elections

AD 18th: Abel Guillen, The American story

AD 18th: Abel Guillen, The American story Politics 1 Response »

May 062012

Abel Guillen

Abel Guillen has charisma, energy and optimism – but is he mature enough for Sacramento?

When you meet Abel Guillen, and get past his physical presence (Abel is a big guy), you cannot but feel at ease with him. He is friendly, smart, empathetic – and real. The latter is something you don’t find often in politics: people who don’t hide themselves behind facades or carefully sculpted images. To use the Bush-age phrase, Abel is someone you’d definitely like to have a beer (and some nachos) with. I can’t really say the same thing about either of his opponents.

Abel’s genuineness extends to his ideals and his agenda. He’d be your typical grass root progressive, if such thing existed any more. His belief in a more equitable society, in education as the “ticket out” of poverty, but also the cornerstone of a democracy, harkens to a time before the Democratic party lost its idealism and commitment to justice in all its forms. Abel wants to create a better California from the ground up. Education, healthcare and social services are essential; children who are malnourished, sick and uneducated will not only fail to accomplish their own potential as human beings, but might become a burden on society. The nurses and teachers support him because they see him as the most likely candidate to fight for these services – and I’d even say, the most likely candidate to fight for anything, period. Abel is a fighter, he is in his mid-thirties and has won quite a few battles, he still has hope.

I had already endorsed Rob Bonta when Abel called last January and asked to meet with me. Abel had not answered my request for a meeting back in the Fall, when I was interviewing all the candidates. I’d figured, if a candidate doesn’t want to make an effort to meet with me, he doesn’t really want or deserve my endorsement. Plus I was a bit suspicious of Abel to begin with. The pictures of him on his website made him look arrogant; he is not married or has children, which for me is a big minus. Still, my friend Jim Prola kept telling me that Abel was the candidate for me, that he was the closest to my political beliefs and that I should meet him. So I did. His hope and optimism won me over.

If you’ve been following my blog, you probably know that I have become disenchanted with politics, and the possibilities of real change. I the last six years, I worked on the campaigns of several School Board members, the Mayor and a council member, hoping that if we just had the right people in office they’d bring change. None of them did, it’s all more politics as usual with different suits. Nationally, things are even worse. I will admit that I never drank Obama’s kool-aid, but for a few moments I dared, perhaps, to hope. Then Obama made such a mockery of that word that I thought my hope would be buried forever. And now comes Abel and maybe, just maybe, he’s rekindling it.

I think Abel has hope, I think he believes things can be better. He, himself, is the son of poor immigrants. His parents came from Mexico, his dad worked his way from a dishwasher to a pastry chef in a hotel, his mom became a cook. He grew up in the Mission and saw friends and acquaintances fall victim to violence, but he persevered, was lucky enough to get the right teachers and mentors, and went on to graduate from Berkeley. His goal, he told me, was to “do good, but also do well,” anything else would be a betrayal of his family and their dreams. I think that is exactly the philosophy we should instill on our children. Abel got a job with a financial company helping school districts pass bonds, it’s a good job, he does well, but by helping schools he’s also doing good. His work as a trustee at the Peralta Community Colleges board is yet another instance, he’s probably the most engaged trustee I’ve ever seen.

I have high hopes for Abel if he gets elected to the Assembly. He has some very innovative ideas that he’ll be able to push directly. One that has my full heart support is that of creating a state bank. A bank that is not driven by profit could do much good and definitely much less bad than one that is. It would assure that any revenue was re-invested in the state, it would make it easier for small businesses to have access to credit and could help all consumers to not be taken in by ridiculous bank fees. I do hope that if Abel is not elected, whoever is will take this idea on. But it’s exactly this type of bold ideas that make me excited about Abel.

I do, however, also have a couple of concerns. My main one has to do about how he’s ran his campaign. Not following up and meeting with me back in the fall was a basic mistake – whether I have any influence with voters through my blog is debatable, but as a member of the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee (ACDCC) I do get to vote on which candidates the party should endorse. But there have been many other mistakes – from not getting a good photographer to do his pictures (he still has that picture with his arrogant smirk on his website), to having badly designed mailers, to not following up with people who were willing to host events or do volunteer work for him, etc. etc.

Just as problematic is the fact that his campaign manager, Winnie Anderson, decided to run for the ACDCC this June. Anderson was recruited to run by Ignacio De La Fuente, an Oakland City Council member who is trying to take over the party. I think any casual political observer would see how having your campaign manager take the side of someone who is trying to subvert the party, and have her run against some of your supporters (I, for example, am also running for re-election to the ACDCC) is not a good move. Indeed, it’s almost a guaranteed move to lose support within the party. I’m not personally bothered that Anderson is running against me, 19 people are running for 10 positions, but this shows such a lack of judgment by Abel that it makes me question whether he’s politically mature enough to go to the Assembly.

All that said, the choice for me is really between Bonta and Guillen. I’ll be honest and tell you that I have yet not decided who I shall vote for. I think, however, that either is an excellent choice.

Sacramento or Bust!

Sacramento or Bust! Politics No Responses »

Apr 252012

Bonta, Guillen and Young vie for 18th Assembly District Seat

Rob Bonta, Abel Guillen and Joel Young

Who are they and who you should vote for.

*Updated on May 7, 2012*

Any day now, Californian absentee voters will be receiving their mail-in ballots for the June 2012 primary elections. For years, San Leandro was part of Assembly, Senate and Congressional districts which included our neighbors to the south and east. Redistricting has changed all that and we now join Alameda and Oakland in a district in which San Leandro has comparably little influence. It’s thus not surprising that there are no San Leandrans running for state or national office this time around. As of this year, Barbara Lee will represent us in Congress and Loni Hancock in the California Senate (both need to be re-elected but neither has serious competition). The 18th District Assembly seat, however, will become vacant because of term limits. Three candidates – two from Oakland and one from Alameda – are vying for it.

During the last several months I have met and talked extensively with each of the candidates. I have also heard them at different fora. Based on what I learned, I have endorsed both Rob Bonta and Abel Guillen. I’m not usually a fan of dual endorsements, but both these candidates have a lot to offer, in different ways: both are smart and dedicated, but while I see Rob being more methodical and better able to write good legislation, I like Abel’s passion and I think he is more likely to stay true to his progressive ideals. The third candidate, Joel Young, in my opinion lacks gravitas and seems to have impulse control issues that would not make him a good legislator.

I have written my impressions of each candidate individually.

Rob Bonta is a Yale educated lawyer and a family man. He is very smart, a quick thinker and able to see the potential consequences of particular legislative decisions. I think he will be an excellent legislator – I also think he’s smart enough to recognize the perils of the political process and hopefully ethical enough to navigate around them. If elected, I see Bonta having the potential to go all the way to the Governor’s mansion (or is it an apartment now?) and even the White House. Bonta seems to be the front runner so far.

Abel Guillen is the son of Mexican immigrants, a dishwasher and a cook and grew up in the Mission. He is the American success story, through commitment and hard work he got into Berkeley with the goal of “doing good, but also doing well”. As the VP of a school finance firm, he will be able to navigate the State budget better than most and he has creative ideas about how to improve the economy – including the creation of a state bank – that merit consideration. Guillen’s biggest strength, however, is his commitment to the community and his passion for achieving positive change. He has a broad base of support, including nurses and teachers.

Joel Young is an African American attorney and also a Berkeley graduate. He is running on a platform of “jobs, jobs, jobs” but has little to say as to how to create them. Some personal scandals and his reaction towards them don’t speak well of his character. He is supported, however, by a significant segment of labor and the African American community.

Three in the Ring for Superior Court Judge

Three in the Ring for Superior Court Judge Politics 3 Responses »

Apr 172012

Tara Flanagan: best of the bunch

Catherine Haley

I love Democracy (it deserves a big “D”, in my opinion) as much as the next person, hey, I’d venture to say even more – but I believe California takes it to its logical but dangerous extreme. We can see this by the mess the state has gotten into by having its major legislation all be passed by initiatives – which can not be easily or even practically undone once they’ve proven themselves to be harmful. And we can also see it vis a vis the election of judges. Like it or not, elections cost money, and money seldom comes without strings attached.

That said, judges are still elected and we still need to vote on them. This year, the election to watch is the one between Tara Flanagan, Catherine Haley and Andrew Weiner. Flanagan, Haley and a representative for Weiner came before the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee, of which I’m a member, to seek our endorsement. After a brief presentation, each answered a few questions.

Tara Flanagan

Tara Flanagan seemed to be the favorite going in. As a lesbian, she had the support of those members of the Committee who want to see greater diversity in the judiciary. If elected, Flanagan will only be the second lesbian judge in Alameda County. Vicky Kolakowski, who is both transgendered and a lesbian, was elected to the judiciary in 2010, one of the first transgendered judge in the nation.

Flanagan’s strength does not come from her sexual identity. Her resume is impressive and her focus on domestic violence commendable. Flanagan started as an assistant DA in LA, prosecuting domestic violence cases. She went on to open her own family law practice, also dealing with domestic violence issues among others. She’s worked as a legal aid attorney, helping people navigate the legal system and serves as a temporary judge overseeing family, traffic and small claims cases.

Catherine Haley‘s background is a little different. She also has served as a temporary judge and has experienced in legal aid, but she started her career as a flight attendant, went on to work as a law clerk before becoming a lawyer. She’s worked as a solo practitioner since, dealing with all sorts of cases.

Andrew Weiner

Andrew Weiner, meanwhile, is a mediator/arbitrator which focuses on alternative resolution, apparently in particular in employment cases. It’s not clear to me why someone with that background would want to be a judge, and as he didn’t go to the endorsement meeting I was unable to ask him. I will e-mail him and find out.

Of the two women running for judge, I was most impressed by Flanagan. Indeed, I was very impressed by Flanagan. She was the only of the two who knew she wasn’t allowed by law to comment on any legal issue that may come before her in the future. She was thus unable to directly answer my question about whether she believes minors should be tried as adults. However, she made it clear that she understood all the issues at play. Haley, who answered after her, seemed much less prepared. I don’t usually vote for prosecutors or former prosecutors, but I think Flanagan’s experience as an assistant DA actually gives her a deeper understanding of criminal law issues. Plus I like the way she thinks.

I voted to endorse Flanagan and she did, indeed, get the endorsement of the party. I am fairly certain I will vote for her in June. Though I recognize that alternative conflict resolution is essential – our justice system is just not equipped to deal with the enormity of legal cases – I also think it most often leads to unfair results for the public. I’m uncomfortable with the idea of having an arbitrator as a judge.

Why, come June, I might vote for Mickey Mouse for public office.

Why, come June, I might vote for Mickey Mouse for public office. Politics 3 Responses »

Apr 102012

Aisha Knowles

Race for Alameda County School Board Lacks Qualified Candidates

*May 6th Update*

In the last few weeks Geraldine Sonobe seems to be all over the place, meeting with officials and learning about the issues concerning education in the county. Last weekend alone, she was at the public meeting with San Leandro school officials Saturday morning, and at the Bike SL event on Sunday. Aisha Knowles, however, seems to be MIA.

For this reason, in addition to Sonobe’s greater experience and commitment to the issue of minority education, I will be voting for her.

Original Blog Post

Aisha Knowles is a well-liked woman. She is very good at her job as public information officer for the Alameda County Fire Department. She is poised and works well with people. She sits on many boards and has the support of both unions and the Democratic political establishment. She doesn’t have kids or a background in education, but that’s not required to be a Trustee on the Alameda County Board of Education.

Her opponent, Geraldine Sonobe, looks even better on paper. She was an English development teacher at one of the toughest schools in Oakland and now works developing new programs for a non-profit which prepares disadvantaged children for college. She is the mother of twins who attend public schools in San Leandro.

Despite their different backgrounds, Knowles and Sonobe have one thing in common: neither seems to have a clue as to what the Alameda County Board of Education does. And that’s pretty depressing, given that they are the only two candidates for District 4 (which includes San Leandro).

I had never been particularly enthusiastic about Aisha Knowles, despite how nice she is. In 2010, upon the death of the then sitting trustee for District 4, Knowles tried to be appointed to the Board. Despite her public speaking experience, even then she could not articulate a particularly good reason for seeking that office. Unfortunately, this has not changed. According to her ballot statement, her goals are to “improve communication between the County Board of Education and our local community; work to better prepare our schools in fire safety and emergency preparedness; assist schools with the challenges of state budget cuts, and ensure that we are training, recruiting, and retaining quality teachers.” Those are worthy goals, no doubt, and if she was running for the San Lorenzo School Board they would certainly be worth pursuing. The problem is that they are not pertinent to the position she’s running for.

The Alameda County Board of Education is responsible for overseeing the work of the Alameda Council Office of Education (ACOE). This work includes approving the budgets of local school districts, offering staff development programs, approving county-wide charter schools and hearing appeals from students expelled or denied transfers. The ACOE is also in charge of the education of students incarcerated in county facilities, students who have been expelled from public schools and students who are pregnant or have young babies. They provide oversight for foster children, who are frequently moved from school district to school district. What the ACOE does not do is run public schools, recruit and retain teachers or interact with the local community. That’s the job of local school districts.

Geraldine Sonobe

Geraldine Sonobe also seems unaware of what the County Board does. Her ballot statement is all about making smart decisions when dealing with budget cuts. Again, this is something that affects school districts, who run the schools and have to make those cuts. But it’s not something the ACOE has to deal with – indeed, they are doing quite well financially.

Both Knowles and Sonobe came before the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee, to which I belong, to ask for our endorsement. After listening to their presentation, I had the opportunity to ask one question: how do they think the County is under-serving expelled and incarcerated students and what they would do about it. Neither could answer the question. Indeed, they both admitted that they didn’t know what the ACOE did for these students. That is not acceptable.

My first instinct is to be most critical of Knowles. She has been planning to run for this office for two years. She’s had plenty of time to find out what the ACOE does and how she can actually affect it. Sonobe, however, can also not escape criticism. While she jumped into the race at the last minute – and I’m glad, as I believe every race should be contested -, she had enough time to at least take a look at the ACOE website and familiarize itself with its programs.

Unfortunately, Knowles and Sonobe are not the exception as far as candidates go. I have encountered multiple candidates who have little understanding of the office they seek. In 2006, for example, neither Diana Souza nor Julian Polvorosa could speak intelligibly about transit-oriented development, which the City was then pursuing with gusto.

But I think it’s time we say “enough,” that we challenge those candidates that have not done their due diligence and do not understand the offices they are running for. If they are too lazy to put the time and effort to find out about them – what exactly can we expect of their performance once they are elected?

At the Democratic party endorsement meeting I called for the party to not endorse either candidate. I knew, of course, that it was a useless call. Knowles would have been endorsed, no matter how qualified her opponent was (because the Democratic party likes to support insiders). I, of course, made many enemies that night, and I’m sure I’ll be making more with this blog entry. But I feel that if I don’t speak up, nobody will. We’re so used to “business as usual,” to demand so little of our elected officials, that we ultimately make a mockery of democracy. I believe, however, that democracy can be restored one voice at the time.

At this point I’m not inclined to vote for either candidate – but I’ll remain hopeful until election day that one of them will shape up and take the office they’re running for seriously. If they don’t, I’ll probably go ahead and do a write-in for Mickey Mouse, I hear he might be a pretty popular candidate this year.

I will be writing about other local elections, those that affect San Leandro in particular, in the upcoming weeks. I welcome your comments here or in Facebook.

Democratic Elections: Is Ignacio De La Fuente Planning a Coup d’Parti?

Democratic Elections: Is Ignacio De La Fuente Planning a Coup d’Parti? Gossip, Politics 1 Response »

Mar 162012

I heard yesterday that Oakland City Council Member Ignacio De La Fuente wants to become Chair of the Alameda County Democratic Party. Not only is he running for the Democratic Central Committee, but he has a slate of candidates running with him. Among these are Claudia Burgos, one of his staffers, Mónica Tell, a former Perata staffer close to De La Fuente and Monique Rivera, whom De La Fuente endorsed when she ran for BART. All of these are running for District 18, which includes San Leandro (and therefore they are running against me). De La Fuente also has allies in District 15, including Frank J. Castro, communications director for Make Oakland Safe Now!.

As a current member of the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee, it’s hard for me to fathom why De La Fuente would want to be county party chair. That is one of those completely thankless positions. You have to do a lot of work, managing the committee, organizing fundraisers and events, running endorsements events, organizing meetings and keeping many diverse voices under rule. And there is absolutely no power on the position. Meetings are ran according to the Roberts Rules of Order – and the membership is vocal if they’re not followed to the letter. Our current chair, Robin Torello, refrains from letting her political positions known and does not endorse individual candidates, so that she can remain above the fray. I think the membership would expect the same of De La Fuente if he became Chair.

I don’t know Mr. De La Fuente, I haven’t noticed him coming to any of the meetings since I became a member, but I know he’s an astute politician and he may have an actual strategy under his belt. Or he may just destroy the functioning of the Committee – which really needs an experienced manager to make it run functionally. Indeed, if management was something Mr. De La Fuente was interested in, I’d urge him to spend a couple of years apprenticing under Torello and learning the job.

I’ve invited Mr. De La Fuente to comment here.

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