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Oakland's California Assemblyperson Sandre Swanson took time to talk with me at BSmith's event on Saturday as part of the Obama Inauguration Celebration. He explained what the then-moment-to-come meant to him.

This is a video of a fundraiser I attended on July 1st at Yoshi's In San Francisco. The hosts of the event were Hala Hijazi, the President of Professionals VIP, and Former and Legendary Speaker of The Assembly and Mayor of San Francisco Willie L. Brown, Jr. Speaker Brown was at his best, holding court, and at the end of her speech, he encouraged the crowd to "Drink. Drink. Drink. And then let me represent you for driving drunk!" Brown is now an attorney at Kay and Merkle. It was a great turn out, with everyone from Art Torres the head of the California Democratic Party, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and several SF supervisors like Aaron Peskin and Sophie Maxwell, to Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, and business leaders like Michael Johnson, who owns Yoshi's in San Francisco to Kofi Bonner of Lennar, and Steven Kay of Kay and Merkle, and my friend Beth Schnitzer who heads marketing for Pier 39 and Melissa Galliani who's the local sales manager of KFRC.

The as yet unwritten and not covered story of this election and of Oakland politics is the steady and sure success of Oakland's first elected City Attorney John Russo. Russo just won his third term as Oakland City Attorney unopposed. John was my friend long before he became either councilmember or the city's lawyer, so I have watched and witnessed the principaled moves that got him to his current level of success. Moreover, the simple fact that I have been and still am his friend speaks volumes for his loyalty to those he's known for a long time, even as he rises in political circles. It also means that we haven't done anything to really piss off each other over 17 years. Wow, that long? Russo's had few misteps, the only one being his decision to challenge Sandre Swanson for the California Assembly seat Swanson has filled well and just successfully retained. Otherwise, John's success has been remarkable. But where John could have failed while if office, he

Assembly bill seeks to limit state oversight by Kerry Hamill, North Oakland School Board Member - Rockridge News, January Oakland’s new state Assembly member, Sandre Swanson, will likely spark some long overdue discussions in Sacramento this year about the future governance of Oakland public schools. On Swanson’s first day as a member of the Oakland delegation, he introduced a bill which would put the school board back in control and protect the district’s students from any risky financial decisions by keeping budget veto power in the hands of a state-designated trustee. If passed, the bill would allow the school board to resume power in 2008 and select a new superintendent. To that end, current state administrator Kimberly Statham will likely be on a short list of possible candidates. She continues to earn high marks in the school community for her ability to listen, accept good advice and embrace changes that have worked well for students. Central to any discussion about restoring lo