Oakland at-large City Council candidate Derreck Johnson received a major endorsement on Monday from Sen. Kamala Harris. And with Harris on the short-list to be Joe Biden’s vice-presidential nominee, the endorsement could loom even larger in the fall. “I’ve known… Read More ›
Buffy Wicks
Large field aims to replace Kansen Chu; Nancy Skinner runs uncontested
The 12-year state legislative cycle has rendered most assembly and state senate races as cakewalks for incumbents since new term limits were enacted in 2012. Of the eight legislative seats in Alameda County, just one race is a fully contested,… Read More ›
Someone is doing polling in CA15, and it appears to be Swalwell. Was he spooked by the results?
Within two weeks of Eric Swalwell announcing he was dropping out of the presidential primary race and seeking re-election to his congressional seat, polling was being conducted in the Tri-Valley that floated a number of challengers for his 15th District… Read More ›
Two Bay Area assemblymembers endorse Wahab’s campaign for Congress
Just as Rep. Eric Swalwell continues to hint with greater frequency that he will end his presidential campaign sooner than later and run for re-election in the 15th Congressional District, Hayward Councilmember Aisha Wahab is moving forward with her nascent… Read More ›
A second act for last year’s contentious AD15 race?
Jovanka Beckles may be showing her cards.
Delegate Elections: Progressive activists rout Skinner/Wicks slate in AD15; Bonta’s picks win big in AD18
A slate of candidates backed by State Sen. Nancy Skinner and freshman 15th District Assemblymember Buffy Wicks was almost entirely turned away by voters in Saturday’s district elections for delegates to the California Democratic Party Convention. The same type of… Read More ›
War! in San Leandro; Desley; Alameda is weird; Buffy Bunch; Interview with Union City Council candidate Jaime Patiño
The election season is nearing thr end. It’s put up or shut up time for campaigns. If you have mud to sling, sling it now, and races in cities all over the East Bay are getting ugly just in the… Read More ›
Jovanka gets Berned
Bernie Sanders did not endorse Jovanka Beckles at Saturday’s rally in Berkeley.
STEVE TAVARES IS ANGRY: Ep 18–Chronicle’s incorrect assembly takes; Interview with San Leandro Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter
The lack of campaign coverage from the Bay Area’s corporate media has been especially sparse this election season. But even when they bother, like two recent articles on two East Bay assembly races, they get it wrong. I act as… Read More ›
AD15: Labor IE is using classic sitcom theme songs to mock Buffy Wicks’ ties to wealthy special interests
An Independent Expenditure Committee (IE) backed by labor unions is using the power of Cindy Brady and Mr. Furley against 15th Assembly District candidate Buffy Wicks. A pair of short animated videos aim to link Wicks to billionaires who are… Read More ›
AD15: Barbara Lee endorses Jovanka Beckles
When 15th Assembly District candidate Jovanka Beckles was asked at a forum two weeks ago to name her political heroes, she heaped praise on former Richmond Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Rep. Barbara Lee. The latter may have… Read More ›
ELECTIONLINE: Women in Oakland’s District 6 form voting bloc to defeat Desley Brooks; Special interests give $282,500 to Wicks-supported IE
OAKLAND DISTRICT 6 BATTLE LINES SHAPE UP During an endorsement meeting at the East Bay Express two weeks ago, the four challengers seeking to end Oakland Councilmember Desley Brooks’ long reign in District 6 hinted a strategy for using the… Read More ›
Berkeley audience laughed when Buffy Wicks declared her campaign corporate-free
Later, Buffy Wicks gave President Barack Obama hearty praise. “I love me some Barack Obama.”
AD15: Beckles says Wicks is playing ‘dirty tricks,’ alleges campaign orchestrated outburst at forum
Richmond councilmember Vinay Pimplé interrupted the event and reiterated allegations he has made in recent weeks that Beckles once mocked his disability.
Democratic Socialists unveil website highlighting Buffy Wicks’ ties to corporate Dems
Site aims to link Buffy Wicks with her donors who hold moderate or conservative histories.
ELECTIONLINE: Alameda landlords’ Measure K dilemma; Newsom to speak at Wicks’ campaign headquarters
DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY: 61 DAYS UNTIL VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOTS SENT: 32 ALAMEDA MEASURE K The Alameda Renters Coalition (ARC) will open its campaign against Measure K, the landlords-backed ballot initiative to lock-in the city’s existing rent stabilization ordinance in the… Read More ›
Wellstone Dems are in an anti-incumbent mood
The East Bay’s largest progressive group is backing a number of candidates running insurgent campaign against Oakland incumbents for the mayor’s race and two council matchups. The Wellstone Renewal Club is apparently not immune from the current zeitgeist surrounding far… Read More ›
ELECTIONLINE: Pamela Price vs Alameda Dems Central Committee; San Leandro’s ‘Fresh, Clean Slate’; endorsements
ALAMEDA COUNTY DEMS Oakland civil rights attorney Pamela Price lashed out last spring at what she perceived was a lack of transparency at the Alameda County District Attorney office, and will likely do the same during her fall run for… Read More ›
ELECTIONLINE: Polling in AD15; union’s love affair with Abel Guillen is over; Alameda candidate’s past conviction; healthcare district coup
15TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT While Buffy Wicks’ assembly campaign, as far as we know, has not yet poll-tested whether its staff should order Chinese, Thai, or Vietnamese for dinner, there are indications the poll-obsessed, and well-funded campaign is again compiling data… Read More ›
STEVE TAVARES IS ANGRY-Episode 2: How Desley Brooks lures reporters into her car
Premiere Week continues with the realization that Oakland Councilmember Desley Brooks insists that reporters meet her at Eastmont Mall and jumped into her aging Lexus for interviews. Plus, in The Breakdown, Steve looks at the 15th Assembly District race and… Read More ›
Obama endorses Wicks
44 weighs in on AD15
AD15: Dems again offer no endorsement, but Wicks comes close
State and federal Democratic heavyweights do not weigh in on the race between Buffy Wicks and Jovanka Beckles
AD15: Beckles gets labor nod; candidates seek Dem backing on Saturday
Neither Beckles or Wicks received much support last January at the state Democratic Party pre-endorsement caucus
ELECTIONLINE: Buffy Wicks-managed biz didn’t pay taxes; Pamela Price’s Oakland treasure map
Cannabis interests upset with San Leandro Mayor Cutter may have a Plan B candidate
AD15: Beckles met with Khanna, but no endorsement
Jovanka Beckles is angling to be the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the East Bay, but Rep. Ro Khanna is apparently not ready to make a choice in AD15
‘I’m no puppet’: Beckles declares ‘victory’ in AD15
‘There’s no strings attached to my candidacy’: Jovanka Beckles is already attempting to contrast her campaign with the well-funded Buffy Wicks campaign.
AD15: It’s Wicks versus Beckles in November
Richmond Councilmember Jovanka Beckles completed her electoral comeback Thursday by securing the second spot in the 15th Assembly District fall election. With Alameda County concluding its vote count Wednesday night, Beckles appears to have an insurmountable 295-vote lead over Oakland… Read More ›
Watch as the East Bay Dems tear themselves apart over AD15
The fall AD15 race with presumptive front runner Buffy Wicks is already stoking the growing schism between mainline Dems and Berniecrats.
AD15: Kalb extends lead over Beckles for second place
Oakland Councilmember Dan Kalb’s slim lead over Richmond Councilmember Jovanka Beckles for the second spot in the 15th Assembly District’s fall election increased to 304 votes. The Alameda County and Contra Costa County Registrar’s offices updated their Election Night results… Read More ›
East Bay Primary Winners & Losers
This June Primary proved that sometimes you can win for losing and lose for winning.