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...
Presidential candidate Barack Obama is now taking his teleprompter on the road...just when voters are demanding frank, unscripted answers in face of the current credit crisis.Obama’s teleprompter looked particularly out of place in Colorado as he addressed a crowd in a bull ring (yes, bull ring) yesterday in Pueblo, CO. The Obama campaign is haunted by the recent extemporaneous comments by the candidate. It’s taken a week Obama's off the cuff remark about lipstick on the pig to fade. His recent interviews have not gone well.Voter Confidence: The decision to curtail impromptu comments by the candidate could undermine confidence in some voters.The collapse of two of the five major investment banks and the large insurer AIG has rattled the country. Former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan has called the crisis a once in a lifetime event. Voters are evaluating what the two presidential candidates plan to do to stabilize the credit markets and stimulate the economy. They’re watching how the candidates demonstrate an inherent ability to handle crisis--- ‘grace under pressure.’Candidate's Confidence: Using a teleprompter’s for finely crafted speeches in a townhall setting or at campaign stops does not instill confidence, no matter how well the speech is written. It also undermines the candidate’s confidence to answer freely—this could be a problem in debates and interviews. In fact, it might have been the O’Reilly interview on Fox News, during the Republican convention, that convinced the Obama campaign to bring a teleprompter on the road. Obama tends to ruminate and deliberate before answering tough questions, showing a lack of forcefulness and conviction. Not healthy characteristics in the middle of a crisis.The Debates: The real problem is the debates. The more a candidate relies on prepared speeches, and worse, delivered with a teleprompter, the less prepared he or she will be in the throes of a nationally televised debate. So Obama may appear prepared and forceful reading from a teleprompter, but he may also find himself answering debate questions with memorized responses. Bottomline: A lack of knowledge or competence may peak through as debate moderators dig deeper for answers. As a one-term U.S. senator and his experience a campaign issue, that could be a deciding factor in the final weeks of the campaign, especially if the current crisis worsens.
San Francisco is an amazing city for comedy. You've heard of the "brain drain." Other countries around the world lose their best minds to the most attractive and interesting universities and big international companies.. Oxford, Stanford, Harvard, Google, Apple... I like to think of San Francisco as the chief culprit in the "comedy drain." And we've pulled another fine bunch in from all corners of the country with the first five five semi-finalists in the 2008 SF Comedy Competition. Ok, I haven't actually seen them, so I don't know how funny they are. But they're in good company with Brent Weinbach.
You’ve got to be kidding me with this Josh Howard-YouTube video-national anthem thing. (video below; profanity) Seriously.The video is from Allen Iverson’s charity flag football game, and, while the national anthem is playing in the background, Howard says: “I don’t celebrate this (expletive). I’m black.”
Apparently, this is all a very big deal because Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told the Dallas Morning News that the team had dealt with the issue at the time. The event was held in July.Cuban also said the issue would be addressed in training camp.What exactly is the issue?Talking during the national anthem? Feeling disenfranchised from the political process? Cursing?I can only assume the issue involves not respecting the flag, anthem, country or all of the above. Give me a break.Instead of focusing on Howard’s five-second cameo -- which occurred on the periphery, by the way -- how about focusing on the fact that Allen Iverson and his crew deserve credit and respect for having the national anthem in the first place? Go to an NBA game and you’ll see plenty of people talking or texting or sitting down during the anthem. Nobody is more disrespectful than television crews, who routinely break down sets and lights mid-Banner.
