ELECTION ’14 | I think absolutely no case has been made to replace Oakland Mayor Jean Quan. At one point, over 20 candidates were potentially in the race and over the past 16 months none of the remaining 14 have made a cogent argument against giving Quan another four years. That she might be awkward and not a very good public speaker is nowhere near good enough reasons to pick someone else. You knew all these things about Quan since she served on the school board. Switching horses, at this point, when Oakland is doing well, is a very serious question Oakland voters really need to think hard about.

Variations of “Quan has cooties” isn’t enough
to unseat an incumbent.

I think the somewhat dubious domestic violence story about Bryan Parker (one we all knew about for over a year) only means the other candidates (i.e. Schaaf) are worried about him…I think Dana King is a very bad choice for the Oakland City Council and the media knows it, too. Think about it? Why is a 25-year veteran of local broadcasting not getting her face on television or being written about in the print media? I’m thinking, think Ron Burgundy…I think if you add Abel Guillen to the Oakland City Council and pair him with fellow progressives Desley Brooks and Dan Kalb, you suddenly have a formidable lefty wing on the council…

I think a sanitary board candidate in Castro Valley named Marc Crawford is the mullet-haired deformed love child of Rep. Eric Swalwell and Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley (both have endorsed Crawford). Why is a U.S. representative endorsing a clearly paranoid, loose cannon of a right-wing candidate? Why is the typically self-absorbed Swalwell suddenly taking his eyes off his own future? This is very reckless. A guy like Crawford will embarrass you one day…I think Hugh Bussell, Swalwell’s Republican opponent this November, had just one goal: pray he could beat the more progressive Ellen Corbett in June. Bussell and the Alameda County GOP got their wish and have virtually allowed Swalwell to stand re-election without a fight. What does that say to you? The Republicans know Swalwell isn’t a progressive. Why don’t you?…

Republicans have a great candidate in Catharine Baker
and they might blow a chance to gain a seat
in the Assembly due to their ineptitude.

I think I don’t know what has become of Ro Khanna. I never thought he would so blatantly embrace the right like he has over the past six weeks…I still think Khanna’s high-priced consultants, borrowed from President Obama’s re-election team, totally blew it. While Rep. Mike Honda is blasting away at him on TV for being “Right Wing Ro,” Khanna’s campaign has no money to fight back over the airwaves…

I think the California Republican Party has again shown why it’s such a hapless band of nobody’s. Look at the 16th Assembly District—totally winnable and they’re going to screw it up because GOP State Chair Jim Brulte didn’t focus early fundraising on an excellent candidate in Catharine Baker…I think Tim Sbranti is a great public servant, but maybe he’s what they call in baseball—a AAAA player—not good enough for the majors, but too good for the minors (i.e. Dublin)…

I think I learned more about BART and public transportation in the Bay Area when I interviewed BART board director Robert Raburn than at any time in my entire life. He’s clearly better suited for BART than Lena Tam, but his curious backstabbing of union workers during the BART strike was, indeed, that bad…

Who needs public service when you can
be like Joel Young as use your elected 
position as an OkCupid profile?

I think you know I don’t make endorsement, at least, blatant ones, but hold tight: Do not vote for Alameda County Superintendent of Schools candidate Karen Monroe! The Alameda County Office of Education may be the most corrupt public entity in the region and Monroe is simply current Superintendent Shelia Jordan’s puppet and hand-picked successor. People at ACOE want to keep their jobs, so information is hard to pin down regarding wrongdoing, but, c’mon, there are literally 10 separate and serious allegations being made at this office and Monroe, as assistant supe, is already part of it. Nobody really knows what ACOE does legally and they certainly don’t know what it’s doing illegally…

I think, at this point, Joel Young is only running for public office to get chicks…

The Alameda County GOP would be very wise to give Sue Caro another two years at the helm. She’s bringing the local party back from the Fox News abyss and back to focusing on the basics, like GOTV and cultivating a stable of good moderate Republicans who can actually compete locally…I think Bob Wieckowski will be one of those obedient Democrats in the State Senate who gets nothing done for his district. You know, just like his undistinguished time in the Assembly. What I’m saying is, expect more nebulous resolutions from him and nothing else…

Bonta is already at the top of class among East Bay
elected officials after just two years in the Assembly.

I think in terms of boring, the East Bay is trading one immensely boring Assembly member in Nancy Skinner with another snoozer in Elizabeth Echols. Sorry, Berkeley isn’t very exciting and it deserves similar representation. Besides, the bastions of progressivism now reside in Oakland and Richmond…I think Skinner’s underreported vindictiveness with colleagues over the years will catch up with her if she runs for Hancock’s termed out State Senate seat in 2016. Think Mary Hayashi-lite…I think Sandre Swanson’s health will stop him from running for the same seat–he’s already two-fisting it with walking canes…

I think the worst group of candidates in the East Bay is in San Leandro. WTF! Thirteen people are either running for mayor or competing for three open, incumbent-less, council seats and this is the best San Leandro can do? In addition, most act like they only thought about their platforms five seconds after a question is asked. Exactly one candidate on the entire ballot is major league quality and that’s District 5 candidate Corina Lopez. She has a great personal story which lends itself to helping the poor and powerless. And I’ll say this, if you’re a politically-inclined parent with a young daughter, you would hope she grows up and becomes a politician like Lopez.

I think Rob Bonta is far-and-above the East Bay’s true rising star–he’s a five-tool player–but I think he will momentarily suffer if his district director and right-hand man Jim Oddie wins a seat on the Alameda City Council. Bonta will rebound in short time and he better hope Oddie succeeds in his bid next week because it doesn’t look good for Bonta’s gathering power to NOT have your guy win. I don’t know why he didn’t grease the skids for Oddie last year to gain an appointment to the Alameda Healthcare District board…

I think any mailer that says an incumbent candidate “balanced the budget” how many straight years, should raise flags in your head that this person is lying. ALL MUNICIPAL BUDGETS, BY STATE LAW, MUST BE BALANCED EVERY YEAR.