It's time for Oakland to give Dellums the boot
From the day Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums took office nearly two years ago, residents have witnessed a steady decline in city government function as public confidence has withered.The city's administrative structure and finances are in deep distress. In the coming weeks, the city's elected officials must make significant cuts to balance a budget deficit that has grown to $50 million since the start of the fiscal year less than three months ago.There's also the question of who's in charge at City Hall after Dellums, under pressure, fired City Administrator Deborah Edgerly amid allegations that she tipped her nephew, a city employee who repaired parking meters, to a police investigation of a violent street gang.Facing those and other problems, Dellums rarely seems to work a full week. Last week, Oakland developer Phil Tagami made light of that on television station KTVU, calling on the mayor, who earns nearly $200,000 a year, to fill out a weekly time card to show his dedication to get something done.Citizens have waited for their mayor to lead. Instead, many say he's let them down. Now the private conversations at cocktail parties and neighborhood block parties are getting more public - with the subject of a mayoral recall coming up more frequently.Resident Joshua McEwen launched an unofficial recall petition online a few weeks ago to test support for a real recall of the mayor. Nearly 500 residents have signed it, and several of them posted their opinions of how the mayor has failed.Other politicians have paid the price for failing to deliver. California voters revolted to oust Gov. Gray Davis in a recall election five years ago after he got the state into an energy and fiscal crisis and raised vehicle license fees.
Recall would be tough
But even with what appears to be citywide frustration with Dellums,
launching a successful recall effort is an uphill battle that requires
money, organization and follow-through. Efforts to recall mayors in
Kansas City, Mo., and Omaha, Neb., failed to qualify for the ballot
earlier this year.Still, those who want Dellums to step up or step down - either on his own or by the will of the voters - are making their case.If they get serious, they'd need to collect about 20,000 signatures
from registered voters in the city to qualify for the next citywide
election in 2010. A special election sooner would require about 30,000
signatures, officials said.This mess was caused by two fundamental mistakes. Dellums made the
first one. The retired East Bay congressman had planned to say no to
supporters who wanted him to run for mayor - then made a last-minute
decision to run in 2005.In June 2006, the voters who helped Dellums win a bare majority
against City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente mistakenly confused
his idealism and rhetoric with the skills and abilities to carry out
the job of mayor in a big city with loads of problems. Oakland cannot continue to limp along without established plans for
redevelopment, economic growth, crime reduction, housing and other
essential city services.CONTINUE READING...
