Save Oakland from 
Jerry Brown Again

Mayor Jerry Brown has announced that he will stand again for mayor and has filed the forms to run. To use his words, "I enjoy the work, and there's a lot to do." 

Jerry Brown's standing again for mayor is not new although his filing to actually run is new. He has aligned himself with Don Perata to try to drive away significant challengers. But Oakland is in need of a significant challenger to this rerun of Jerry Brown--Wilson Riles, Jr., isn't what a significant challenger would look and sound like.

First, Jerry Brown has shown himself to be as many stated he was from the beginning of his campaign--out only to lift Jerry Brown's name into media lights and not Oakland's. Furthermore, he has shown that Oakland has no opinion that Brown is bound to regard. 

The statement that he enjoys the work is about as close to what he is doing in Oakland as he, the strange politician, will get. What he enjoys is the  media coverage and the free ride to Cuba, Mexico, etc., at the City's expense, even though the connection of  these two nations have with Oakland is thin to none.

He enjoys putting forth his ideas without any regard to what Oakland wants or needs--the military recruiters in Oakland--get as many of those young Black males out of Oakland as we can; a casino on the military base; a military academy--even though his own appointee to the school board said that the mayor's military academy is a racist idea--and, of course, the Oakland Unified School District and county schools both turned down his academy. Because Oaklanders don't have any valid ideas worthy of his regard, he went to the State and got their approval for a military academy that Oakland and the county had said they didn't want.

Second, Brown has gotten favorable White media coverage while the city of Oakland, in the same report, has gotten negative media coverage. He has been cast as some type of geek in a third world class city that he is attempting to bring to first class status. Government magazine had Brown on its cover to show that there is this smart fellow in Oakland trying to help poor Oakland out of San Francisco's shadow. And always, when the White media covers Oakland, they give him good marks. But, in spite of their wishes to have a White mayor in Oakland, we have to live with this do-nothing White mayor.

But Brown's whiteness is not his problem, Elihu Harris was/is Black and he was a do-nothing mayor, much like Brown, but without the favorable media. But Brown's Whiteness is his unspoken sale. The problem with Brown is Jerry Brown--he is dull, his interest is on himself and his friends, and although glib, he is no Willie Brown, regardless of his strange glibness and their mutual last names. 

Jerry Brown is only in Oakland to feather his nest--political, media, and financial. Some years ago, he bought a building in downtown Oakland and has led the fight to gentrify downtown. The State Fair Political Committee  said no to his conflict of interest effort of promoting his downtown gentrification because he was too financially vested--he stands to make a mint; that's probably his overall strategy; he bought low, and he will sell high, but not before he has sold Oakland for his own use. He took the SFPC to court and won, but his suit is evidence that Brown wants to do as he pleases and not abide by rules he set for others.

His strange house mate and long term partner has been charged with sexual harassment by a female employee in a position that Brown has placed him  to ensure that he has a six-figure salary while doing nothing or little to earn it.  Jacques Barzaghi, Brown's thin, bald, dressed in black friend frequents the Ichi Japan restaurant at lunchtime, but no one really knows what he does. 

In sum, although he has filed to rerun, Jerry Brown is using Oakland to advance himself to some prominent position in state or federal government; he is using Oakland to feather his own financial nest; he is using Oakland to help his friends; and he is using Oakland to always command media attention--media attention is the life-blood of a politician. Oakland can be used because, as Brown plotted and knew when he moved to Oakland a few years ago, Oakland is easy picking.

The fact is, Brown has done nothing for Oakland. He talked about bringing more people downtown. That has occurred. So what? He has brought more Whites to Oakland. Is that somehow good? Why? 

His old name--Mr. Moonbean-- has resurfaced because he still comes up with moonbeam ideas—military recruiters in Oakland, a military academy nobody wants, gambling casinos on the old army base, etc. Brown's brand of strangeness, Oakland can live without--he is an embarrassment to the city. []

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