Public Comment

About a month ago Wayne Hsiung, mayoral candidate challenging Mayor Jesse Arreguin, knocked on my door. He presented himself well. I agreed with his issues positions. And he obviously believed he could or would win. I told Wayne I would vote for him, but I also gave him my opinion that he had little chance of unseating Jesse, who has the backing of the Democratic Party establishment. Perhaps Wayne took my assertion as a negative sign since neither he nor his team have asked me for money or to put up a lawn sign (maybe I told him my financial contributions are reserved for more important races, like ending the Republican control of the Senate which is of critical importance to our futures). But I've just recently decided to write to say why I'll vote for Wayne. 

Jesse Arreguin ran as an anti-establishment progressive against the traditional Berkeley machine that held the mayoralty for decades. And yet over the past two years Jesse could not muster the courage to oppose the relationship that brings equipment from the U.S. military to our police department or the (formerly) racist training scenarios and programs run by Sheriff Ahern, nor the national police data base of license plates that is totally beyond any civilian control and thus susceptible to abuse on the basis of race, politics or whatever. Even when our County Board of Supervisors courageously decided to end its support for the Urban Shield trainings and military equipment transfers, Jesse couldn't pull the plug on this wrong approach to criminal justice and law enforcement. Showing up at various protests, whether in defense of the Post Office or Black Lives Matter can't obscure that our current mayor was willing to so badly betray the interests of our city and citizenry. At least that's my opinion. And I hope you agree.