So, I have been slacking a bit. I have been to three Oakland Mayoral Debates and have not reported on any of them. It’s because it is just too much! There is a limited amount of questions asked, but to report on each and every response would require a lot of note-taking (on my part) and a lot of reading (on your part).
I am trying to reduce the amount of words in my articles, and this blog is my practice. So, I have made a decision not to write about the forums.
HOWEVER, there is no reason why I can’t share with you what happened via video, right?
I went to the Mayoral Forum at Holy Names and was able to take some video. Since I have written about the candidates whose meet and greets I attended, I decided to post the videos of “The Others” : Don Macleay, Larry Lionel Young Jr, George Harland, Arnold Fields and Don Perata. They each gave closing remarks which are considered “stump speeches”. I am going to let their own words speak for themselves.
Also, the Chronicle conveniently wrote an article on “The Others” (yes, I was a ‘Lost’ fan) this week. You can read about them by clicking here: The Others
Enjoy!
Arnold Fields ( 1:45) : [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxtM9gh-D5U]
Don MaCleay (1: 49) : [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M-yjMXNuNM]
Larry Lionel Young, Jr (2:07.3) : [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYd6Q3EY010]
Don Perata (1: 51) : [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSAt0uum1s0]
George Harland (1:57) : [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h5S2LB4Vwk]
OH..I was interviewed by KQED afterward. Like to hear it? Hear it goes! : “KQED – Oakland Mayor Debate..”
2 responses to “Adventures in Oakland Politics: The Others!”
I would like to comment that Don MaCleay’s response was classy, and very true. Our work in Oakland should not just revolve around the elections, but should be year round. Voting is not enough to make change- it takes commitment and actual work on our part.
I am going to make a personal commitment to be more involved in what is going on in this city. I might not write about each and every meeting I go to. However, if it is something that speaks to my heart and soul, I assure you that the 12 people who read this blog will know about it. 🙂
tdl
This was my first time seeing a live debate for a political office. I really think more people should attend them, because you really get a chance to see everyone’s personality and their platform at the same time. And with 10 candidates to wade through, that could be difficult (and time consuming) looking at each one’s website and reading all the materials. I went into that room only really thinking of one of the candidates based on name recognition alone. Now I have three candidates I want to vote for (we’ll see how this ranked based voting works out).
Thanks for inviting me Tonya!
pj
P.S. Your blog looks great!