Oakland’s Green Party Tea Partier

It’s been a while since I’ve written about the mayor’s race, partially because I’ve been super busy and partially because not much has happened in the race. But the candidates have been campaigning, raising money, and blogging. Yes, it looks like all of the mayoral candidates have started blogs so I thought I’d take the next several days to review them and bring some attention to what they’re writing about.

I’m starting off with Green Party candidate Don Macleay. Yeah, I know he’s unlikely to be a serious candidate against Don Perata, Jean Quan, and whomever else jumps in the race, but after reading his blog, I felt like it would be a disservice not to share some of his messages.

A poll just came out that showed that people who identify as part of the Tea Party movement mostly identify as Republicans, but some identify as independents and a few identify as Democrats. Yet in Oakland, the Tea Party mayoral candidate is actually a Green.

I’m guessing Macleay would contest my description of him as Tea Partier, but his blog backs up my description. In the past couple of months, here’s what he’s ranted about:

• Taxes are too high. The government came after him for not paying taxes, and the shock of it, they even penalized him for not paying taxes!
• Let’s delay BRT because there haven’t been enough public hearings – the Berkeley Daily Planet says so so it must be true.
• DUI checkpoints are impound scams.
• Parking is as big a problem as homelessness and crime! Let’s get rid of all parking meters and not charge for parking at all!

It would be unfair for me not to mention Macleay’s posts about some issues that come more from the Green Party than the Tea Party, like restorative justice programs, but I’m left to wonder how programs like this would be paid for in Macleay’s world. If we lower taxes, stop penalizing tax evaders (even if they’re small businesses), and make parking free, where is the money for social justice programs going to come from?

It looks like the Tea Party is alive and well in the Oakland mayoral race, even if disguised behind the Green Party label.