Remember to vote, and then start thinking about the other special election

I hope you’ll join me in voting down all the state ballot initiatives today, but as soon as you do that, it will be time to start thinking about the next election. That’s right, on July 21st, Oakland will be holding its own special election to deal with our local budget crisis. (Wasn’t this supposed to be our year off from voting? Oh well.)

I’ll have endorsements out sometime before the election, but here’s a quick run down on what you’ll be asked to vote on:

• Marijuana tax: Creates a special tax rate of 1.2% for marijuana sales.
• Measure OO partial repeal: The passage of Measure OO last November added to the huge hole in Oakland’s General Fund so the Council voted on a repeal. After deadlocking twice on the vote, they ultimately compromised and voted for a partial repeal that would maintain part of the funding for Measure OO programs.
• Transfer tax: Corporate real estate transfers are currently not subject to the same transfer tax that other properties are. This measure would clarify the law so that the transfer tax applies to all properties.
• Hotel tax: Increases Oakland’s hotel tax from 11% to 13% to fund museums and arts.

If you’re ready to learn more, head to the Metropolitian Greater Oakland Democratic Club’s meeting this week that will focus on Oakland’s special election. The meeting’s on Thursday, May 21st from 7:30-9:00pm at the Dimond Library, 3565 Fruitvale Avenue. (I would have included this meeting on my weekly events listing but I still can’t figure out how to get on MGO’s email list so if anyone from the group is reading, please let me know.)

March 30-April 5 Oakland Political & Community Events

Tuesday, March 31st – Oakland City Council Meeting

Believe it or not, the Measure OO repeal ballot measure will be brought before the Council yet again (yes, this will be the third time). The short story is that at the last council meeting, votes were tied 4-4 on two motions – one to entirely repeal OO and the other to only partially repeal it. So now Mayor Dellums gets to break the tie, if he decides to show up to the meeting. If he doesn’t, the Council will have to vote again and will hopefully break this logjam. If you’re still awake when the Measure OO debate ends, you’ll also get to hear some updates on how the federal stimulus funds are being spent here in Oakland. See the full meeting agenda and check out my post about how to watch and understand City Council meetings if you need some guidance on how or where to view the meeting. The non-ceremonial parts of the meeting start at 7pm, and if you’d like to see the meeting in person, head to the Council Chambers in City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Wednesday, April 1st – Alameda County Democratic Central Committee Meeting

Every month, the Central Committee meets to discuss party business and to make plans for the future of the Democratic Party in Alameda County. This month, Frank Russo, Asssemblymember Nancy Skinner’s chief of staff, will be giving a May special election primer. If you’re interested in getting involved with the Democratic Party, this is a great way to do so. I’m an associate member for the 16th Assembly District, so you can find me at this meeting every month. The meeting will be held from 7-9pm in the San Leandro Main Library, Dave Karp Room, 300 Estudillo Ave., San Leandro, CA 94577.

Friday, April 3rd – Art Murmur

Check out the monthly evening of art gallery shows and entertainment in Uptown. While you’re there, make sure to stop by the brand new bars and restaurants in the area. Read my review of the art murmur here. The Art Murmur runs from 6-10pm but individual art gallery times vary. The galleries are mostly located in Uptown, between Broadway and Telegraph, and Grand and 29th. Check out the Murmur’s website for more info.

Saturday, April 4th – Jane Brunner’s April Community Advisory Meeting: City of Oakland’s Budget

As you probably know by now, Oakland’s budget situation is looking pretty grim. This Saturday, Council President Jane Brunner, Councilmember Jean Quan, Finance Committee Chair, and Marianna Marysheva, Assistant City Administrator will be providing an update on the budget and answering your questions. This meeting will be held from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon at Peralta Elementary School, 460 63rd Street. To learn more, call 238-7001.

Sunday, April 5th – NWPC-AN Susan B. Anthony Celebration, Honoring Kamala Harris

The National Women’s Political Caucus, Alameda North will be hosting their Susan B. Anthony Celebration, honoring Kamala Harris, San Francisc’s District Attorney who is running for state Attorney General. Drink wine, eat hors d’oeuvres, and participate in a silent auction. This event will be held from 4-6pm at the Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Center, 1630 Mountain Blvd, in Oakland.  Tickets are $50 and benefit the NWPC-AN PAC.

March 16-20 Oakland Political & Community Events

Monday, March 16th – Urban Sustainability & Community Development Forum

The Center for Community Innovation is sponsoring a lecture by UC Berkeley City and Regional Planning Professor Malo Hutson with discussant  Romel Pascual, LA Deputy Mayor for the Environment. The “green movement” has provided a window of opportunity for cities to develop in a more sustainable way. What role can the government, nonprofit and private sectors play in ensuring that our urban communities are more sustainable and equitable? This talk will explore the opportunities and challenges that exist in our current political and economic climate to enhance the quality of life within economically disadvantaged urban communities by focusing on four areas—economy, environment, equity and health. This forum will be held at 6pm in 106 Wurster Hall, located on UC Berkeley’s campus, just off Bancroft and College. No RSVPs necessary.  Admission is free and refreshments will be served.

Tuesday, March 17th – Oakland City Council Meeting

This week’s City Council meeting looks like it’s going to be another contentious and long one. They’ll be voting on measures that are set to be put on a special election ballot, including the hotel tax and the repeal of Measure OO. At the last Council meeting, they could not agree on the details of a Measure OO repeal so it should be interesting to see where the votes end up at this meeting. The Council will also vote on a resolution in support of Assembly Bill 312, which would require BART to create an office of citizen complaints for the BART police department.  See the full meeting agenda and check out my post about how to watch and understand City Council meetings if you need some guidance on how or where to view the meeting. The non-ceremonial parts of the meeting start at 7pm, and if you’d like to see the meeting in person, head to the Council Chambers in City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Thursday, March 19th – Oakland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Meeting

Oakland’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) meets monthly to discusses bicycle and pedestrian issues. The BPAC is extremely inclusive – any Oakland resident who attends three consecutive meetings becomes a voting member of the committee – so if you’re interested in bike and ped issues, you should consider attending. The agenda for this month’s meeting is not yet online, but I know that they’ll be voting on new officers. The BPAC will be meeting from 5:30-7:00pm in Hearing Room 4 of City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Thursday, March 19th – 2nd Annual We Love Old Oakland

On Thursday, join Old Oakland Neighbors in a community celebration. There will be entertainment, delicious food, music, stimulating conversation, and more in support of Old Oakland! Old Oakland Neighbors is a grassroots community group that welcomes residents, business owners and other concerned individuals in our neighborhood. Tickets for this event are $10 and include appetizers and door prizes. All ages are welcome. This event will be held from 6-10pm at the Washington Inn, 495 10th Street at Washington. For more info, email oldoakland@sbcglobal.net.

Friday, March 20th – Open House with Oakland’s State Legislators

Join Senator Loni Hancock, Assemblymember Nancy Skinner, and Assemblymember Sandre Swanson for a joint open house this Friday. Meet your state representatives and their staff, learn about State programs and services and celebrate the arrival of a new season. The open house will be held from 5:30-7:30pm at Elihu M. Harris State Building Atrium, 1515 Clay Street, Oakland (between 14th and 16th Streets). To RSVP, please email melissa.male@sen.ca.gov or call (510) 286-1333.

My brief California & Oakland endorsements

I hadn’t planned to write a post with my endorsements, partly because I feel like others have that covered, and partly because a full endorsement post would take forever to write. But I realized I was going to email some of my friends with my endorsements so I figured I’d post them here too.

(Note that I’m skipping a bunch of races, either because they’re not really contested – I don’t see how Barbara Lee or Sandre Swanson could benefit from my endorsement – or because I don’t feel strongly about the race.)

California Propositions:

I agree with Calitics on the propositions so I’m just posting their endorsements here (emphasis added to the propositions I’m especially concerned about). Visit their site for a full explanation of these endorsements.

Proposition	The Calitics Position	Calitics Tag
Prop 1A (High Speed Rail)	YES, YES, YES!	Prop 1A
Prop 2(Farm Animal Conditions)	Yes	Prop 2
Prop 3 (Children’s Hospital Bonds)	Yes	Prop 3
Prop 4 (Parental Notification Again)	No, NO, and NO AGAIN	Prop 4
Prop 5 (Drug Rehab Programs)	Yes	Prop 5
Prop 6 (Runner Anti-Gang)	NO	Prop 6
Prop 7 (Renewable Power Standard)	No	Prop 7
Prop 8 (Anti-Marriage)	NO!	Prop 8
Prop 9 (Runner Victim’s Rights)	No	Prop 9
Prop 10 (Pickens Natural Gas)	No	Prop 10
Prop 11 (Redistricting)	No	Prop 11
12 (Veterans Bonds)	Yes	Prop 12

Oakland City Council At-Large: Rebecca Kaplan!!!

I’ve committed many hours of my time to getting Rebecca Kaplan elected so I hope you’ll join me in voting enthusiastically for her. If you need a reminder of why to vote for Rebecca, check out my initial endorsement from the June primary or my more recent explanation of why I’m voting FOR Rebecca, and not against Kerry Hamill.

Measures N, NN & OO: No!

I’m voting no on all the Oakland measures. While they might sound like they’re good ideas – increasing teacher pay, getting more police, and giving money to youth programs – they’re not!

Others have already done a great job explaining why you should vote these measures down, so go check these out:

• No on N: The Oakland Tribune had a good editorial on why Measure N is not the right choice.
• No on NN:dto510 sums up why you should vote no on NN.
• No on OO: You really MUST read V Smoothe’s blog post on this, where she explains why Measure OO is fiscally irresponsible and altogether bad news for Oakland.

Measures VV & WW: Yes!

If you appreciate buses and parks, vote yes on Measure VV & Measure WW. If you missed it, check out my full endorsement post on VV. Then, head over to A Better Oakland to read V Smoothe’s endorsement of WW, including a very detailed list of how Oakland would benefit from its passage.

AC Transit Director: Chris Peeples

Chris has been on the AC Transit Board for years and has done a great job. He thoroughly impressed me at the East Bay Young Democrats endorsement meeting. His opponent, Joyce Roy, has staked her campaign on complaining about Van Hool buses (which I love) and fighting BRT (which I cannot wait for). This choice is easy. Check out Chris Peeples’ and Joyce Roy’s answers to the East Bay Young Dems questionnaire for more reasons to vote for Chris.

Berkeley Measure KK: NO!!!!

Yeah, I know, this blog’s about Oakland, not Berkeley, but I couldn’t resist. KK’s anti-environment and anti-transit. That’s why the entire city council, the mayor, the Sierra Club, the League of Women Voters, and the Democratic Party are opposing it. If you need more reasons to vote no, check out the No on KK website or read the short opinion piece I wrote for the Daily Cal about KK.