Category Archive: quotes

How about we consider how inadequately we have been funding government and public health?—Rep. Ro Khanna challenging small government advocates by noting that funding for the Centers for Disease Control makes up just 1.5% of the U.S. defense budget during a hearing on the coronavirus on Wednesday.
Mayor Bloomberg was stopped & seriously frisked last night.—Dan Kalb, Oakland councilmember, in a tweet analyzing Wednesday night's Democratic presidential primary debate.
Don't bring it to Oakland.-Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf responding in a tweet on Friday to news report that ICE agents are eyeing a return to the Bay Area. Two years ago, Schaaf tipped off locals about an impending raid on the area's immigrant communities.
They still urinating in the council's face and call it rain.-Gene Hazard, a prodigious Oakland City Council public commenter, castigating the city attorney's office on Feb. 6 for not providing a report on the legality of Mayor Libby Schaaf's state of the city speech last week.
No matter how many times Trump lies about Sanctuary Cities, the facts remain unchanged. Sanctuary cities are safer and more economically prosperous.-Jesse Arreguin, Berkeley mayor, responding to President Trump's State of the Union address.
Absolutely disgusting.-Rep. Barbara Lee responding in a tweet Friday to President Trump's plan to expand his travel ban to six more countries.
In fact, one of their cars was seen making a quick U-turn.-Alameda County Undersheriff Rich Lucia subtlety mocking Oakland Police during a Board of Supervisors meeting for not helping sherrif's deputies during the eviction of the Moms 4 Housing women on Jan. 14.
When you establish rules that become systemically discriminatory against people of color, then you’ve got to question your party and how they’re making all these decisions.-Rep. Barbara Lee in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle raising questions about the Democratic Party's process for candidates to qualify for presidential debates.
This is a crime spree in progress.-Rep. Eric Swalwell speaking in support of impeaching President Trump Wednesday during a speech on the House floor.
And just to be clear, I didn't tell you who to hire. And I don't think Malia did, either.-Alameda Councilmember Jim Oddie speaking to former City Manager Jill Keimach in an audio recording released Wednesday that she secretly made in an effort to catch Oddie and Councilmember Malia Vella illegally pressuring her.
These facts will stand the test of time. The question now is will they stand the test of courage by Republicans?—Rep. Eric Swalwell, on MSNBC, summing up this week's round of scheduled House impeachment inquiry hearings.
Shut up.-North Carolina GOP Rep. Mark Meadows to East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell during a closed-door House impeachment inquiry hearing, according to transcripts of meeting released last week.
They are trying to circumvent the will of the people of California.-Assemblymember Rob Bonta, responding to news reports that U.S. Homeland Security is attempting to negotiate contracts with for-profits prisons providers in advance of the law he authored that bans them in California going into effect on Jan. 1.
I'll never forget when my daughter's show animal was sick and she was holding a thermometer in its rear end while it was crapping all over her hand.-Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty remarking on the value of the ag community Oct. 29 prior to the board's approval of a ban on mutton-busting. Haggerty voted no.
For someone who started out my career making 50 cents an hour babysitting, $15 would have sounded incredible to me.—Hayward Mayor Barbara Halliday reminiscing during a discussion Oct. 15 for increasing the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022.
The president’s got priors.-Rep. Eric Swalwell on MSNBC Monday discussing impeachment and President Trump's involvement with Russia.
Allowing Measure AA to be enacted with less than two-thirds of the votes would constitute a 'fraud on the voters.'-Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ronni MacLaren, writing in a decision Tuesday against Oakland's 2018 parcel tax measure which garnered just 62 percent support.
There was a time that, you know, we may have been out there killing each other in numbers, but there was no trash out in the street.-Oakland Councilmember Noel Gallo with an odd memory of his younger years growing up in the city, as opposed to the rampant illegal dumping occurring today.
For all those piling on Trump for his hasty Syria withdrawal: I hear you. But what is our plan?-Rep. Ro Khanna challenging fellow Democrats after President Trump ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Syria.
I don’t want any more to be displaced. My heart can’t take it.-State Sen. Nancy Skinner on the landmark rent control bill that was approved by State Senate on Tuesday. AB 1482 caps annual rent increases at 5%.
I stand with my sisters.—Rep. Barbara Lee in a tweet Friday offering support to fellow Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar after each was banned from visiting Israel.
There is a risk that we could see a Berlin digital wall.-Rep. Ro Khanna in The New York Times describing China's inherent threat to democracy in the digital realm “The question is, are the values of liberty, privacy and freedom of speech going to be embedded in technology platforms? China’s platforms do not have many of the values that liberal democracies believe in.”
It is a choice in America to allow the sale of weapons of war into our communities.-Oakland Council President Rebecca Kaplan tweeting Monday following the fatal shooting of three by a gunman at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.
We should not be creating a false dichotomy that is a by-product of this deal—pitting clean air against clean water. We know all Californians can, and must, have both.-State Sen. Bob Wieckowski prior to being the lone vote in the Legislature against funding clean water projects for poor communities with money set aside for greenhouse gas emissions.
'Wait just a minute.'-East Bay Rep. Barbara Lee in The New York Times on her response to those who question whether a woman, such as Sen. Kamala Harris, can be elected president.
The Constitution makes it very clear that Congress, not the President, has the authority on matters of war and peace. You should give it a read sometime, Mr. President.-Rep. Barbara Lee, announcing the formation Tuesday of the "No War in Iran Caucus," which opposes military force in Iran without congressional approval.
Unless somebody complains then, you know, I’ll submit an application for a modification.-San Leandro Councilmember Victor Aguilar, Jr., in an interview on June 6, admitting he had built an illegal fence on his property all the while politicizing his council opponent's efforts last year seeking approval for a fence modification from the city. READ the article here
We have no choice: Congress must begin an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.-Rep. Eric Swalwell in a June 13 opinion piece in The Atlantic.