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This is a quick supplemental and update to this blogger's last Oakland Mayor's Race blog post on Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan's call to the Oakland Sierra Club Chapter's Volunteer Chairman Kent Lewandowski, asking if he and the organization would open the scheduled Wednesday, August 25th Oakland Green Mayoral Forum (from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM) at East Bay Community Foundation 353 Frank Ogawa Plaza Oakland, CA) to all candidates. Well, after all of that, The Sierra Club cleaned it's own air and made it fresh-smelling again , well, to everyone except the Oakland Climate Action Coalition. (Geez, how many non-profits do we have!?) A email was just received from Kent Lewandowski, which reads as follows: Zennie, We are proceeding with the forum and are inviting all the candidates. I have the following candidates listed on the registrar of voters filing report (see page 22): 1. ARNOLD FIELDS 2. DON MACLEAY 3. DON PERATA 4. GREG HARLAND 5. JEAN QUAN 6. JOE...

As this blogger has written, The (yeah, capital "T") Oakland Mayor's Race is going to get even more interesting and today, Thursday, is proof. Pay attention to this blog post if you enjoy laughter and guffaws, and you know you do. First, Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan phoned to say she called Kent Lewandowski, volunteer Chairperson for the Northern Alameda County Group of the Sierra Club, San Francisco Bay Chapter, and the author of what's still the most awful email in Oakland Politics ever seen by this blogger, to ask him to include all of the candidates. I must admit, this is funny If you're just getting wind of this fart the Sierra Club broke, Kent Lewandowski sent an email to almost every candidate in the Oakland Mayor's Race (except Arnie Fields), to inform them and by "cc" this blogger that because they were not "viable" candidates, they would not be part of the Wednesday, August 25th "Oakland Green Mayoral Forum." ...

Don Perata  Breaking Oakland Mayor's Race news! This blogger just received a late night email announcing that Former State Senator Don Perata will skip the planned Sierra Club Forum for Wednesday, August 24th. Perata Campaign Manager Rhys Williams explains that... Senator Perata will not participate in forums that aren't open to all candidates. Now that there is an official list of candidates, Senator Perata believes it is only fair, democratic, and respectful that all those voices have an opportunity to be heard. That was one goal of Oakland's new system of voting. Readers of this space will recall that The Sierra Club Volunteer Chairperson Kent Lewandowski, sent what this blogger called an awful email explaining that The Sierra Club was going to exclude candidates it considered "not viable." Again, The Oakland Mayor's Race has thirteen candidates: Tim Brown, Terrance Candell, Arnold Fields, Sharika Gregory, Greg Harland, Marcie Hodge, Counc...

Earlier, Kent Lewandowski, volunteer Chairperson Northern Alameda County Group of The Sierra Club, San Francisco Bay Chapter, wrote a rather, and this blogger will state again, stupid email to the Oakland Mayor's Race candidates Kent says aren't "viable." Which is why this blogger's not returning from Georgia in time to attend it: If you've not seen the email from Kent representing the Sierra Club, here, again, it is: from Kent to candell1@yahoo.com, dluvcan@yahoo.com, candidate@macleay4mayor.org, info@arniefields.org, info@harland4mayor.com, mhodge@peralta.edu, LL.Young@prurealty.com cc zennie@zennie62.com date Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 12:41 AM subject Green Oakland Mayoral Forum - Sierra Club signed-by gmail.com hide details 12:41 AM (21 hours ago) Dear Candidate, Thank you for your interest in participating in the "Green Oakland" forum sponsored by the Sierra Club. We made the decision to invite the 3 candidates who are...

In the wake of Oakland police budget cuts and crime rate that's not adjusting for the city's dismal budget, the City of Oakland and neighbors in Cleveland Heights, also known as Haddon Hill, consider private security as a solution. But first, what's Cleveland Heights / Haddon Hill? It's a neighborhood bordered by Park Boulevard, E 18th Street, Lakeshore, and The Mac Arthur Freeway, and contains the now-closed Parkway Theater and The Merritt Bakery. It has an estimated population of over 7,400 people according to City-Data.com . Oakland Coucilmember Pat Kernighan issued this email to the Cleveland Heights Yahoo Group : Dear Cleveland Heights neighbors, I am writing to ask for your input to help out the residents in a nearby area. The north part of Beat 17Y has been hit hard in the last month by very brazen robbers. The neighbors there are interested in hiring a private security patrol. I recall that during one of the earlier crime waves on Haddon Hill, ...

Terrance Candell's wife is really upset  The Oakland Mayor's Race has thirteen candidates: Tim Brown, Terrance Candell, Arnold Fields, Sharika Gregory, Greg Harland, Marcie Hodge, Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, Don Macleay, Niki Okuk, Don Macleay, Councilmember Jean Quan, Joe Tuman, and Larry Lionel Young Jr. As of this writing, the next two announced forums will only have three of the 13 candidates able to present their case to be the next Mayor of Oakland. The Sierra Club and The Oakland League of Women Voters forums have some unique, clubby, and frankly discriminatory methods of excluding what it sees as "lesser" candidates running for Mayor of Oakland. Reportedly, from conversations with a number of candidates, the League of Women Voters wants each candidate to have donations from over 400 donors, or 427. What that has to do with being a great mayoral election candidate, I have no idea. In the case of The Sierra Club, they're reportedly taking the...

Apparently the news that her Oakland City Council District Two Seat Competitor Jennifer Pae raised over $30,000 has driven her to the bar (just kidding). Oakland City Councilperson Pat Kernighan's hosting a gathering at Era Art Bar on Grand Avenue, just 40 feet from Broadway in Downtown Oakland, where she's buying cocktails for her friends and supporters - uh, with a donation. If you follow this space, you recall the last political event this blogger attended at Era Art Bar: the Blogger Party for Libby Schaaf, who's running for the Oakland City Council District Four seat.  In fact, here's the video: But - not that I'm complaining - you had to buy your drinks, which is great for controlling cocktail consumption!  (And The Era Art Bar's becoming the venue of choice for Oakland political events of late, with Libby, Pat and Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan holding shindigs there.) Pat Kernighan This news of "Complimentary Drinks" emphasize...