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Jerry Brown Handed A
Defeat |
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"But, unlike the City Council,
which has almost totally acquiesced to the Mayor's wishes, as he tortures
some sort of mandate from the people out of his election, this body said
no. Not only did they said no, they openly declared that it was a conflict
of interest because he would profit from gentrification, and that he was
expressly barred from decision making around this matter of gentrification
of the downtown."
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It
has been said that if you
want to hide something, place it in the library or in open view. Well,
that may be exactly what Jerry Brown did in Oakland, and it may be
that it is slowly becoming clear to most Oaklanders that they have
been deceived by him into thinking that he had or has the interest
of Oakland at heart. But look at his background. From nowhere, Jerry Brown moved to Oakland
a few years ago, bought property in downtown Oakland, near Jack London
Square, then got himself elected to mayor--an act that should have been
suspicious to most citizens of Oakland. Politicians do not degenerate, unless
they are kicked out of office or go to jail; someone who has been
governor of California, campaigned for Presidency of the United States,
would go backward to become the mayor of a city as small as Oakland. So
what is has motive then? A few years ago, Jerry Brown, with his
familiar political bravado, swaggered into Oakland, talked his way into
power, and has been seeking more of it each time there was some occasion
for its discussion. He wants power over the Port of Oakland, he
wants power over the School Board, he wants power to gentrify the
downtown, and in so doing, make a personal financial killing off his
property that he bought low and intends to sell high. And he has
used every occasion of this power grab to garner media coverage of
himself. But now it seems as if the thinly covered
Brown plan is starting to become unwrapped, and his quest for more power
is starting to be halted. Friday, the Fair Political Practices
Commission denied an unusual request of Brown. He went before the Commission and asked
them to declare that his conflict of interest in his attempt, as mayor,
to railroad gentrification of the downtown, not a conflict of
interest. But, unlike the City Council, which has almost totally
acquiesced to the Mayor's wishes, as he tortures some sort of mandate
from the people out of his election, this body said no. Not only
did they said no, they openly declared that it was a conflict of
interest because he would profit from gentrification, and that he was
expressly barred from decision making around this matter of
gentrification of the downtown. Of course, he used his position as Mayor
of Oakland, saying that he was to conduct the business of the City. They
ruled against. Seemingly, taking their lead and possibly
sensing the turning of attitudes of the citizens against this talking
and doing little Mayor, the Oakland School Board refused to wait, as
Brown has suggested, in their selection of a new Superintendent of
Schools. Previously, he had prevailed on them to accept Musgrove as the
interim Superintendent. It seems as if the luster of this mayor is
wearing off, even with the Oakland Tribune Newspaper's editorial that he
should be allowed to appoint Port Commission members. Just as the School Board found its legs,
the City Council should reclaim its legs as well. There should be some
elected body to stand up to this mayor and say work for the City of
Oakland, not for Jerry Brown's own personal interests. As of this
date, he has done little more than grab for more power and talk, and if
history is any guide, after his term in office, he will have done no
more than that.[]
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