Recount Mayor’s Election? Not So Fast
Hopes that mayor-elect Sheng Thao’s razor-thin victory over Loren Taylor might be subject to a recount due to complaints from the local NAACP chapter appear to have been dashed, as the $100,000 for such a step hasn’t been found, and the Alameda County Registrar of Voters has already certified the election.
The civil rights organization said its motive was simply to ensure that everyone’s vote matters. Thao beat Taylor by 682 votes; Taylor conceded the election last month.
The move also comes as confusion about ranked-choice voting is higher than ever. The NAACP suggested that voters simply didn’t understand the process. I agree completely. Ranked-choice voting is an abomination that Oakland should move to end as soon as possible.
The NAACP’s move reflects the deep divisions in Oakland that the mayor’s race stoked, or perhaps more accurately, revealed. Thao is an avowed progressive, representing the extreme left side of the Democratic spectrum. Taylor portrays himself as a moderate. The new City Council, which will be sworn in early next month, is at least as leftwing as Thao. The new mayor is going to have to figure out how to be responsive to nearly half the voters of Oakland who view progressivism with mistrust, while working with a City Council over which she has virtually no control.
S.F. Elections Chief Will Keep His Job
After a month of turmoil, the San Francisco Elections Commission has decided to let the city’s elections chief, John Arntz, keep his job.
The Commission came under intense national pressure when it earlier decided to consider a range of other candidates in order to “diversify” its leadership. Arntz, who has led the Commission for 20 years to widespread praise for his professionalism, is White. Some on the Commission apparently preferred to install a person of color instead.
The Commission deserved the ridicule it got from all sides of the political spectrum. They tried to cast aside a decent, talented leader because of his race (and perhaps his gender, as well), which is clearly unConstitutional. We can only hope that other advocates of racial-based hiring will learn a lesson.
Carroll Fife: There She Goes Again
The D3 Council member has released a podcast in which she defends ranked-choice voting, but what really struck me was how little she’s budged in her position on homelessness. She’s still insisting on “permanent solutions for housing,” as if that is even a remote possibility, when everything we know shows that it isn’t.
Our own Erica Gleason asked Fife a question: How about re-opening City Council meetings to the public, as is their obligation in a democratic society? Fife hemmed and hawed, and kicked the can down the road to Sheng Thao and Council President Nikki Bas. “Coming soon!” Fife said. Well, I’ll believe it when I see it. The City Council has immensely enjoyed not having to deal with the public for the last few years. They never liked public comments time anyway, and as long as City Hall remains off-limits, they don’t have to deal with them, except through Zoom. We, the public, should put as much pressure as we can on Thao and the Council to re-open City Hall and let the people speak!
Steve Heimoff