THE NADIA LOCKYER AFFAIR
Feb. 28, 2012 | You have got to hand it to Stephen Chikhani, the reputed on-again/off again love interest of Alameda County Supervisor Nadia Lockyer, he sure knows how to moved a good story along.

“There’s a way bigger story than sex tapes,” Chikhani said to a reporter today at his hearing in a San Jose courtroom for drug possession.

The deliciously delivered line now sits on the tongues and vibrant imaginations of many Alameda County residents and local officials. Many contacted today noted the sensational nature of the Nadia Lockyer Affair by parsing the eight word quote. “Did you notice he said tapes–as in plural,” said one county employee.

Are they more salacious videos out there? A YouTube video posted Monday morning claiming to contain the raw performance of Lockyer and Chikhani was quickly pulled from the site. One person who viewed it described it as tame, nor looking anything like Lockyer. It is believed to be hoax. To further the intense gossip and speculation over the video, some posit if Chikhani seeks to hold something over Bill and Nadia Lockyer, it would make no sense to reveal the video without any gain. Therefore, there is something more.

The rapidly increasing county and state embarrassment surrounding the Lockyer’s even gained the attention of one of Washington’s most bawdy bloggers. The Wonkette posted this tongue-in-cheek story today titled, “Nation’s Sexiest Supervisor in Meth-Fueled Sex-Tape Sexytime.” The posting imagines Bill Lockyer’s carnal excitement while watching the video and wondering if “Nadia is back in rehab again, where hopefully she will meet a nicer boyfriend.”

Stephen Chikhani

Now, back to the juicy gossip. One long-time East Bay political observer thinks the best way to predict what comes next is to note the destructive behavior of drug addicts. “They do stupid things,” they said. “They have unprotected sex, steal from each other and friends and ruin every relationship they ever had until they feed that hunger to get high.” In that vein (sorry, no pun intended), such a scenario could pale in comparison to anything Jerry Springer could conjure.

Although some local media outlets and columnists are now calling for Lockyer to resign (the Contra Costa Times used the opportunity to add Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi to the list, for good measure), not one elected or county official will publicly go on the record calling for her to relinquish her seat on the board of supervisors. That soon may change.

If I were a betting man, I would say Lockyer resigns before this Friday. Some believe Chikhani’s comment today was merely a bluff, but if it isn’t, it may be a clear signal to the Lockyers that he intends to drop the biggest bomb of them all on them and the county, whatever it may be. And if it has anything to do with the cryptic text message written by Nadia Lockyer, we could be on the eve of destruction for the legacy of her husband and the reputation of Alameda County.

Alameda County politics is a symbiotic environment. When one large piece is suddenly extinct, the whole organism is changed. In a time of continued large-scale budget deficits at the county and city-level, we have no idea how this mess will affect the region, but it will surely benefit no one.