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Oakland Mayoral Candidate Marcie Hodge is suing the East Bay Express over articles and blog posts the Perata Community College Board Member and her family asserts have been defamatory . Prior to a wide-ranging video interview, where the Oakland Mayor's Race candidate talks emotionally about the East Bay Express coverage in addition to her run, Hodge explained and later confirmed for the record that her sister, a lawyer, filed a lawsuit in Alameda County specifically targeting the East Bay Express . What triggered the lawsuit was "the last straw:" last week's entry by East Bay Express writer Robert Gammom asserting that Hodge had been violating campaign laws; Hodge told this blogger her campaign finance report would be filed this week. This is what Robert wrote: Finally, it should be noted that mayoral candidate Marcie Hodge has yet to file a campaign finance report as required by law during the election. Hodge has spent significant sums on billboards, mail...

In this installment of The Oakland Mayor's Race Chronicles, this blogger just received a call from Oakland Mayoral Candidate Greg Harland, and boy did he have a lot to say on the record. First, Harland was really pissed with something he thinks was written by Bob Gammon of The East Bay Express , but appears on the The Anybody But Perata Website, which is written and managed by J. Douglas Allen-Taylor.  This is it: Greg Harland Reverses Field, Now Says Perata Is His Second Choice For Mayor Of Oakland Oakland mayoral candidate Greg Harland has suddenly changed his position on Don Perata, telling voters at a Thursday night candidates forum at Holy Names College that Perata is now his second choice for mayor of Oakland. Harland said he felt Perata had the experience and was "well-qualified" to become Oakland's next mayor. With all Oakland voters getting second and third choices for mayor this year in the city's new "ranked choice" voting format, c...

With just over one week before the election, this blogger went precinct walking for family friend Libby Schaaf, who's running for the Oakland City Council District 4 seat (Oakland Hills - Montclair). I told Libby she should run for Mayor of Oakland long ago, but she's taking the step-ladder approach. If elected, and she really deserves your vote, she's going to make an excellent Oakland councilmember, but we've got to go door-to-door to do it. I've got to admit, it was fun. What was most enjoyable was meeting the people who make up the area around the Montclair Shopping District. We started with a coffee-table meetup at Montclair Park, led by Oakland Councilmember Jane Brunner, who gave us a good pep talk to get us going. More along the lines of what to say and not to say, than anything else. Meanwhile, a group of joggers went on their circuit, and people were just getting out to run errands. We were on our way. A Lot Of "Joe Tuman For Mayor...

Michael Kilian, candidate for Oakland City Auditor, submits Conflict of Interest Complaint to Oakland Public Ethics Commission On October 10, 2010, Michael Kilian, who is opposing Courtney Ruby in the campaign for Oakland City Auditor, submitted a compl aint to the Oakland Public Ethics Commission alleging that Inspection Services Manager Antoinette Renwick failed to report a familial relationship with her department's primary blight abatement/cleanup contractor, Arthur Young Debris Removal Service, which constitutes a conflict of interest. Kilian states this one example of nepotism appears to have cost the City more than $1 million each year in cleanup contracts. Renwick, who became Inspection Services Manager in 2002, appears to have retired October 15, five days after Kilian's complaint was filed with PEC Executive Director Dan Purnell. Courtney Ruby's nepotism audit does not appear to have detected or corrected this example of nepotism. A 2007 audit of Public Wo...

Sierra Club thinks Joe Tuman isn't "viable" Oakland At-Large Councilmember and Oakland Mayor's Race candidate called this blogger regarding the blog post entitled " Oakland Mayor's Race: Rebecca Kaplan Fears Joe Tuman ," where it was reported that Kaplan recommended that Joe Tuman not be the second choice for those voting for her. That information came from the Bay Area Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club's email forum, where long time Oakland local business supporter, political activist, and friend Pamela Drake wrote this: Rebecca Kaplan contacted me and said that she is NOT recommending Tuman and that she refers voters to the East Bay Express article to make their own decisions. I apologize for repeating an incorrect report, Pamela So Rebecca's phone call was puzzling, but as they say on the street, it is what it is. What Kaplan said to this blogger is that she encourages voters to make the selection they think is best. Also, Kaplan note...

Greg Harland One big problem that's plagued the Oakland Mayor's Race and that apparently still exists is how some Bay Area media organizations ignore some of the candidates running for the office of Mayor of Oakland. That practice has angered Oakland Mayoral Candidate Greg Harland because he wan't contacted by either the Oakland Tribune / Bay Area News Group or The San Francisco Chronicle . Harland was upset to the point where he referred to one post as saying "that says it all," and it was a column by Mercury News / Oakland Tribune columnist Tammerlin Drummond which reads: "We began by whittling down the list of 10 candidates to the four who actually merited voter consideration: Kaplan, Perata, Councilwoman Jean Quan and political analyst/university professor Joe Tuman."  Ok, let's let loose here. That statement is a freaking joke. The only reason Joe Tuman was placed in the Tribune's "merited voter consideration" hoppe...

The Oakland Mayor's Race is heating up, and with Joe Tuman in the spotlight, yet again. All of this because Tuman has become a serious threat to Mayoral Candidates Don Perata, and Councilmembers Rebecca Kaplan and Jean Quan, the elected officials considered front runners in the Oakland Mayor's Race. Yesterday in this space it was reported that Tuman so frustrated San Francisco Chronicle Reporter Matthai Kuruvali that he placed his head in his hands and on the table in a photo that, until closer inspection, looked like Kuruvali was banging his head. While the full report on the "heated discussion" is coming soon, knowing Tuman and the overall landscape, as well as what information's come in, the tone of the conversation between Tuman and Kuruvali was undoubtedly shaped by Kuruvali's desire to prove that when it comes to Oakland politics and policy, he thinks Tuman's a novice. Knowing Joe, he never relented to Kuruvali's dogged attempt to trip hi...