San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy, Councilmember Diana Souza. SAN LEANDRO | MAYOR | Even before San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy took office in 2010 he had alienated the city’s police officers, city employees, progressives, and members of the Alameda County… Read More ›
S.L. City Council
A Proxy War for Mayor in San Leandro
San Leandro mayoral candidates, Councilmember Diana Souza, Dan Dillman and Councilmember Pauline Cutter, at a forum Sept. 11 at the San Leandro Main Library. PHOTO/Steven Tavares SAN LEANDRO | MAYOR | San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy decided earlier this year… Read More ›
Oakland Garbage Contract Hangs Over San Leandro Council, Elections
My story in this week’s East Bay Express on the fallout from Oakland’s garbage contract pinching into San Leandro’s general fund to the tune of around $500,000 annually is reverberating through the city administration and council. It may also end… Read More ›
Asian American Electorate May Decide Next San Leandro Mayor
Councilmember Benny Lee, second from left, is a byproduct of the new found strength in San Leandro’s Asian American populace. SAN LEANDRO | MAYOR | It would have been unthinkable a generation ago that any demographic in San Leandro other… Read More ›
No Mention of Mayor Cassidy Quitting; Squabble Over Naming Vice Mayor
First term Councilmember Benny Lee is San Leandro’s next vice mayor. SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | The level of quiet acrimony at the San Leandro City Council is beginning to bubble over. A day after Mayor Stephen Cassidy announced on… Read More ›
The Skinny: San Leandro City Council Preview, Mar. 17, 2014
San Leandro City Council Preview835 East 14th StreetMonday, Mar. 17, 2014, 7 p.m.[FULL AGENDA HERE] Twitter Hashtag: #slmtg >>> REASON TO FILL OUT A SPEAKER’S CARD Councilmember Benny Lee with members of the city’s Chinese American community at a flag-raising at… Read More ›
The Skinny: San Leandro City Council Preview, Mar. 3, 2014
San Leandro City Council Preview835 East 14th Street, San LeandroMonday, Mar. 3, 2014, 7 p.m.[FULL AGENDA HERE]Twitter Hashtag: #slmtg >>> REASON TO FILL OUT A SPEAKER’S CARD Reconstructed Burrell Field in San Leandro. PACIFIC SPORTS COMPLEX AGREEMENT Four years ago, San… Read More ›
David Erlich: Assemblyman Rob Bonta’s Challenge From the Right
ELECTION 2014 | ASSEMBLY | 18TH DISTRICT | After just a year in Sacramento, Assemblymember Rob Bonta is firmly entrenched within the Democratic leadership. In fact, a few tweaks here and a few arm pulls here and Bonta could have… Read More ›
Middle-Aged White Males: Homeless and Nowhere to Go
SAN LEANDRO | HOMELESSNESS | Rose Padilla Johnson, the executive director of San Leandro’s Davis Street Family Resource Center, says there may be over 500 people in the city lacking suitable shelter. The typical profile of the homeless is San… Read More ›
The Skinny: San Leandro City Council Meeting, Jan. 6, 2014
San Leandro City Council Meeting, Jan. 6, 2014 835 E. 14th Street, San Leandro Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, 7 p.m. [FULL AGENDA HERE] >>> REASON TO FILL OUT A SPEAKER’S CARD WISHLIST FOR FEDERAL PROJECTS (Item 10D) Proposals include seeking… Read More ›
Final Word On 2013: Too Many East Bay Politicians Failed Us
2013 YEAR-IN-REVIEW | Boy, was it a boring night. After hundreds of meetings over the past few years, the Bay Area’s housing and transportation leaders were poised to approve Plan Bay Area, a far-reaching 30-year plan that would prepare the… Read More ›
San Leandro May Air Specifics Of City’s Recent Police Discrimination Settlement
San Leandro Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | The annual public review of the San Leandro Police Department next week may be less about the successes and future plans for the city’s law enforcement and more about… Read More ›
San Leandro May Spend $110k To Study Potential Tax Measure in 2014
San Leandro may eye a road improvement tax next year. It has struggled in recent years to find money to repair its roads. SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | With the coming mid-term election season just around the corner, voters in Alameda… Read More ›
Mayor Cassidy Hints He Knows Council Colleagues Don’t Like Him
Mayor Cassidy in 2010. How many of his colleagues would like to take a shot at the dunking booth today? SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | Did San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy make light of his apparent unpopularity among council colleagues… Read More ›
Cassidy’s Quandary: Juggling Work Demands With His Duties As Mayor
SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | In San Leandro, being mayor is not a full-time job, at least, financially. Earlier this month, San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy offered another in a long line of proposals that appear more suited to molding… Read More ›
Alameda County Supervisors Join Early Push For Legalizing Pot
ALAMEDA COUNTY//BOARD OF SUPERVISORS | It was no surprise last week the Alameda County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution urging the federal government to refrain from raids on local medical cannabis dispensaries and respect states like California, Washington and… Read More ›
San Leandro Approves Limited Pot Dispensary Ordinance
SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | The fate of medical cannabis in San Leandro will not rest at the ballot box after all, but patients looking to medicate their ailments will, instead, be limited in their choice of dispensaries after the… Read More ›
Approval Of Dispensaries In San Leandro May Hinge On Ballot Measure
SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL//CANNABIS | Permits for a maximum of two medical cannabis dispensaries may be approved by the San Leandro City Council Monday night. But, in a late twist, the potential ordinance would not go into effect pending a… Read More ›
A TV Guide To San Leandro’s First-Ever City Council Broadcast
As a TV drama, Mayor Stephen Cassidy would be cast as the villain. SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | Is the San Leandro City Council ready for its close up? One of the East Bay’s last government bodies to offer residents the option… Read More ›
San Leandro Creates Committee to Address Chinese Flag Raising
A memorial for Tibetans killed during the Chinese occupation of the country was placed outside San Leandro City Hall before Monday night’s discussion of a controversial raising of the Chinese flag over its seat of government. PHOTO/Shane Bond SAN LEADNRO CITY COUNCIL//FLAG FLAP… Read More ›
Motion To Reconsider San Leandro Flag Flap Goes On Without Top Supporter
SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL//FLAG FLAP | San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy will bring the controversial Chinese flag vote back the City Council Monday night, but the council member who first place the item on the agenda last month will not… Read More ›
Chinese Flag Raised At San Leandro Marina; Protesters Scuttle Similar Ceremony In Alameda
San Leandro Councilmember Benny Lee addresses an audience at the city’s marina following a flag-raising ceremony in honor of China’s national day. PHOTO/Steven Tavares SAN LEANDRO//FLAG FLAP | They couldn’t fly the Chinese over San Leandro City Hall, so over 100… Read More ›
Flag Controversy In San Leandro Reveals A Mayor’s Re-Election Vulnerabilities
SAN LEANDRO//FLAG FLAP/ANALYSIS | There’s reasons why residents in Oakland, San Francisco and Alameda are not up in arms about a Chinese flag being unfurled over their cities next week, while San Leandrans tears itself apart. It has little to… Read More ›
San Leandro Mayor Suspends Council Decision To Fly Chinese Flag At City Hall
Mayor Stephen Cassidy voted against the resolution on Monday. SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL//FLAG FLAP | The Chinese flag won’t be flying over San Leandro City Hall after all. Three days after a contentious City Council meeting narrowly approved celebrating China’s… Read More ›
San Leandro Approves Draft Ordinance Allowing Two Dispensaries
SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL//DISPENSARIES | After much advocacy and derision regarding one of San Leandro’s most controversial topics, the City Council passed a draft ordinance that could allow up to two medical cannabis dispensaries in city boundaries following over three years of debate…. Read More ›
After Divisive Discussion, Chinese Flag Will Fly Over San Leandro City Hall Oct. 1
San Leandro Councilmember Benny Lee SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | A foreign banner will fly over San Leandro next month. With the approval of a controversial plan to celebrate China’s national day by flying the country’s flag over San Leandro City Hall next… Read More ›
San Leandro Inching Closer To Allowing Medical Cannabis Dispensaries
SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | Nearly three years ago, the San Leandro City Council was in the midst of reefer madness. In late 2010, it nearly placed a 22-month moratorium on medical cannabis dispensaries–a potential death sentence possibly leading to an outright ban…. Read More ›
San Leandro Moves Ahead With More Security Cameras; Hints At Limiting Data Retention
SAN LEANDRO//PRIVACY | San Leandro City Council approved to move ahead with expanding its video surveillance system, however, with hesitation over the one-year retention period of information collected by the cameras. The council approved, 5-2, directing staff to formulate a plan for additional cameras… Read More ›
Prola Says He’s Not In The Mix For San Leandro Mayor
Councilmember Jim Prola SAN LEANDRO//2014 ELECTION/MAYOR | San Leandro’s most liberal city councilman says he is not interested in running for mayor next year. However, if the city’s notorious Mayor Stephen Cassidy upsets him, he might change his mind. “I… Read More ›
San Leandro Considering License Plate Readers In Public Places
SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL//PRVACY | The use of license plate readers by police in the name of public protection has been debated before in San Leandro. Now, its police chief wants to install the controversial plate readers in two undisclosed… Read More ›