ELECTION ‘12//ALCO SUPERVISOR DIST 2 | The catatonic demeanor of Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle is not a new thing, says Union City Mark Green. The two worked together on the Union City City Council for over a decade ending in 2010. They now face off next month, along with Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi and Mark Turnquist, in the race to secure the final two years of Nadia Lockyer’s disgraced first term.
Valle’s stoic stare and quiet, boy-in-a-library speaking voice, along with an unwillingness to play hard ball politics while his main rival, Hayashi, lobs bombs in his path, is causing concern for many Democrats who think he is not trying hard enough.
Green said there is no reason to confuse Valle’s perceived lack of effort with his passion. “He’s a very smart guy,” Green said after Wednesday night’s forum in Hayward. On three different occasions during the forum, humorous comments by some of the candidates elicited a chuckle from the group, but not from Valle, who stared expressionless while the others guffawed.
Green said in all his years working with Valle it is a very rare occasion to see him offer a humorous quip. “He’s almost always in a sedative or meditative mood,” said Green. The description is not all that odd when you add Valle is a practicing Buddhist. In fact, much of his campaign discourse over the past two months has included references to humanity at large and the interconnected universe around us.
All this New Age talk though hasn’t stopped Hayashi from repeatedly bashing Valle in public. On Wednesday, Hayashi added yet another wrinkle to argument against Valle, claiming he took exorbitant raises, as late as 2010, while working at Tri-CED, the non-profit recycling company he helped found, while passing on rate increases to customers. As she leveled the explosive charge, Valle with pursed lips, again stared into the great beyond, blinked once and never addressed the assertion.
ebcitizen.com 
lol is more like valle zombie on valium
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Green and Valle the wimpy zombie team oh mine… they need to take lessons from that hayward board guy Reynoso. Somehow that Reynoso has managed to kick out- Jesus Armas, Maribel Heredia, Sara Gonzalez, Sheila Sims, Paul Frumkin, Jim Cook. When he said he is “battle tested” at the demos now I see what means by that. Reynoso should have run for this race and not his school board. After watching Reynoso all these years I know he would not be kind to any corruption. Green and Valle you need to call Reynoso for advice on how to go on the attack against Hayashi and from his website 510-274-1807
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The problem with Valle when attacking Hayashi is – he doesn't have clean hands. It's one thing to call out her shoplifting, which seems like a bizarre charge, and another to say Valle uses his inside connections to give himself a $75K raise which the voters in union city and Hayward paid for.
I would rather have someone take from a rich department store than St. Rich to take from me!
Again, where's Gail Steele?
Also – a previous commenter stated that Valle kept Nadia's staff plus gave them raises – that's not leadership and someone that should stay in office!
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Everything from above, brother, but got to include Valle, too. We've got two crooks here who have to be burned big time before they burn the voters.
Heard Hayashi is dressing as a harlot on Oct. 31 and Valley as a vampire. Mary whores away in Sacramento and Vale bleeds St. Rose dry to the bone. Both will be dressed true to form!
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11:10, I agree to a certain extent about voters memory and current mindset. People involved in political matters are the worst judge of what average folks are thinking.
Go to the store. Ask people in line who their Assembly-member is. Blank stare. Give them a name, Hayashi, and they'll say “oh yeah”….
A few may know her from prior elections and perhaps from some meeting, but most will not connect her with very much.
Then, after you've gathered that info, mention the legislator who go caught shoplifting, and suddenly a light goes off. Initially they don't even connect it to her name, but when you prod their memory just a bit, they remember it quite well from the news and newspapers. AND only then do they associate the name with the crime.
Its like you awaken a dormant seed in their brain, that suddenly comes to life.
So what the campaigns need to do is reawaken the 10 month old feelings of disgust and outrage.
“The crooked politian” feelings. The laughter and absurdity of the “brain tumor” excuse.
This campaign has loads of negative fuel, ready to be ignited, with a match.
But if you ask those same “ripe” voters about Hayashi, most of them will hardly know who you are talking about.
They absoutely need to be carefully reminded of the prior events. They need to be re-disgusted.
They need to start laughing at Mary again.
The people here, and in political circles, and even in the press, are the worst people to use when judging the publics feelings and knowledge about Mary Hayashi.
That is why Mary Hayashi spent over $20,000 doing polling. That is why she feels confident. She thinks the voters will remain fairly ignorant and forget their initial revulsion about Mary's crime and her stupid excuses.
This reignition of Mary's past is MORE than half the campaign. It deserves MORE than half the money any campaign will spend. It should occupy MORE than half the face to face time with voters, by everyone involved except the candidate himself.
Even if you don't actually use the mugshot, Mary should end up looking like a mugshot in the minds of the voters.
Voters, even in these times, don't want a out and out criminal in office. They don't want a Supervisor who is still on 30 months probation for stealing %2,500 worth of clothing.
They don't want to reward Mary's crime with a new job.
You just have to remind them of how they really feel. Its all sitting right there in their memory.
Just light the match to the kindling.
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Show us the $$$$, $aint Rich of St. Rose!
Come clean on your misuse of county taxpayer dollars that are paying for your campaign walkers' precinct bags!
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Very astute observations there 10:40.
What mail pieces have people received and from who?
I fear Valle has stumbled badly. And it is getting very late in the game. Yea the general public attention span is zilch but it does remember when it sees a name often. This is why incumbency is such an advantage. The person in office can keep themself in the public limelight thru mailing and thru the press.
Hayashi has been running for office for six years. She has mailed to many of the households in District 2 dozens if not hundreds of times since she ran for Assembly. She's held many well attended events thru her office. This is what the average voter will remember. It was Valle's campaign who is tasked with making people remember Hayashi shoplifted and her explanation. I don't think he has done that at all.
Maybe he wasted all his venom attacking Apodaca. Or like Tavares reported earlier he is waiting and waiting. But it will be too late.
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A few observations. I have no idea what each campaign has planned for the next 31 days.
What I do know is that 99.8% of voters never attended any of the forums, nor have they read or heard about anything that took place in them.
I also know that 99.9 of voters neither know or care anything about any “swag bags”…
Thus far, Hayashi has been swinging away in a near vacuum. When she brings any of her several anti-Valle themes to the voters in a mailer, it will be the first time anyone has ever heard about them.
The only one simple enough to present to the average voter in a mailer might be having a salary above what people might think is acceptable.
The other items, good luck in making them stick in the flurry of campaign mailers hitting the mail box.
Interestingly, Mary's best route to victory is by running a positive campaign about herself, hoping that it will outweigh her criminal conviction and boneheaded attempt to blame a brain tumor for her illegal actions.
Her opponents will find the issue of shoplifting $2,450 worth of goods very very easy to explain to the average voter. Very few of whom will find that to be minor crime easily explained away by saying you were distracted on a cell phone.
There will be very few public appearances where any candidates will be seen by even 10% of the voters. Valle and Green will be doing much more house to house. Valle seems to have a good group of folks willing to walk precincts. Hayashi can't muster 5 people on any weekend.
Green is mystery.
Does anyone know what he is doing.
Phone numbers on his website won't accept calls.
His endorsment list is still the one from June when he was running for the Assembly. Several people on that list are now supporting Valle.
I'd say 36% of the votes wins it. Leaving 4% for Turnquist, and something like 32% and 28% for second and third.
I don't think Green can get 36% unless he has something new in mind. If Valle comes alive for a month he can get the 36%. Or run a poor campaign and let Mary sneak in.
Green and Valle need to bring back the mind set found in the multiple newpaper editorials in the past 10 months where they called for Hayashi's resignation, even prior to her running for this new office. Bring back the crime, bring back the brain tumor excuse, that she now denies. Bring in the gritty factual copies of the actual police report showing Mary's criminal behavior step by step. Making a mockery of her current “I was on my cell phone excuse”.
I actually think the public would find page 5 of the police report facinating
You have to make the voter laugh once again at Mary Hayashi's antics. Don't overlook her famous quotes. “I made a HONEST mistake”, or her comparison of shoplifting $2,500 worth of goods, as similar to driving 45 mph in a 35 zone.
Thats the kind of stuff voters can laugh at.
There had better be a great, fantastic group of really creative people doing Valle's and Green's mailers. (or those of some independent group)
Seldom does a opportunity present itself as ripe for producing a devastating mailer to someone with Hayashi's criminal problem.
They have to start mailing within one week.
Think the Joel Young attack campaign on steroids.
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Gail Steele, Ana Apodaca, we need you!
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Add to ALL of this the fact that he's doing wrong by county tax payers with his misuse of the swag bags, county seal and all, and you have the makings of a quickly self-imploding campaign.
While it pains me to write this, it really does, the best scenario might just be to get stuck with the shoplifter for only two years, have her move on to the senate and then elect someone who is clean and can represent District 2 with pride, distinction, and integrity. Clearly, it's neither of these two. However, a two year stint would be a small price to pay to have a non-incumbent move forward after what will be four years of no- and crooked-representation. I realize that there are a few 'ifs' in this scenario, but I don't see a better course for the long haul. If Saint Rich does get elected, then we're stuck with him for the next three or four terms–much worse price to pay. [Note: my focus is strictly on District 2 and not the state senate, where term limits and a whole bastion of crooks make for an all-around losing situation.]
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Great post as always Steve! As Steven L Jackson told Obama voters: Wake the f**k up!
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Any good attorney would advise his client to not say a word when facing guilt. Guilty of taking a $75K dollar raise on the backs of seniors in one year! Guilty of taking a $305K salary and raising trash (recycling) rates 58%!
This is pure thievery through the vote of your fellow council members and a stack board of directors! Anyone who thinks otherwise should ask is $305K a year justified? Who in 2010 deserved a $75K raise to do the same job during a recession? Hayashi & Valle – Wow!
Where's Gail Steele?
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What a loser. Valle should have never been appointed. What an embarrassment.
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