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There's a lot of talk about the possibility of California State Senator Don Perata running for Mayor of Oakland.  I love Don.  Great person who's done a lot for California, the East Bay, and Oakland.  But I think Perata running for Mayor of Oakland would be a big mistake. I think he'd lose.   The seeds of my educated guess based on study were planted in the last election of two weeks ago when, Oaklanders voted for "change" candidates:  Barack Obama for President;  Rebecca Kaplan for At Large City Council; Dennis Hayashi for Alameda County Superior Court Judge.   The last person, public interest lawyer Dennis Hayashi, should be of note because he ran against San Leandro Prosecutor Phil Daly.  Daly was backed by Perata and a host of local judges -- and lost.   By contrast, Hayashi was supported by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, California Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, and a host of liberal elected officials.  (Liberalism's back, so I'm using it instead of &

In what has to be the greatest example of editorial contrast in mainstream media, we have the Oakland Tribune's loving praise for Senate Pro Tem Don Perata's political style during sessions on the California budget, and then East Bay Express reporting on his rumored investigation by the FBI. On that, Robert Gammon, who was with the Tribune until about six years ago, seems to have spent much of his adult life trying to get Perata for this of that. If not him, then it was the SF Bay Guardian for a time takikng wacks at him. It's like an old saw. It can only sell papers for so long. Now, the industry's in free fall. But I digress. You be the judge. Here's the Oakland Tribune : Perata takes "textured" approach to foes By Steven Harmon MediaNews Sacramento Bureau Article Last Updated: 07/14/2008 06:54:25 AM PDT SACRAMENTO — Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata has what experts say is a textured approach to dealing with his Republican foes on the budget. Th