Stark, Obama criticisms

Last week, the Alameda Democratic Club had a visit from our representative in Congress, Pete Stark.

Speaking at a Democratic Club, as opposed to a town hall, it was a friendly audience. Most of the questions were thought-provoking questions, and he had decent answers to most of them.

Unfortunately, it was crystal clear that Mr. Stark did not understand the issue of "Net Neutrality." His answer was a rambling, incoherent non-response —  the kind that make people hate politicians. I wish he had instead said something like "I'm really not familiar with that issue; let me get back to you on that."

Or better yet, our representative in Congress really should be familiar with this issue. Perhaps he can look into the criticism that some of his fellow Democrats in Congress had on the recent Google/Verizon proposal.

On another note, I wanted to make sure that people read an open letter to President Obama (PDF Link) by the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party, of which I have been a proud member since shortly after I started being a delegate to the state party. This letter really sums up the intense disappointment I have had with the Obama administration.

A small excerpt:

You promised to work for meaningful health care reform – we got a woeful compromise. You committed to seek to reign in an out-of-control financial sector – we got third best. You seemed to be in favor of winding down unnecessary and increasingly inept and unwinnable foreign adventures – we got an escalation of an untenable and unending war. You promised to close Guantanamo and end don't ask, don't tell – neither has seen much of your efforts. You campaigned against the Bush imperial presidency, and then you expanded it. We could go on.

Wow. Please take a moment to read the whole letter.

Two or Three City Council Openings

It appears that there are going to be a lot of candidates for City Council. It's actually frustrating to me; there are more candidates I'd like to support than the two openings can handle!

However, it occurred to me that there is a chance that the next mayor we elect may leave a fresh opening on the council, depending on whether their term is still active or not.

I checked with the City Clerk, and she referred me to Section 2-7(A)) of the City Charter:

Vacancies caused by the election of a Councilmember to the office of Mayor shall be filled by the candidate not elected for a contested Council seat who received the highest number of votes, provided said candidate received votes from at least 10 percent (10%) of the total number of voters.

Very interesting. So this means that if the mayoral election leaves an opening, there could be three people joining the council (as new or returning members).