DeHaan Supporters Display Sour Grapes, Paranoia

This afternoon, Mayoral candidate Doug DeHaan and a few dozen of his supporters rallied in front of the fire station, apparently to protest a number of things that they didn't like, such as some kind of supposed manipulation by SunCal of the Alameda Firefighters.

Showing signs proclaiming "Go Home SunCal" and "Dirty Politics", the rally marks a turning point for DeHaan's campaign, switching into "negative campaigning" mode.



I am guessing that the original intent of the rally was to protest against the firefighters' union for their endorsement of Marie Gilmore. Of course, I'm sure that if DeHaan's campaign were to get such a prime endorsement, they would proudly display it on their supporters page. That's one of the big functions of unions — they endorse candidates that they think will do a good job. (In fact, apparently they endorsed Gilmore despite her clearly telling them that she was vehemently opposed to one of their pet issues!)

So if this was the idea behind the rally, it's just a case of sour grapes.

Judging by the crew that assembled and the signs they carried, though, it seems that these particular supporters of DeHaan are more interested in showing off their paranoia about SunCal. Really pathetic, guys.

Perennial City Council Candidate Ash Jones showed off his sign, apparently he thinks that the election is being "cooked" somehow.

I'm sure that this group assembled to get some attention. However, I think that mostly what they are going to get from this stunt is backblow.

I think that DeHaan is a good person, even if I don't agree with his passive-agressive political tendencies — thus I can't support him for Mayor. I'm guessing that he was convinced by political consultants that this would be a good idea for his campaign. Hint: It isn't.



Naturally, there were no signs protesting the shenanigans at City Hall such as the phantom client of the City Attorney that had her proclaim the Fourth of July Parade as being an inappropriate venue for free speech, or the thousands of dollars spent on political witch-hunts. DeHaan has not spoken out about these major problems with our current city government; I certainly wouldn't expect him to start now!