Victor Aguilar

San Leandro Candidates Position on COPS Grant

San Leandro Candidates Position on COPS Grant Police, Politics, Schools No Responses »

Oct 302014

sro The San Leandro Police Department applied for a $500,000 COPS grant to fund a total of four school resource officers (SRO’s). The SLPD, however, neglected to let the City Council and the School Board know that they would be on the hook for $1.69 million in matching funds. Any money spent on the SROs would have to be diverted from other uses. In the case of the school district, it might mean further cutting educational programs and not being able to restore counselors and nurses.

I contacted candidates for Mayor, City Council and School Board to ascertain how they would vote on this grant.

SCHOOL BOARD

At-Large Seat

Candidates Jeanne Kinkella and Peter Oshinski are both in favor of accepting the COPS grant and having the school district pay the whole $1.69 million.

Candidate Evelyn Gonzalez believes that the the City should continue to pay for the two current SROs, and that the District should not spend money on the officers.

Candidate Monique Tate did not respond to my request for her position on this issue.

Area 4 Seat

Candidate Leo Sheridan said he did not support the District paying the full $1.69 million but he did not specify how it should be split. He does support keeping just two SROs at the district.

Candidates Chike Udemezue and Latrina Dumas did not respond to my request for their positions on this issue.

MAYOR

Diana Souza favors accepting the grant and splitting he $1.69 million costs between the City and the school district. She did not specify on what ratio. She is endorsed by the Police union.

Dan Dillman opposes the school district accepting the grant, but believes that if it does, it should pay the full amount.

Pauline Cutter supports maintaining the status quo, with the City funding two SROs. If the School District wants more than two, Cutter believes the District should pay for the additional officers.

Gregg Daly opposes accepting the grant.

CITY COUNCIL

District 1

David Anderson favors accepting the grant and splitting the costs between the City Council and the School District.

Mike Katz-Lacabe opposes accepting the grant and notes that research has found SROs do not make schools safer

Deborah Cox and Ken Pon would not take a public stance on this issue. Cox is endorsed by the Police union.

District 3

Lee Thomas favors accepting the grant and splitting the costs between the City Council and the School District. He is endorsed by the Police union.

Allen Schoenfeld and Victor Aguilar favor maintaining the status quo, with the City continuing to pay for the two existing SROs.

District 5

Corina Lopez believes it’s the responsibility of the City, not the school district, to pay for law enforcement. She did not specify whether the City should continue paying for the two existing SROs or accept the grant and pay the whole $1.69 million to bring them up to four.

Mia Ousley opposes accepting the grant.

Leah Hall would not take a public stance on this issue.

Tweets from Last Mayor & City Council Candidate Forum

Tweets from Last Mayor & City Council Candidate Forum Politics No Responses »

Oct 202014

The Hayward Demos held a candidate forum for San Leandro Mayoral and City Council candidates on Thursday, Oct. 17th. All candidates, except for Leah Hall, were present. They answered questions from the audience. The following are tweets from the forum sent by Mike Katz-Lacabe. Because Mike is a candidate for District 1, he was unable to tweet during that part of the forum.

DISTRICT 3

San Leandro Dist. 3 candidates Victor Aguilar & Allen Schoenfeld against armored assault vehicle. Lee Thomas wants more info and justification.
Lee Thomas disagreed with warrant-less searches of houses includes in chickens/bees ordinance.
Aguilar & Schoenfeld against red light cameras approved by City Council.
All San Leandro Dist 3 candidates support keeping San Leandro Hospital open – Schoenfeld says to clap for Mia Ousley: helped keep it open.
None of the San Leandro Dist. 3 candidates mentioned the $3 million the City has allocated to help keep San Leandro Hospital open.
Lack of questions for San Leandro Dist 3 candidates leads to an early wrap-up.
Thomas says he has the experience to be on City Council. Schoenfeld makes the case for common sense.

DISTRICT 5

Leah Hall only San Leandro Dist. 5 candidate not present at candidate forum.
Mia Ousley opposes San Leandro acquiring armored assault vehicle. Corina Lopez supports/compares to safety vest.
Corina Lopez opposes rent control. Mia Ousley says no need now, but gentrification may necessitate a future review.
San Leandro Dist 5 candidate supports the development at the Marina. Says environment must be protected. Opposes dredging.
San Leandro Dist 5 candidates supports Adventure Playground and small boats at Marina.
San Leandro Dist 5 candidate Lopez says oversight committee has say in Measure HH funds. Mia Ousley: City Council can spend how it wants
San Leandro Dist 5 candidate Lopez: opposed raising Chinese flag at City Hall. Mia Ousley opposed elimination of full council minutes.

MAYOR

San Leandro mayoral Dan Dillman: You have 2 choices: two City Council members with 12 years of experience between them or an outsider.
Dillman is first to mention ebola at tonight’s candidate forum. Says we need to stop the fear.
San Leandro mayoral candidate Diana Souza: avoids answering question on raising Chinese flag. Supports armored assault vehicle for SLPD
San Leandro mayoral candidate Pauline Cutter: opposed raising Chinese flag; sounds supportive of armored assault vehicle for SLPD
San Leandro mayoral candidates on being a full time Mayor: Dillman: Yes; Cutter: Yes; Souza: avoids answering question directly.
Asked whether they supported funding San Leandro Hospital, Cutter said she supported it. Souza avoided answering the question.

San Leandro City Council D3 Candidate Victor Aguilar Answers Questions

San Leandro City Council D3 Candidate Victor Aguilar Answers Questions Politics No Responses »

Oct 192014

Victor Aguilar

In order to better get to know the candidates for San Leandro offices, I sent out a questionnaire with questions provided by San Leandro residents and relevant to San Leandro. These are Victor Aguilar’s answers.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

1- Do you have a website, Facebook Smart Voter page with more information about you and your platform?

My Facebook page can be found at www.facebook.com/victoraguilarforsanleandrocitycouncil

2- What is your political philosophy?

My political philosophy is to protect our environment, provide quality public safety, support a strong positive relationship between the City, and schools, place San Leandro on a substantial foundation for fiscal responsibility, promote economic development, create jobs and housing opportunities, and transform San Leandro into a center for innovation.

3- How do you evaluate when to stick by your principles and when to compromise?

There’s a saying, “that’s not the point, it’s the principle”, I stand by principle. I do what’s right. I compromise when principle is questionable and not concrete.

4- How often have you attended City Council meetings in the last year and what, if any, issues have you spoken out about in such meetings?

I have attended many City council meeting. I’ve checked out the Rent Review meeting and met Mia Ousley. I have not spoken out at any City Council meetings.

GOOD GOVERNANCE

5- The San Leandro City Council is no longer producing full minutes of its meetings, and instead produces an audio/video recording and a record of its votes (but not comments/discussions). Would you restore full minutes?

I am a firm believer that all meetings should be recorded. Just like a deposition, the City Council needs to be documents. I would restore full minutes.

6- Do you support a sunshine ordinance in San Leandro? Be specific as to terms.

I support a sunshine ordinance. I believe that the city needs to be informed as to the decisions that are being made by our city manager and officials.

7- Do you believe the City Council should censure Vice-Mayor Benny Lee for lobbying the Oakland City Council against renewing its $1Billion garbage contract with Waste Management? San Leandro collects $500K in taxes annually from WM’s transfer station.

Members of the city council need to remember what the principle is and when to compromise. I believe that the Vice-Mayor Benny Lee should be reprimanded.

REVENUE

8- What’s your position on measure HH?

I support Measure HH. I think the 30 year life is steep. This measure will help the aid public programs and revitalize San Leandro.

9- Do you support continuing or making permanent the business license fee holiday for new businesses? Why or why not?

In order to attract business in San Leandro I support the business license fee holiday for new business. This is attractive to bring business to our vibrant city. We need to make sure that we are attracting the right businesses for our community.

10- Do you support pension reform in San Leandro? Be specific.

I support pension reform. We as taxpayers should not have to pay.

11- What are your plans for increasing revenue and/or cutting costs in San Leandro? Be specific.

My plan to increase revenue is the bring in the Tech Campus and revitalize the Marina. As for cutting costs, we need to address the police armored vehicle. This is going to be expensive to maintain.

12- San Leandro is about to lose millions of dollars in taxes and development fees, due to Waste Management losing its garbage contract with the City of Oakland. What would you have done to prevent that situation from occurring and what will you do in the future to support San Leandro businesses?

I want to make the right choice for our community and support any local business. I would have made sure that the decision that we are making as a city is approved by our council before speaking on behalf of San Leandro. I fully support San Leandro businesses, especially Waste Management.

13- San Leandro has invested on creating a fiber loop and is trying to market itself to high tech manufacturing. What would you do to promote these efforts?

I support LIT San Leandro http://litsanleandro.com/ We need to attract a new generation of business. This is the age we live in and what better place that to promote San Leandro to house these tech companies within our fiber optic loop. I would work with our Chief Innovator to help promote these efforts.

DEVELOPMENT

14- What are your thoughts on redevelopment in general? What should the City do to spruce up downtown and the South part of town?

I support redevelopment. We need to make sure that San Leandro is pedestrian, bicycle and commuter friendly. The City is on the right track towards sprucing up downtown, we need to do a better job on attracting quality businesses and limit monopolization. The South part of town needs a facelift. We need to bring back life into our industrial are and fix our streets.

15- What are your plans for the development of the Marina? If they include dredging, who should pay for it? Be specific as to what you will work to see happen.

Since the Federal funding has ended and San Leandro has vied to get funds, out dredging option seems bleak. I will work to revitalize the Marina to make it a vibrant attractive and money generating spot. We also need to make sure that we are considerate of our environment.

16- What type of affordable housing requirements do you support for new developments?

We need to make sure that local housing authorities offer rents affordable to low-income households. I support various types of new housing developments.

17- How should the City and the School District collaborate regarding any new housing developments?

The city and the school district need to work closely to mitigate the future of school enrollment. We need to make sure that we closely look at how new developments will impact our schools for San Leandro and San Lorenzo Unified.

18- What is your specific plan for repairing streets and sidewalks in San Leandro?

We need to address the street and sidewalk situation, specifically the streets. San Leandro has the worst streets in the county. I will ensure that partial funds from Measure HH (if passed) will be used to fix our streets in conjunction with Measure BB.

19- Global warming threatens to raise sea levels. What should the City be doing to help prevent rising bay waters from damaging property?

We need to education our community about global warming. This is a national issue and needs to be addressed at a local level.

20- What’s your position on a “tree preservation ordinance”? Please be specific as to any ordinance that you would support.

Our environment is not getting any better. We need all the trees that we can get in San Leandro. Trees produce oxygen and we need that to sustain us. I think the city need to plant more trees. I think that the tree preservation ordinance is valid and I support it, specifically Section 5-2-200 of the San Leandro Municipal Code states that it is unlawful for any person other than the City or its contractors to remove, prune, injure or destroy a City street tree.

21- Should the City offer incentives to encourage property owners to install solar systems or other alternative energy sources? Be specific.

We need a GREEN San Leandro. The city needs to encourage property owners to install solar systems and/or other alternative energy sources. I would love to install solar panels on my house, but the reality is they’re too expensive and quite frankly I can’t afford to install without some sort of incentive.

22- What will you do to make San Leandro friendlier for pedestrians and cyclists?

I support measure BB. If this measure passes it will make San Leandro a friendlier place for pedestrians and cyclist. http://www.yesonbb.org/

SURVEILLANCE & LAW ENFORCEMENT

23- What’s your position on red light cameras and why?

I oppose red light cameras. I am also opposed to the non San Leandro business that runs these cameras.

24- What is your position on public/police operated public surveillance cameras?

This is a violation of our 4th amendment right. I oppose public surveillance and police cameras.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/fourth_amendment
I support private surveillance that monitor private property.

25- SLPD operates several mobile and static license place readers which photograph millions of license plates and cars. Do you support an ordinance that will restrict how long these records are kept and who they are shared with? Be specific as to terms.

I will support an ordinance that will restrict the time that this information is withheld and archived. Again, this is a violation of our fourth amendment right. Not only do the readers capture license plate info, but it records the public.

26- How would you tackle the increasing militarization of the SLPD? Do you believe that the SLPD should continue to operate its SWAT team?

I oppose the militarization of police, but I do believe in a SWAT team. This team is specialized in confronting heavily armed criminals; performing hostage rescue and counter-terrorism operations; high risk arrests; and entering armored or barricaded buildings.

27- What are your public safety priorities?

My public safety priorities are to keep San Leandro safe. I believe that a neighborhood watch is a great and free way to monitor our communities. I also believe in adding a few more police officers to our force if our budget allows.

28- When the City Council passed an ordinance allowing citizens to keep bees with a permit, it provided that in order to get that permit citizens had to agree to waive their 4th amendment right to warrantless searches of their properties. What’s your position on this type of requirements? What will you do specifically with the requirement in the “chicken & bee” ordinance?

The chicken and bee ordinance is set in place to monitor those that want to turn their backyard into an urban barnyard. We need to make sure that our neighbors are not being disturbed. I believe that we have to plan for the worst and have a plan in place that will prevent an abundance of animals residing in one space. I belive there needs to be a warrant for a search. I don’t believe in warrant less searches. All searches have to be valid with probable cause.

SOCIAL WELFARE

29- What do you think are the City’s responsibilities vis a vis ensuring that everyone in San Leandro has access to food, housing, health care and other necessities of life? How will you meet such responsibilities?

San Leandro needs to be a proponent in taking care of our community. We need to make sure that we have programs to help aid our community and the local, state and federal level. I belive that we need to make information about such programs are availiable to the community as a source. I will make sure that this information is available and accessible for our constituents.

30- How should the Council promote community health in San Leandro?

San Leandro needs to work with health care organization to promote health screenings and/or free examinations at little or no cost to our community. The welfare of community is my concern. We need a happy and healthy San Leandro.

31- Will you support an ordinance to increase the minimum wage in San Leandro? If so, to what amount.

I would support an ordinance for a living wage.

32- Do you support reducing development fees, zoning entitlements and construction permits in order to make housing more affordable?

I believe we need to make an exception in the aspect and reduce permits, zoning entitlements and construction permits. We need more affordable housing in San Leandro. We need to give businesses like this a break.

33- What should San Leandro do to aid its homeless population?

Homelessness is an issue with every city. San Leandro needs to provide aid to those that need assistance. We need to provide a program that helps those get back on their feet.

34- Do you support an ordinance that would stabilize rents and impose just cause requirement for evictions? Be specific as to what proposals you would support/oppose.

I would impose an ordinance to stabilize rents. I will not impose a just cause requirement for eviction.

35- What’s your position on having medical marijuana dispensaries in San Leandro?

I am PRO medical marijuana and support the dispensary. Just like prescription drugs, I am a firm believer that our constituents should have easy access to their medication.

BONUS Question

If you are elected, will you vote to stop the SLPD from obtaining an armored vehicle?

I do not support militarization of police and do not support a military type armored vehicle. If this vehicle’s purpose is going to be use as a military type vehicle, I will oppose this. I believe in protecting our city, but not with a military tank style vehicle. We also need to understand the operating costs.

Final List of Candidates for San Leandro Offices

Final List of Candidates for San Leandro Offices Politics 7 Responses »

Aug 132014

These are the candidates that will be vying for elected office representing San Leandrans. The candidate’s ballot designations are in parenthesis. Candidate statements, when available, follow the description of each candidate. Remember, all San Leandro voters get to vote for all members of the San Leandro City Council and School Board, regardless of the district/area they represent.

San Leandro Mayor

Pauline Cutter

Pauline Cutter (City Councilmember/Teacher) is the clear favorite to win this race. She served for many years on the San Leandro School Board, and was elected Board president three times, so she has experience as the executive officer of a deliberative body. She won her seat on the City Council four years ago in a competitive race, and has experience campaigning both for herself and others. She has a good relationship with labor – teachers’ union excluded – and is likely to win the Democratic endorsement. As the clear favorite, she’s also likely to be able to fundraise the money she needs to win this race. Politically, Pauline hugs the center. She’s a workhorse and very detail-oriented. She is probably the most independent voice in the council, there have been at least a couple of 6-1 votes, where she’s the 1. If elected, she promises to be a full-time Mayor. Candidate Statement. More on Pauline…

Dan Dillman

Dan Dillman (Businessman), the owner of the Bal Theater, is an amazing man. He has worked incredibly hard to renovate the theater and bring options for entertainment to San Leandro (much to the opposition of City Hall), as well as to revitalize the south area of town. He is also someone who is not afraid to speak his mind and who brings a level of love and laughter to San Leandro that make this City great. He is not a serious candidate; in the past he has failed to do what it takes to win a campaign: raise money and walk, but he will bring issues to the debate: privacy, civil liberties, freedom, that the other candidates rather ignore. Candidate Statement. More on Dan…

Diana Souza

Diana Souza (San Leandro Councilmember/Businesswoman) is running for Mayor because she has termed out from City Council. Her tenure on the Council has been uneventful. She got elected with the single goal of getting a competition swimming pool built in the Manor, and when that couldn’t happen, she basically became a second vote for Joyce Starosciak first and, after Joyce left, the City Manager. Her true puppeteer is the San Leandro Police. Diana, however, has a record of not accomplishing anything beyond trying to get the Chinese flag to be flown over San Leandro City Hall. Given that her name recognition is either negative or poor, she is unlikely to present a real threat to Cutter. Candidate Statement. More on Diana…

San Leandro City Council, District 1

This is for the Bay-O-Vista/Estudillo Estates/Downtown seat that Michael Gregory is being termed out of.

Mike Katz-Lacabe

Mike Katz-Lacabe (Trustee, San Leandro School District Board of Education) starts off as the favorite in this race. He was elected to the San Leandro School Board after a competitive race, and has been elected School Board President twice. He has been endorsed by the Alameda Labor Council. Mike has high-name recognition also due to his involvement in the community. He blogs at San Leandro Bytes, is a frequent speaker at City Council meetings and is often quoted in the paper. He is perhaps best known for his work on behalf of privacy rights, but his real strengths come from his vision for the City – he’s the main proponent of turning the 9th grade campus into a High Tech High School -, his thorough understanding of how the city is run and his common sense. Mike is my husband. Candidate Statement. More on Mike…

David Anderson

David L. Anderson Sr. (Retired Sheetmetal Worker) is a retired sheetmetal worker and former Oakland School Board member. He gained notoriety in Oakland after he tried to bribe then OUSD laywer Dan Siegel. Siegel recorded the bribe offer, and while no charges were filed, Anderson lost his re-election. Anderson ran for the District 1 seat against incumbent Michael Gregory in 2010 and lost. Candidate Statement. More on David…

Kenneth Pon

Cheery accountant Kenneth Pon (Certified Public Accountant) is the comic relief candidate for this race. Pon, who served a term in the San Leandro School Board before being ousted by now-Mayor Stephen Cassidy, is known for his bon vivant predisposition, humor and sociability. He’s very involved in the downtown business association, Rotary and other organizations. When he previously ran for office, he proved to be a very lazy campaigner. He’s likely to play the “Sara Mestas”, “Justin Hutchinson” wannabe spoiler role on this race and – he hopes – pick up votes from conservatives who don’t like Cox. Like Cox, he doesn’t speak at City Council matters much, but he did in support of Walmart coming to San Leandro. Candidate Statement. More on Kenneth…

Deborah Cox

Deborah Cox (Public Policy Analyst) is a fundraising dynamo. She is in the boards of many organizations and has helped raise money for schools and the now defunct conservatory theater group. Her crowning achievement as the head of the Estudillo Estates association was to get a marker for the neighborhood. She’s also in the Human Services Commission. Deborah is rarely seen at City Council meetings, but she’s gone to speak against medical marijuana dispensaries and in favor of selling the former Albertson’s property for 1/3 of what the City paid for it, in order to build Village Marketplace (the new location for CVS). What Deborah is not is a public policy analyst, she works as a field representative for Assemblyman Quirk on education matters – which is a very different thing. Candidate Statement. More on Deborah…

San Leandro City Council, District 3

This is for the seat that Diana Souza currently occupies.

Lee Thomas

BZA member Lee Thomas (Family Services Manager) has been running for a year, so I think we can assume he’s on the lead. Thomas is a nice and jovial guy, it’s hard not to like him, but he is unwilling to commit himself to positions. For example, he was at the meeting where the Council voted to raise the Chinese flag over City Hall, but he wouldn’t speak publicly on it. He belongs to an extreme right fundamentalist church, which opposes medical marijuana. Candidate Statement. More on Lee…

Victor Aguilar

Victor Aguilar Jr. (Accounts Manager) is a young account manager at a legal discovery firm. He studied political science in college, worked as a field rep for a City Council member in LA, and is now putting roots in San Leandro. Victor is very active with LGBT rights organizations. Candidate Statement. More on Victor…

Allen Schoenfeld (Salesperson) graduated from San Leandro High in 1971. He keeps a very low profile online. No candidate statement filed. More on Allen…

San Leandro City Council, District 5

With Pauline Cutter running for Mayor, her seat in the City Council is now open. This district includes the north-eastern part of San Leandro.

Mia Ousley

Mia Ousley (Financial Analyst) is the co-founder of the successful Coalition to Save San Leandro Hospital, as well as the editor of the newsletter of the Broadmoor Neighborhood Association and active MoveOn.org organizer, among other things. She is a go-getter and has worked on behalf of issues as diverse as getting the City Council to legalize urban farming, expanding entertainment options and developing community-centric public safety initiatives. Mia is currently a member of the Rent Review Board. She has worked in campaigns for Obama, Pete Stark, Mayor Stephen Cassidy, Morgan Mack-Rose, Hermy Almonte and Ursula Reed, among others. Mia actually likes campaigning, which gives her a leg up on this race. Full disclosure, Mia is my friend and I’m helping her with her race. Candidate Statement. More on Mia…

Corina Lopez

Corina Lopez (Trustee, San Leandro School District Board of Education) is currently on the San Leandro School Board, after running unopposed in 2012. Previously, she ran against Pauline Cutter for District 5 and lost. Before that she was in the City’s Human Services commission. Corina serves in the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee with me and I consider her a friend. Corina grew up in Soledad as the daughter of farm workers, made her way to Princeton and now runs an IT company with her husband. She has been endorsed by the Alameda County Labor Council. Candidate Statement. More on Corina…

Leah Hall

Leah Hall (Community Organizer) is, well, one of those characters that make San Leandro such an amusing town. She’s very active online, a member of the Human Services Commission and a big lover of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Unfortunately, she’s nowhere as funny as her Comedy Central role models, so while her role in the race is that of comedic relief, she’ll probably leave more people puzzled than laughing. Candidate Statement. More on Leah…

San Leandro School Board, At Large

Jason Toro resigned from the School Board to apply for a job as director of the new student health clinic (a job he got). That means that his seat is open and anyone in San Leandro can run to finish his 2-year term.

Evelyn Gonzalez

Evelyn Gonzalez (Community Volunteer) is a mother of three kids that have been making their way through San Leandro Schools. She has always been extremely involved with the schools, serving in PTAs and school councils, and helping with fundraising. When McKinley Elementary needed a new computer lab, Mike Katz-Lacabe contacted Evelyn. Even though her kids weren’t there, she was able to put in a fundraising plan and in no time we had the computers we needed. Evelyn, a theologian by training, is very involved in the social justice work in her local Parish. Candidate Statement.

Monique Tate (Parent/Administrative Assistant) is an SLUSD parent who is in the LCAP Design Team. She seems to work as an administrative assistant in the Alameda County Office of Education – which might bring conflict of interest issues.

Peter Oshinski (Child Nutrition Administrator) has lived with his partner in the Broadmoor for the last four years. They don’t have children. Peter is a former instructor at the California Culinary Academy and now works in food services for a school district. He does not have a history of involvement with San Leandro schools. Candidate Statement.

Elsie “Jeanne” Kinkella (Retired School Teacher) graduated from San Leandro High in 1962. She worked for the New Haven Unified School District.

San Leandro School Board, Area 4

Several candidates are vying to replace Mike Katz-Lacabe, who is running for City Council. None of the candidates have been attending School Board meetings until recently.

Latrina Dumas (Property Manager/Landlord) is a parent at San Leandro High. She ran against Mike Katz-Lacabe in 2008, because of Katz-Lacabe’s vote to fire superintendent Chris Lim. Dumas was an ardent Lim supporter.

Leo Sheridan

Leo Sheridan (Businessman/Parent) is parent at Monroe Elementary. He’s in the Dad’s Club and LCAP team. He works for a paint distribution company. He has refused to meet with me to answer questions as to his qualifications and plans if he’s elected. Candidate Statement.

Chike C. Udemezue (Financial Analyst/Parent) has to have the coolest candidate name in San Leandro. He seems to be a government worker. He shares his name with a a writer of self-published Nigerian accounting books, and I can only hope they are one and the same. I have learned that he is the brother of Uche Udemezue, the Engineering & Transporation director for the City.

San Lorenzo School Board

Several candidates, including the incumbents, have filed for the two at-large seats on the Board.

Isabel Polvorosa

Isabel Polvorosa (Incumbent) has been in the San Lorenzo School Board since 2002, this would be her fourth term in office. She is a spunky lady, but as I have not followed the doings of the San Lorenzo School Board I know very little about how she’s done there.

At 89-years-old (you read right) incumbent Helen T. Randall (San Lorenzo Unified School District Governing Board Member) is the second oldest candidate running for office in San Leandro. She has been in the San Lorenzo School Board for 20 years. Before that, she was a secretary at the San Lorenzo School district.

Steven Kirk

Steve Kirk (Banker/Financial Adviser) is secretary/treasurer at the San Lorenzo Village Homes Association, where he’s live since 1997. He works in the financial services industry. He was very involved in the campaign to re-elect Barak Obama as President. He has been endorsed by the San Lorenzo teachers union. Candidate Statement.

Ronald Joseph Pereira II (Retired Teacher)

Janet Zamudio

Janet Zamudio (Family Program Administrator), she seems like an obvious choice for voters. She is Director of Parent Services at Children’s Council of San Francisco, and has a BA in Social Welfare/Education from Berkeley, and and MA and EdD in Education, Leadership in Early Childhood from Mills College. She is the mother of three kids attending San Lorenzo public schools. She has been endorsed by the San Lorenzo teachers union. Candidate Statement.

Guillermo Nevárez (Substitute Teacher) is an activity director for the city of Newark and a substitute teacher for Hayward Unified. He is a new father and was Mark Salina’s campaign manager.

Isobel Dvorsky

Chabot-Las Positas Community College District – Area 2

Isobel Dvorsky (Educator), the incumbent, has been representing San Leandro in the Chabot board since 1985

Gene Judson (Higher Education Consultant). He’s a former San Lorenzo School Board member. A Republican Mormon, Judson lost his seat after one term in 2008.

Oro Loma Sanitary District Board of Directors

The Oro Loma Sanitary District board consists of five old white men, four of whom have served for at least 20 years. Three seats are open, but only two incumbents are running. Board members receive about $1500 of compensation a month plus medical/dental insurance.

Timothy P. Becker (Director, Oro Loma Sanitary District) is the newest director . He was appointed in 2007, and then elected in 2008. He works in environmental services.

At 91-years-old, incumbent Howard Kerr (Director, Oro Loma Sanitary District) has the honor of being the oldest candidate for office in San Leandro. He has been on the Oro Loma board for 28 years, before that he served on the San Leandro City Council. Kerr is an “old San Leandro” guy, representing the values of what was “lily white” San Leandro.

Shelia Young

This will be former San Leandro Mayor Shelia Young‘s (Business/Environmental Consultant) third attempt to get onto the Oro Loma board. She has high name recognition, which will help her as one of the incumbents is not running. Candidate Statement.

Chike C. Udemezue (Financial Analyst) is Nigerian and the brother of Uche Udemezue, the Engineering & Transporation director for the City of San Leandro. He’s also running for San Leandro School Board.

Dan Walters (Engineer/Business Owner) is a San Leandro resident who runs a chemical company in town. He is quite involved with the Chamber and the Boy Scouts, and leans Republican/libertarian on his politics. Candidate Statement.

AC Transit Director At Large

Joel Young

Joel Young (AC Transit District Director, At Large), the incumbent,was censured by the AC Board last year for reviewing confidential AC transit legal files, to help him with a case he was handling for the private law firm for which he works. He had descended into ignominy earlier, after allegations of domestic violence against an ex-girlfriend. Instead of taking responsibility for his actions, Young tried to blame the young woman. He ran for Assembly in 2012, and lost in the primaries. Still, this is a county-wide race with several candidates, and being the incumbent makes him the favorite.

Dollene Jones (Retired Bus Driver), a retired AC-transit driver who went on to fund a casino-bus service, ran for AC Transit board against Elsa Ortiz in 2012 and lost, she’s now making a run for the at-large seat. Here is a video of her answering questions in 2012.

Adrienne Andrews (Paralegal/Student)

Murphy McCalley

AC Transit, Ward 4

Covers another part of San Leandro

Mark Williams (AC Transit District Director, Ward 4) is the incumbent

Murphy McCalley (Retired Transportation Consultant) has “served as Chief Financial Officer for two major California transit systems, and as a Consultant/Advisor to various transit systems throughout the United States.” Candidate Statement.

Karen Monroe

Alameda County Superintendent of Schools

This is the runoff from the June election, in which none of the 5 candidates was able to garner 50% of the votes. The two candidate now are:

Karen Monroe (Associate Superintendent/Educator) The current Superintendent, Shelia Jordan, designated Monroe as her successor and appointed her Associate Superintendent of Schools so she could run with that title. Monroe is a young and dynamic African-American woman. While her relationship with Jordan worry some, she is the favorite to win this race. Candidate Statement.

Helen Foster (Teacher/School Principal) is currently an administrator at the Hayward Unified School District and a San Lorenzo School Trustee. Candidate Statement.

Races NOT on the ballot

San Leandro School Board, Area 2

Lance James

Incumbent Lance James is a teacher in Hayward and active in the teacher’s union there. He has two children who’ve gone to San Leandro schools. He doesn’t have any competition, and therefore this race will not be in the ballot. Mr. James will be considered to be an appointed School Board member by the Education Code.

San Leandro School Board, Area 6

Appointed incumbent Ron Carey is unopposed.

Eden Township Healthcare District Board of Directors

There are 3 positions open.

Lester Friedman (Incumbent)

Roxann Lewis (Appointed Incumbent), a nurse who was very active in the campaign to Save San Leandro Hospital, was appointed to the board this month to fill a vacancy.

Thomas E. Lorentzen (Health Care Consultant) served in the Reagan, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. administrations, including as Regional Director of the US Department of Health and Human Services. He later worked as a private health services counselor. He lives in Castro Valley.

AC Transit, Ward 3

Covers part of San Leandro

Elsa Ortiz, the incumbent, is running unopposed.

EBMUD, Ward 3

Frank Mellon, the incumbent, is unopposed.

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