesse because he is the most progressive politician in Alameda County today – and one of the very, very few with the guts to stand up against police brutality, against social cleansing laws, and against unchecked development meant to benefit developers rather than citizens Jesse is a man of conviction, a man with the intelligence to navigate the landmines of a corrupt political system and survive with only minor wounds, and a man of integrity, who does not sell out his community for power or for money. Bernie Sanders called on progressives to not just to vote for the best choice in the ballot, but to find champions that will fight for economic equality, human rights and a fair society. Jesse, more than anyone I know, is that champion.
As for his opponent Laurie Capitelli, all I need to say is that at the Democratic Central Committee endorsement meeting, he refused to call himself a progressive. I applaud his honesty, but if Berkeley cannot have a progressive Mayor, we’re pretty doomed.
It’s time to face the facts. Alameda County has ceased to be a home for liberals. Perhaps we can trace this development to the replacement of the word “liberal” by the word “progressive,” perhaps to the broken promises of the Obama administration or even to 9/11. Or perhaps the yuppy generation grew old, more afraid, more conservative. In any case, policies throughout the county show that, by in large, liberal values have been abandoned. We now welcome mass surveillance, the loss of fourth amendment rights and the militarization of police, under the fear or excuse of crime, even as crime has plummeted since the 1980’s. We are willing to accept racial profiling by police almost as a fact of life. We pass ordinances prohibiting the feeding of the homeless, the eviction of the poor and even attempt to criminalize people from sitting on the sidewalks. And we elect conservative politicians.
Josh Daniels is a young education attorney and current President of the Berkeley School Board. I was impressed by his approachability, understanding of the challenges, and progressive values. He seemed the candidate most committed to understanding and honoring diversity, while taking the needs of different student groups into account. I also thought he was the most energetic of the incumbents and the one who had the most comprehensive view of the issues, perhaps because he is an education attorney. He had