SENATE MAJORITY LEADER CALLS GOP ‘THE PARTY OF TRUMP’
By Steven Tavares

Three of the biggest names in East Bay politics addressed the state Democratic Convention Saturday afternoon with one possibly delivering the day’s best line.

“The party of Honest Abe has become the party of Donald Trump,” Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett said of the Republican Party. “In California, we told the GOP, you’re fired!”

Corbett along with Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and State Treasurer Bill Lockyer acted as the lead-in to keynote speaker Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but not until the usually reserve San Leandro state senator delivered a string of rough cuts directed at Republicans.

“California Republicans have sought to put politics ahead of people every step of the way,” she charged. Later she stood firm with public employees, choosing to focus on firefighters and saying most people do not see them in political terms when danger arises. “We don’t think of them as Democrat hero or a Republican hero,” said Corbett, “but in return for them going through a burning door, they deserve our respect.”

Corbett’s address to the Democratic Convention in Sacramento tellingly led into a speech by Secretary of State Debra Bowen, who is running to replace the retiring Rep. Jane Harman. Some believe a Bowen victory in House District 36 could elevate Corbett to statewide office. Interest in the job by Corbett has long been held, according to numerous local sources who also tell The Citizen she has recently voiced interest in possibly replacing Bowen.

Oakland’s Quan reiterated her stunning victory over prohibitive favorite Don Perata last November showed the influence of political power and money can be beaten by grassroots efforts. The use of ranked-choice voting in Oakland became a major factor in Quan amassing significant second-place support from every candidate other than the clear first round leader Perata.

Quan detailed her city’s slow rise to vibrancy by touting its lead in green tech, racial diversity and, notably, Oakland’s burgeoning status among Bay Area gourmands. Although crime continues to be the city’s chronic eyesore she said, “There’s no peace without justice, no victory without equality.”

Lockyer’s turn before conventioneers may have been cut short by a raucous clamoring for keynote speaker Sanders  who immediately followed him. The second-term treasurer spoke of the fight for suffrage and stumped for Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax extension. Lockyer facetiously called former governor Ronald Reagan the “great spender,” saying Brown’s current plan would spend just over $5 per $100 in income while Reagan spent a dollar more in the late 1960s. If Democrats have that extra dollar to spend on services, said Lockyer, Californians would be better off.