OCTOBER

The Assemblymember Rob Bonta-led effort
to add regulations to medical cannabis 
dispensaries is signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. 

>>>Assemblymember Rob Bonta’s medical cannabis dispensary reform bill is signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. The legislation adds needed regulations to the greatly expanding industry in the state.

 >>>The much-anticipated race in the Ninth State Senate District loses one prominent candidate when Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan suspends her campaign because of fundraising concerns.

 >>>Meanwhile, former Oakland mayoral candidate Bryan Parker announces he will mount a challenge in Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley’s District Four next year.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf delivers the 
State of the City address in October.

>>>Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf presents her State of the City and expresses support for Black Lives Matter, but activists harshly criticize her for the comment following the May crackdown on protesters.

 >>>Berkeley Councilmember Jesse Arreguin announces he will run for mayor. Long-time Mayor Tom Bates is retiring. Laurie Capitelli, also a Berkeley councilmember, also joins the race.

 >>>Labor relations at the San Lorenzo Unified School District are additionally strained when video of Alameda County sheriff’s deputies attempting to shut down a union meeting goes viral. The teachers union will soon file an unfair labor practices complaint against the school district.

 >>>Chatter about Jean Quan making a run in 2016 for Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan’s at-large seat are too loud to ignore. Former Oakland Councilmember Nancy Nadel says she’s also contemplating a campaign for her old District Three seat.

 NOVEMBER

Blood outside the Alameda City Council chambers
following the arrest of two renters.

>>>Blood is spilled at a tense Alameda City Council meeting over the issue of rising rents and evictions. Two members of the renters coalition are arrested and the City Council approves a 65-day moratorium on evictions and caps increases at eight percent over the past year. 

 >>>As it becomes clear the Oakland Raiders are the least likely of three NFL teams to move to Los Angeles, the city suggests it will soon have a proposal to build a stadium for the team. Schaaf, however, reiterates no public money will be used and the NFL holds a town hall at the Paramount Theater. Later, reports reveal the plan might include other forms of public financing.

 >>>Mary King, the first black woman elected to the Alameda County supervisor dies. She was 69.

Elaine Brown and Desley Brooks during more 
cordial times.

>>>Oakland Councilmember Desley Brooks is accused of assaulting former Black Panther president Elaine Brown at a downtown restaurant. Details are unknown and neither side is talking.

 >>>Former Pleasanton Councilmember Cheryl Cook-Kallio, a Democrat, is recruited by Speaker Toni Atkins to challenge Assemblymember Catharine Baker in the Sixteenth District. Baker, a freshman, is the only elected East Bay Republican in the Legislature.

 DECEMBER

Members of the Alameda Renters Coalition outside
of Alameda City Hall. The issue of rents will be a
major election topic in 2016.

>>>Controversy over rents in Alameda continues when a landlord uses a loophole in the current moratorium to evict 33 families. The 65-day moratorium, slated to expire in early January, is amended.

 >>>Oakland Councilmembers Dan Kalb, Annie Campbell Washington and Rebecca Kaplan propose a slate of gun control ordinances to ensure safe storage of weapons in homes and unattended vehicles, in addition, to banning high-capacity magazines.

 >>>Like in Alameda, fears of rising rents and evictions come the to San Leandro City Council when they approve changes to its Rent Review Board.

 >>>The end of the year does not go so well for Rep. Mike Honda. First, Roll Call names his re-election bid  as one of 2016’s Top 10 endangered. Then, his ethics investigation is rehashed in the press and Honda’s Republican opponent, Fremont CPA Ron Cohen, files a complaint over alleged misuse of his franking privileges. 

 Honda undoubtedly is looking forward to fresh start in 2016.


>>>EAST BAY POLITICAL YEAR-IN-REV15W
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
Best Quotes of 2015
Top 10 News Stories
Winners/Losers of 2015

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