When I moved to the Bay Area in 2000, I was amused to have Governor Moonbeam as my mayor.  At election time, I was suprised to find myself voting for the guy because Jerry Brown actually was the more mainstream of the two candidates (that’s mainstream for the Bay Area–both candidates loudly proclaimed their vegetarianism during the 2002 race).

With Brown termed out of office, it looked like City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente was going to be elected Oakland’s new mayor in 2006.  De La Fuente has been madly holding neighborhood coffee klatches around the city and many people I know, even the few Republicans around here, have given him good marks after meeting him.  The multiple rape charges against his grown son do pose a problem, but it is likely that voters may not hold the father accountable for the son’s sins. 

But De La Fuente’s easy mayoral race got tougher when former Congressman Ron Dellums decided to run for the job.  His left-wing “progressive” agenda has thrilled some Oakland residents who think the mayor’s office should somehow be more preoccupied with establishing a government-run health care program than bringing new business and jobs to town.

The San Francisco Chronicle carried a quote this morning from one such wide-eyed Dellums fan:  "He’s the best politician California has ever had and can represent all of Oakland without bias," Oakland resident Sandra Varner said in an e-mail to The Chronicle. He can operate "at a level that will bring business development and new revenue streams. Most importantly, I feel he can implement a model health care plan for everyone. He’s a visionary and full of integrity."

The best politician California has ever had!  This is why we Bay Area Republicans walk around feeling like fish out of water 98 percent of the time!

Dellums agrees that health care should be a major part of the mayor’s agenda, telling the Chronicle, “We need to deal with poor people," he said. "We as a society, as a city, have a responsibility to reach out and help people. Health care to me is at the very foundation of community."

Interestingly, people don’t seem to see Dellums as carpetbagger, although he just returned to the Bay Area six months ago after spending 35 years in Washington, D.C. (27 years in Congress and eight years as a lobbyist.)

A recent local poll showed Dellums with 40 percent support, compared to De La Fuente’s 21 percent.  Another 16 percent supported Nancy Nadel, a city council woman in Dellum’s mold, and 23 percent of the people were undecided. 

The folks around here love to raise their own taxes.  In nearly every election since I moved here, there has been some tax or fee increase passed.  I can hardly wait to see the size of the tax increase Dellums would propose to pay for his beloved universal health care program.  That may finally drive me “through the tunnel” to Contra Costa County.  It’s bad enough that Barbara Lee represents me in Congress; I don’t think I could take Ron Dellums as my mayor.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 7th, 2006 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.