San Leandro

The Search for a City Manager: Back to Square One

 The Search for a City Manager: Back to Square One  City Hall  No Responses »
Jun 082011
 

When Mayor Stephen Cassidy announced last March that the city would not be hiring a search firm to look for a new City Manager, I was not the only one to speculate that the Mayor had someone in mind for the job.   Generally these types of low-intensity searches are only conducted when a viable internal candidate has already been identified, but none of the likely candidates in San Leandro had expressed any interest in the job.  The manner in which the “search” was conducted  – in secrecy, with no community input to speak of and with the search committee keeping completely mum about the candidates – further strengthened these suspicions.  Add to this the rumors that a well-known local business lobbyist with ties to Cassidy had been approaching City Council members praising the virtues of the City Manager of a nearby town, and it’s not hard to add 2 and 2 together.  Cassidy had his man for the job – and he seemed willing to railroad the City Council into accepting him.

Cassidy’s candidate did not look bad on paper – he had ties to San Leandro and had done a reasonably OK job of managing the prosperous, predominantly white city he’d been in charge of for six years.  He had come into some recent troubles, over the issue of employee pension contributions no less, but Cassidy would probably see that as a plus.  In any case, for reasons unknown, he withdrew his application before it could be considered by the full Council.

The City Council was left to interview 4 or 5 other candidates.   By all accounts they were a diverse group, though not necessarily a competent one.  The low key search, and the likely presumption among potential candidates that the results were predetermined, had not encouraged top-CM candidates to submit their applications.   Cassidy still had a favorite among this group – the young city manager of a nearby city with a population one-fourth the size of San Leandro’s and a median household income twice as high as our own.  Managing a city with a population less than 6% Latino and 1% black, it’s no wonder that he fumbled the “diversity” question and left several City Council members unimpressed.  But Cassidy wanted him and fought for him until finally accepting last night that he would not get his way.

So the City Council is back to square one: needing to find a City Manager.  This time they are ready to do it right: hire a search firm, which will make a broad, hopefully nation-wide search, and recruit candidates with experience running cities with diverse populations and changing economic structures.  San Leandro has much to offer to the right candidate: we are a pleasant town, with a wonderful weather, relatively low-crime and a cohesive, if diverse, population.  Our problems: fixing our schools, establishing a long-term balanced budget and enhancing the standard of living of residents, are tough but not insurmountable.  This is the sort of town where someone with a modicum of competence and inspiration can make a name for herself.  We just need to find the right person, it looks like we’re finally looking.

Is San Leandro to be Divided?

 Is San Leandro to be Divided?  Politics  2 Responses »
Jun 022011
 

The California Citizens Redistricting Commission is hard at work drawing new lines for California Assembly and Senate districts as well as federal congressional districts, and things are not looking good for San Leandro.  While the only maps published so far are just preliminary projections, they split San Leandro pretty much down the middle.  Much of the northern part of town will join Oakland in the Assembly and congressional districts (good for Barbara Lee fans!) and the other part will stay with Hayward and Union City (that, if I’m reading the maps right, you can see the proposed Assembly map and proposed Congressional map for yourself). Stark and McNerney will end up in the same district, which may not be a bad thing as Stark is pushing 80 and probably ready to retire.  Alas, it would do away with Corbett’s and Hayashi’s congressional ambitions.

In practical terms, this means that San Leandro will pretty much lose any of the political weight it has had as a city.  The divided city will offer too few votes for any of its representatives in the Legislature or Congress to be concerned about any particular San Leandro issues.  Local politicians will also have a very hard time rising to the state or national stage as they won’t be able to count with the backing of all their local constituents.  Historically, San Leandro politicians have done well outside the city.  Both the current California Senate Majority leader, Ellen Corbett,  and the State Treasurer (and former Attorney General) Bill Lockyer are from San Leandro (though Lockyer currently lives in Hayward, he started his political career in the San Leandro School Board).   I suspect that this has been in part because San Leandro is, all in all, pretty cohesive as a community.  It enjoys a local newspaper read by everyone in town and has a relatively active civic life.  I suspect that San Leandro voters vote for San Leandro politicians much more often than voters outside our borders.  In the last elections for the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee, 18th district, 13 candidates run for 6 seats.  Five of the candidates elected to those 6 seats were from San Leandro, only one San Leandro candidate did not get chosen (but she was close).  I suspect that this will no longer be the case after the split.

The map is still preliminary, and the Commission will accept public input until it issues its final maps in August.  I’ve heard that they are very interested in hearing from the public, and they do want to keep cities and communities of interest together.  If you feel, like I, that San Leandro is not just a city but a community and that it should be kept whole, please contact the commission and let them know.  Every voice will count.  You can e-mail them using this form.

A short look back in time: When San Leandro tried to censor its own history.

 A short look back in time: When San Leandro tried to censor its own history.  Featured, History, Library, Transparency  54 Responses »
May 312011
 

The demographics of San Leandro have changed dramatically in the last few years.  According to the 2011 census, just 27% of San Leandrans identify themselves as white, down from 51% in 2000.  In 1970, however, a full 97% of San Leandrans were white.  Africans American today make up almost 12% of the population; in 1970 they were 0.1%.  Those numbers were not happenstance, rather, they were the result of very specific and very successful policies of racial discrimination that kept non-whites, and in particular blacks, from moving into the city.   Originally, non-whites were kept out of town by restrictive covenants.  Once these were ruled unconstitutional, elected officials, the Chamber of Commerce, homeowner associations, apartment owners and realtors all conspired to prevent blacks from renting or buying property in town.  Realtors would not show houses to blacks, owners would not sell them, and anyone who refused to tow the line would feel the pressure from the rest.  Only in the late ’80s did San Leandro start to integrate.

San Leandro’s dirty history as one of the most racist town in America was definitely known to African Americans in nearby communities.  It became known to the rest of the country due to a couple of TV news stories (The Suburban Wall and the Invisible Wall) that showcased the problem.  But as time went on, and new people came to town, San Leandro’s racial history seemed to be forgotten.  It wasn’t until comedian Brian Copeland started his one-man-show “Not A Genuine Black Man”, which deals, in part, about perils he suffered as a black boy who moved into San Leandro in the 70’s, that the issue came back to light.  But not everyone was happy with that.

In 2005, City Manager John Jermanis and Public Library Director David Bohne decided to commission a book on the history of San Leandro.  They hired a young writer to do this, he produced an outline that included a chapter on this unpleasant aspect of San Leandro history.  The writer also proposed to talk to Brian Copeland about his own experiences.  Jermanis and Bohne ordered him to leave that part out of the book; when he refused on ethical grounds, they cancelled the whole book project.   Of course, they did that as quietly as possible.

I found out about the botched history book through an e-mail by Brian Copeland that a friend forwarded.  I set out to find out what had actually happened, and contacted Jermanis, Bohne and several city council members.  Jermanis originally talked to me, but when he realized that he couldn’t make his actions look in any way legitimate, he quickly stopped the conversation.  Bohne, meanwhile, made excuses for months to not accept my calls.  When I finally met him at a public event, he refused to even speak to me.  Jermanis, meanwhile, ordered the then public information officer Jane Crea to come up with a “story” to justify what they had done.  Unfortunately, her story had many holes and contradicted other facts.  What I learned from all of this, was that the racist policies that had driven this city until the 1980’s were alive and well at City Hall and at the Public Library.

I documented some of my conversations at the time on a webpage that I shared my friends and colleagues.  I’m sharing it with the public now because history – even history about the desire to censor history – needs to be known.

Jermanis retired a few years ago as City Manager, but Bohne continues to head the library.  Neither the City Council nor the Library Commission ever held either of them into account for their attempts to censor San Leandro history.

San Leandro gets a taste of Black History

 San Leandro gets a taste of Black History  Community, Event, History  2 Responses »
May 292011
 

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum is coming to San Leandro on June 4th for a 1-day-only Taste of Freedom event at the Linen Life Gallery.  The Museum travels around the country and features exhibits that highlight the historical experience of African-Americans, from the slave era to hip-hop culture.  This particular event will be commemorating Malcom X, and will feature a lecture by Professor Griff, a rapper with the group Public Enemy.

Tickets for the event start at $30, and include an all-you-can-eat taster, access to the exhibit, lecture and entertainment.  You can buy them online or at the venue. The event is for adults 21 and older.

I find it very fitting that this event will take place in San Leandro – a city that does not have a black history of its own, as African-Americans were not allowed to live within the cities until the 1980s.  Before that, both restrictive covenants and a conspiracy of homeowner associations, realtors and local politicians kept African Americans from buying property in town.  In the late 1960’s, the US Commission on Civil Rights held hearings on housing discrimination in San Leandro but they did little to solve the problem.  By 1971, Sa Leandro was known as the “most racist town in America” and its discriminatory practices were the subject of  The Suburban Wall, a TV documentary, which features San Leandro Mayor Maltester explaining how blacks don’t want to live in San Leandro because this is a boring town.  Anyone interested in this period of history should read Brian Copeland’s amazing memoir Not a Genuine Black Man: Or, How I Claimed My Piece of Ground in the Lily-White Suburbs.

SLPD: Tell us about your experiences.

 SLPD: Tell us about your experiences.  Police  3 Responses »
May 232011
 

The San Leandro Police Department has had a checkered history.  Until the 1980s, the Police Department was instrumental in keeping San Leandro white by following and harassing black people who came to town.  While the Department diversified in the 90s, it’s still overwhelmingly white and male.  In recent years, it’s been the object of sexual harassment lawsuits both by female officers and private citizens.  While we haven’t had any widespread scandals, there have been grumblings here are and there about police misconduct and racism.  The shooting of an unarmed woman late last year and the mauling of a dog by an SLPD  dog – and the complete lack of accountability by the officers involved, also raise concerns about the professionalism of the Police Department.

Personally, my experiences with the SLPD have mostly been positive.  Officers have been professional and somewhat helpful in the few personal encounters I’ve had with them.  However, I am concerned about the pettiness of the Police Union and its members.  They’ve been boycotting the Zocalo Coffeehouse for more than a year because its owner, Tim Holmes, was the campaign manager for Stephen Cassidy’s successful Mayoral run.  Cassidy advocated for Officers to pay their own share of pension contributions.   The Police’s pettiness turned dangerous when they did not show up to direct traffic at the 2010 annual Safe Streets, Safe Treats Halloween event, organized by Holmes and other businesses in the Dutton/Bancroft area.   That meant that hundreds of children were left to cross two very busy streets without any help.  The Police had helped with traffic every year since the event was started, and had said they would be there last year as well.   It’s one thing to be mad at a business owner, but to put the lives of hundreds of children at risk because of your personal grudge is unconscionable.   I’ve recently experienced the Police Union’s lack of professionalism myself. When I publicly questioned the excuse given by Police officers as to why most of them do not live in town, Mike Sobek, the head of the union, “suggested” I move out of town.

But my limited experiences, or the few accounts of such experiences found online, paint a very partial picture.  I’d like to hear from all readers about their experiences, whether bad or good, professional or unprofessional – as well as their suggestions as to what could be done to improve the SLPD.  So, if you have something to say, post it as a comment.  You can do so anonymously if you like.

 Older Entries  Newer Entries