Posted on 06/19/2006 7:54:25 AM PDT by SmithL
The election of former Congressman Ron Dellums as Oakland's mayor marks the revival of a black-progressive-labor coalition that many thought was on its last legs after eight years of Jerry Brown.
Not only did the revived alliance win the mayor's slot, but the Dellums groundswell also helped the congressman's former aide Sandre Swanson win the Democratic primary for the East Bay's 16th Assembly District, now held by the soon-to-be termed-out Wilma Chan.
"The power of the people beat the power of the machine," said former Alameda County Supervisor Mary King, now assistant general manager at AC Transit and herself an alumna of Dellums' political academy, having served on his local advisory committee before winning election to office.
"And if you add in the votes that went to Nancy Nadel (a City Council member and philosophical ally of Dellums who ran third in the mayor's race), then you have a multiethnic coalition that must be reckoned with," said businessman and activist Geoffrey Pete, one of the first to urge, "Run, Ron, Run."
If the past is any indication, decisions in the Dellums administration will be made through consensus -- a sharp contrast to Brown's single-handed style of governing.
As political operations go, the Dellums group -- forged in the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s and '70s -- has always been run more as an ideological family than a machine.
. . . Still, over the years, the Dellums coalition was always a major player in Oakland politics -- that is, until age and the city's changing demographics took their toll, with an influx of Latinos, Asians, gays and young whites lessening the African American old guard's clout.
"They felt they were truly slipping under Jerry Brown,"
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I used to work in Oakland and not that long ago.
With Red Ron now in charge, Oaklanders had better gird their grids for some real Communist renovation. I'd move but then, I didn't like what was going on in 2004 so I moved then.
Sorry, Oaklanders, but you've brought this one on yourselves. Get out while you still can.
Well, now I have to scratch Oakland from my list of vacation destinations.
/sarcasm
God help Oakland. Dellum mentored one of the most despicable of all Congresswomen.
Sea change?! One ultra liberal for anotheris a change. This is news?
Moonbeam Jerry to Red Ron. Yawn.
What's next a tsunami of a change to Willie Brown?
Oakland going from Moonbeam to Red Star.
say what you want about Jerry Brown, but at least he is an independant thinker and provided some leadership. My hunch is Dellums is just a hard-core socialist - bad news for Oakland.
Mayor Moonbeam looks like Tom DeLay compared to Dellums.
Nah, Dellums will make Brown look like a Bircher....
Not a good time to be a white suburban crime victim in Oaktown.
It's a sea change, alright. As in bottom of the sea. RIP, Oakland.
A sea change? This election vote count dragged on for weeks before Dellums was named the winner. Why is it that Democrat wins by slim margins are "sea changes" but Republican wins by larger margins are signs of trouble for Republicans?
-PJ
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