Category Archive: quotes

Even as officers, like the ones who murdered George Floyd, are finally facing consequences for their actions, it happens again. When will it stop?

-Rep. Barbara Lee on the Aug. 23 shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis.
Please stop trying to lecture me about Black Lives Matter.-Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who is Black, responding to public speakers during a Board of Supervisor meeting on July 28.
Hell is another four years of this racist in the White House.-Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf responding to President Trump, who said Oakland, Baltimore, Detroit, and Chicago, is "like living in hell."
5 Councilmembers who passed Oakland budget tonight just killed democracy.-Oakland Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas tweeting on Tuesday night after the Oakland City Council approved its budget without properly noticing changes made earlier in the day. Bas had sought up to $25 million in cuts to the Oakland Police Department.
I don't want to have any more curfews than we need.-San Leandro City Manager Jeff Kay on Monday night hoping the city's nighttime curfew can be lifted prior to the June 8 end date.
It will be extremely difficult to reach 1,200 hotel beds.-Willie Hopkins, Alameda County General Services Agency director, last Tuesday, telling the Board of Supervisors that the goal of housing the unsheltered in hotels during the pandemic is uncertain because some hotel owners believe the shelter in place will be lifted quicker than expected.
The $106 million doesn’t exist.-Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan on why she voted Tuesday against a request by the Sheriffs Department for $106 million annually over three years to hire more deputies.
Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules.-Elon Musk, Tesla founder, tweeting on Monday that he was reopening the Fremont factory in violation of the county's shelter in place order.
Low-income people will be most hurt by the economy and most hurt by the virus. We need to make them a priority.-State Sen. Nancy Skinner at a town hall this month with Assemblymember Rob Bonta.
Until there is medical science that can cure the cases, I think this will continue for awhile.-Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan said last week when asked about the duration of the county's shelter in place order.
We could make this a third rail of local politics or have an intelligent discussion looking at the issue from all sides.-Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft on the council's discussion on Tuesday for possibly delaying the city's minimum wage increase.
I think we're going to have to find revenue without dipping into people's pockets.-San Leandro Councilmember Deborah Cox on how voters, because of covid-19, may not be interested in approving tax measures this November.
No. No. No. To my knowledge, we haven't said such a thing.-Alameda Health System CEO Delvecchio Finley last week after Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan asked if the hospital provider is blaming the Board of Supervisors for not adequately funding its facilities.
I have missed going to coffee shops and my masala tea in Fremont.-Rep. Ro Khanna answering a constituent's question during a virtual town hall on Thursday about the first thing he'll do when social distancing orders are lifted.
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.