Once the Election nears local papers run background pieces. Here is the May 15th Oakland Tribune article. Here is the May 22nd San Francisco Chronicle article. In addition, the usual reporting of campaign fundraising since March occurs. Then the well financed candidates got desperate and launched a series of attack ads on each other. Matier and Ross from the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Sandre' Swanson has hired SEIU members as precinct walkers.
In races for state offices is very common to receive donations from outside thier district. However, it is surprising that most districts receive over 75% of their donations from the outside interests.
Alameda County Democratic Lawyers Endorsement Meeting
Oakland Tribune, March 24, 2006
16th Assembly District candidates Sandre Swanson, Oakland City Attorney John Russo and Piedmont schools trustee Ronnie Caplane; Alameda City Councilman Tony Daysog also is in the race but wasn't present. Russo won the endorsement.
Metropolitan Greater Oakland Democratic Club Endorsement Meeting
Alameda Times Star, March 21, 2006
The Metropolitan Greater Oakland Democratic Club cannot agree on who should be the next Oakland mayor. None of the three candidates City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, Councilmember Nancy Nadel and former U.S. Rep. Ron Dellums could win 60 percent of club members' votes last week, evenafter a runoff between Nadel and Dellums, club President Pamela Drake said.
The club was one vote short of endorsing Oakland City Attorney John Russo for the 16th District seat in the state Assembly over Sandre Swanson, former chief of staff to Dellums, and Piedmont school board member Ronnie Caplane and Alameda City Councilman Tony Daysog.
Alameda Democratic Club Endorsement Meeting
April 20, 2006
The club used Instant Vote Runoff for the endorsement process. While Ronnie Caplane garnered over 50% and Russo garnered 35%, neither cleared the needed 60% hurdle. As a result, club is not endorsing a specific candidate.
Califronia State Democratic Convention
April 30, 2006
16th AD - Sandre Swanson
San Francisco Chronicle Endorsement
April 30, 2006
Russo for state Assembly
VOTERS IN the 16th Assembly District, which includes Alameda, Piedmont and most of Oakland, can't complain about lack of quality choices in the Democratic primary.
The field includes SandrοΏ½ Swanson, an engaging and erudite longtime congressional aide to Ron Dellums; Ronnie Caplane, a Piedmont teacher who is well versed on the substance of the issues and the strategies of politics; and Tony Daysog, a high-energy Alameda city councilman who is hoping to take the leap to a state legislative office.
The realities of this Democratic primary, as with so many in the Bay Area, are twofold: the positions of the candidates are identical on most key issues; and the winner of the primary is a cinch to be elected in November.
John Russo, Oakland's city attorney, separates himself from this field in two important ways. One, he has a substantial record of accomplishment in getting things done and emerging as a leader among elected officials. A former city councilman, Russo is now president of the League of California Cities, which has put him in a position to build knowledge and forge relationships that will assist his transition to Sacramento.
Another plus for Russo is his independent streak and willingness to take on difficult issues. Most notably, he has pledged to take up the one issue that is about to swamp governments at all levels -- cities, counties, state, schools -- but few in Sacramento are about to touch: The escalating commitments to state-employee pensions and retiree health care. Russo's freedom from the grip of public employee unions -- they have cast their lot with Swanson -- will liberate him to confront the tough choices required to defuse these fiscal time bombs before they overwhelm the state's ability to make other investments critical to our quality of life and economic vitality.
In this era of term limits, California needs legislators who are willing to take on unglamorous, but critically important, long-term issues and possess the skills to jump right into the fray of a contentious legislative arena. John Russo clearly passes both tests. He gets our endorsement for the June 6 primary.
Ronnie Gail Caplane Earns Endorsement from Peace Officers
May 23, 2006
The Peace Officers Political Action Council of Alameda County (POPAC) has picked Assembly candidate and former School Board member Ronnie Gail Caplane as their choice in the June primary race to replace Assemblywoman Wilma Chan.
"Ronnie not only understands public safety issues, she wants to address the root causes of crime poor education and poverty," said POPAC Chairman Dave Carman. "We endorse her preventative approach to public safety and want to help her get to Sacramento so she can start helping our communities."
"I am honored to receive this endorsement. If we want to make serious progress toward reducing crime and delinquency, we have to provide our children with the tools to succeed. They need a good education, a clean bill of health and a supportive community," said Caplane. "As an Assemblymember, I will protect those who protect us. I will work to ensure that our officers receive the pay and benefits they deserve. I will never vote to use their pensions to help balance the budget. I appreciate POPAC joining my campaign. Together we will work toward keeping our neighborhoods safe."
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Source:Capitol Weekly
Three Democrats face off in race for Oakland seat
By Jeff Kearns, Capitol Weekly Website, March 23, 2006
The last time Sandre Swanson ran for office was 20 years ago, when he made
his second bid for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. Swanson, then
chief of staff to former Rep. Ron Dellums, lost to an energetic political
activist and teacher from Alameda named Don Perata.
Today, Swanson--recently retired after three decades as a top aide to Dellums
and later another Oakland liberal, Rep. Barbara Lee--is one of three
Democrats running to replace termed-out Wilma Chan in the left-leaning
Assembly District 16.
The 16th district, which includes Alameda, Piedmont and nearly all of
Oakland, is the same seat former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris fumbled in his
surprise 1999 loss to Green Party candidate Audie Bock. The seat has been at
the top of the California State Legislative Black Caucus' (CLBC) priority
list ever since.
Swanson is trying to become the first African-American since Lee to
represent the district. But to do so, he'll have to overcome two Democratic
rivals with their own impressive political connections.
Ronnie Gail Caplane, 57, is the widow of legendary Democratic campaign
attorney Joe Remcho, who represented Gray Davis, Willie Brown and others
until his death in a 2003 helicopter crash.
Oakland City Attorney John Russo, 47, is a former president of the League of
California Cities, whose campaign-finance reports are full of the names of
elected officials from around the state.
Swanson, 57, boasts the support of Dellums, Lee and another key backer: his
former rival Perata. The consolation prize in that 1986 supervisorial race,
Swanson jokes, was a generous federal pension from his years with
Dellums--and a lesson in the defeat.
"Don Perata outworked me," Swanson says of that race. "So I don't think
anyone is going to outwork me this time."
All three candidates have similar stances, resumes brimming with experience,
and plenty of campaign cash in a contest that looks wide open. Local
political consultants say that means the race likely will boil down to who
runs the best grassroots game.
Swanson has key endorsements from dozens of state- and-local elected
officials, plus the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. He also has
union backers like the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the
California Nurses Association (CNA), and the Central Labor Council of
Alameda County, which will bring out the precinct-walkers and phone-bankers
crucial in a Democratic primary.
While Swanson has several advantages, he stumbles when asked about details
of current Sacramento issues. In a telephone interview, Swanson said he was
unfamiliar with some aspects of the governor's failed infrastructure-bond
plan and the state's structural deficit.
"I don't know all the nuances involved in the discussion of the bonds," he
said.
Another factor in the race is that it may be overshadowed by Dellums, who is
running for mayor in Oakland.
Swanson consultant Cliff Staton says Dellums "will bring out thousands of
occasional voters who typically don't show up for a Democratic primary, and
these Dellums voters are likely to be Swanson voters."
Larry Tramutola, a veteran East Bay political consultant and former adviser
to Russo, disagrees. "Nobody has coattails in a local race," he says.
Swanson, if elected, would become the only African-American lawmaker from a
district north of Los Angeles and would boost the dwindling numbers of the
six-member CLBC.
With Mark Ridley-Thomas expected to move to the Senate and black candidates
lined up to fill both his seat and Jerome Horton's, the caucus could reach
eight members in the next session if Swanson and Long Beach City
Councilwoman Laura Richardson both prevail.
Perata's endorsement of Swanson over Russo, an old ally, was a surprise to
insiders, according to an October story in the East Bay Express, and was
meant to appease members of the CLBC.
Russo said he was never that close to Perata, who he suspects endorsed
Swanson because he was backing a Latino candidate, Oakland City Council
President Ignacio de la Fuente, over Dellums in the mayoral race. Perata did
not return calls.
Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, the CLBC chair, said he never talked to Perata
about his endorsement.
Dymally also said that the decline of black representation in the
Legislature makes the 16th one of two priority seats with black candidates
(the other is the 55th Assembly District in Long Beach where Richardson is
running against Warren Furutani).
A poll commissioned by the CLBC showed Swanson leading by a narrow margin,
Dymally said. The CLBC showed the poll to another black candidate, Clinton
Killian, and urged him to step aside for Swanson. "As a result, he dropped
out of the race," Dymally said.
But outside of backroom dealings, racial politics don't appear to be playing
much of a role so far in the district, where no demographic group has a
majority. Of the voting-age population, 31 percent is white, 28 percent
black, 19 percent Asian and 18 percent Latino, according to the California
Target Book.
Russo boasts the most name recognition. He made headlines last year by suing
Caltrans for not cleaning up trash along freeways and has used his post to
go after dozens of liquor stores for quality-of-life violations.
Russo was elected to the Oakland City Council in 1992 and 1996. He became
Oakland's first elected city attorney in 2000 after Mayor Jerry Brown's
strong-mayor initiative made the job an elected position. Russo, who was
unopposed for re-election in 2004, cannot run again because of term limits.
As a former city finance committee chair and League of California Cities
president, Russo has no problem explaining the complexities of state-
and-local government finance.
Lawmakers, he says, must perform more oversight. "Ever year you have
thousands of bills, way more than could ever get respective consideration,
and it's like 'I made this proposal to end death and stop rain and make
everybody pretty.' It's a travesty. What the Legislature should be doing is
much fewer bills and performing more oversight."
All three candidates emphasize education. But Caplane, recently termed out
after eight years on the school board in the upscale enclave of Piedmont,
labels herself "the only candidate who has hands-on experience."
Caplane works full-time as a member of the state Workers' Compensation
Appeals Board in San Francisco. She was appointed to the post by Davis after
her husband's death. It also was through her husband that she met her
best-known supporters: Rob Reiner and Delaine Eastin.
Also an attorney, she worked on maritime and aviation litigation at the U.S.
Justice Department and on civil litigation, including workers' compensation,
in private practice. She gave it up after a decade of work to become a
full-time mom in 1985.
Caplane also emphasizes women's issues. She cites Proposition 73, the state
ballot measure that would have required parental notification for abortion
had it passed last fall, as proof that women should make up more than just
31 of 120 state lawmakers.
"This is not a good time for women," she says, pointing out that parental
notification failed by the smallest margin out of all eight measures on last
year's ballot. "That initiative was very dangerous for several reasons, one
of which was that it was an attempt to chip away at a woman's right to
choose."
Accordingly, Caplane also is using her whole name--Ronnie Gail Caplane--just
to avoid any gender ambiguities. "That," she chuckles, "is something I
learned from Dion Louise Aroner," the former Berkeley assemblywoman.
Also running is a fourth Democrat, Alameda City Councilman Tony Daysog, 40.
But Daysog, who would be the state's first Filipino lawmaker if elected,
hasn't raised any money and isn't considered a viable candidate. He didn't
return calls.
No Republicans have filed to run in the district, where GOP voters are
outnumbered 6to 1 by Democrats.
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Mills highlights Women in Politics through series of discussions
By Lisa Johansen , Mills Online , March 16, 2006
During the second of a three-part series titled "Women in Politics, candidate for State Assembly Ronnie Caplane discussed the importance of women running for office. Caplane urged every student present to run for office in the future.
Caplane began the discussion by asking everyone at the table why they were interested in politics. "I plan on being an attorney and eventually a senator," said freshwoman Rebecca Townsend.
Caplane then discussed her interest in politics and why she thinks women need to become more involved. "Men don't have to be asked to run for office, women do," said Caplane. "Women are very effective at policy-making and we bring different things to the table."
Caplane is a candidate for State Assembly in the 16th district, which includes Mills, most of Oakland and some of Alameda. She attended Hastings Law School and practiced law for 10 years but stopped to raise her two children. During that time, Caplane joined the Piedmont School Board and served two terms as president there. Caplane's interest in law and politics was renewed after the sudden death of her husband in 2003. Caplane was asked to run for office by a friend of hers and after getting support from groups like Emily's List and Emerge, she agreed.
"After working on the School Board, I thought the one place I could be most effective is the legislature. I want to work with teachers and figure out what we can do to help them be more effective," said Caplane.
After Caplane talked about her campaign, the discussion became much more informal and turned to national politics, the two party system and the possibility of Hillary Clinton running for president in 2008.
Caplane closed with a few pieces of advice for the future politicians in the room. "One of the biggest pieces to running a successful campaign is money. You have to call people up and ask them for money, and that's something that I think is particularly hard for women," she said.
"I think that if she gets elected she will do a great deal of good," said Townsend. "She seems willing to ask for help."
The discussions are part of an ongoing series of events on campus in honor of Women's "Herstory" Month.
Held in the Cowell conference room, the discussions were limited to 20 members in order to keep the atmosphere intimate. Only six students and two Mills staff members went to Caplane's discussion, despite organizer's attempts to advertise through flyers and student-news postings. Of the students who attended, most were public policy and history majors.
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E. Bay voters face choices in Assembly race
by Roger Brigham , Bay Area Reporter, April 20, 2006
LGBT voters in Oakland, Alameda, and Piedmont will have five candidates to choose from in the District 16 race to replace state Assemblywoman Wilma Chan (D), who is termed out after six years in office.
Among the candidates, there are no departures from Chan's progressive Democratic agenda on any of the main campaign issues. All support same-sex marriage, adoptions by LGBT couples, and the bills currently before the legislature regarding equitable representation in educational materials of LGBT people and the use of HIV-education and prevention funds for needle and syringe exchange programs. All cite education as a top issue.
Their major differences are in financial backing, experience, endorsements, and emphasis.
The four Democratic candidates are:
- Ronnie Gail Caplane, 57, who served eight years on the Piedmont school board, says it is important to preserve women's representation in the Assembly, and has the heavyweight celebrity endorsement of Rob Reiner and out lesbian state Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica).
- Alameda City Council member Tony Daysog, 40, who thinks most politicians act too "apologetic" when they speak out for LGBT rights and thinks his fellow Democrats are too indebted to special interest groups to achieve their objectives.
- Oakland City Attorney John Russo, 47, who brings name recognition, lengthy experience in city government, and the backing of conservationists and firefighters.
- Sandrι Swanson, 57, a former chief of staff and senior policy adviser to Congresswoman Barbara Lee and former Congressman Ron Dellums, who last ran for political office 20 years ago, when he lost a county Board of Supervisors race against current Senate President pro tem Don Perata, who now joins Lee and Dellums in endorsing him.
- Edward Ytuarte, 60, a housing activist from Oakland, is running on the Peace and Freedom Party platform. There are no Republican candidates in the race.
There was enormous disparity in the funding each of the candidates had by the end of the campaign reporting period ending March 17, with Swanson having spent the most money and Russo having the most money in reserve. Ytuarte said he has raised about $700 and spent most of it on filing fees. Daysog had reported spending in 2006 of $7,000 and had $401 on hand. Caplane had spent $44,000 and had $187,000 on hand; Russo had spent $49,000 and had $287,000 on hand; and Swanson had spent $199,000 and had $92,000 on hand.
Here's a quick look at each of the candidates:
Caplane
Caplane is the widow of former Democratic campaign attorney Joe Remcho, who represented Gray Davis, Willie Brown, and other notable politicians until his death in a 2003 helicopter crash. She worked as an attorney in maritime, aviation, and civil litigation before becoming a "full-time mom" in 1985. She serves on the member of the state Workers' Compensation Appeals Board in San Francisco and served eight years on the Piedmont school board before being termed out of office. A board member of the National Women's Political Caucus and a member of the National Association of Women Judges, she has the organizational endorsements of the Oakland Police Officers, NWPC, and Emily's List.
With Chan leaving the Assembly, Caplane said she thought she could play an important role in maintaining diversity in the government. "It's important that we have women and men in the Assembly," Caplane said. "At the end of this year, we will have 15 women who will be termed out. Even if all the women who are running are elected, we'll still be down.
"A little over three years ago, my husband died. That's a transforming experience on many levels. One of the things that comes out of it is that there's no waiting for tomorrow. We really need to start doing things now.
"The legislature seems to be at a long-time low in accountability. Accountability is key. Seventy-five percent of my time has been spent fundraising to get clean money. If we want to change the way people regard government, we need to change the face of government."
Caplane said she believed her experience on the Piedmont school board makes her the best candidate for the Assembly. "Everyone is probably saying education is the No. 1 issue," she said. "Anyone who can read a poll knows education is the first issue. The difference is I am the only one who has worked in education. It helps me understand the need not to cut school funding and to understand what is needed for schools to be effective."
Caplane said her political outreach to the LGBT community has included attending an LGBT roundtable in Oakland City Hall and going on a march. "None of the gay groups I have interviewed with are endorsing anyone yet," she said. "My daughter was a driving force behind a gay-straight alliance in school. We passed domestic partner benefits while I was on the school board. I'm just open to the issues."
Daysog
Daysog has been a member of the Alameda City Council since 1996. He has no major endorsements. He has written op-ed pieces favoring state taxation of sales of services, opposing proliferation of major gambling casinos near urban centers, and calling for federal government and medical industry to cooperate in controlling health care costs. He said standing up to major unions such as the state corrections officers is critical to funding better education.
Daysog said things changed in the state, particularly regarding education funding, following the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978.
"While it served a useful purpose then and continues to do so now, it slowly and inextricably strangled the educational system of funds that allowed the breadth of programs, instructors, and counselors. The tragedy of it all is that we the Democrat Party have figured out a way to miss every opportunity to dramatically improve our K-12 and post-secondary educational systems. I suspect it is largely because the kinds of reforms needed for this to happen run contrary to the wishes of the powerful special interests with whom we are so sadly tied.
"I want to reduce the retail sales tax and then expand the base from which we collect sales taxes to include services industries (except real estate, personal investments, and health care) a fiscal reform that can generate anywhere between $9 and $13 billion in new money. But powerful special interest groups with whom the Democrats are tied, such as trial lawyers, oppose this."
Daysog sees most funding solutions for education as "shell games" that do not really solve any problems.
"We need to fully fund our schools with 'new money,' not money that is taken from health and social welfare budgets," Daysog said.
Daysog, who would be the state's first Filipino lawmaker if elected, is critical of the timidity he thinks some other politicians exhibit on LGBT issues.
"I support same-sex marriage; I believe this is a civil rights matter" he said. "I've worked hard and successfully in Alameda in acknowledging and extending certain rights to LGBT domestic partners and city employees, as well as successfully passing legislation that exempts LGBT domestic partners from the real estate transfer tax.
"In pursuing this work, I've always believed that it was not enough to advocate for what I was doing using sheepish language that seemed to apologize to the larger heterosexual community for what I was doing. And I see a lot of politicians doing exactly that when it comes to LGBT issues, especially same-sex marriage. They say they are for it, but their body language sends an apologetic message to the larger heterosexual community that, in my mind, undermines the sincerity with which these politicians took on this important civil rights issue."
Asked about LGBT adoptions, Daysog said, "If elected, I would deny resources (funds and in-kind resources) to nonprofit adoption agencies (including Catholic Charities) that discriminated based on sexual orientation."
Russo
Russo was elected to the Oakland City Council in 1992, and then became Oakland's first elected city attorney in 2000 after voters approved the "strong-mayor" initiative that made the job an elected position. Russo ran unopposed in 2004 and cannot run again because of term limits.
Russo made headlines by suing Caltrans for not cleaning up trash along freeways and going after dozens of liquor stores for quality-of-life violations. His work to protect Alameda Creek and against use of herbicides in the pest management programs, as well as his work to initiate the county recycling program and his legal representation to get the Green Party on the ballot, all helped him earn a dual endorsement with Swanson from the Sierra Club. Russo's other endorsements the California League of Conservation Voters, former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, and California Professional Firefighters.
"It's a long track record of improving lives and communities," Russo said. "You only get six years in the Assembly. It's important that you're experienced enough to hit the ground running."
Russo said he has been on the record in support of same-sex marriage for 10 years.
"Back in 1995 when I first became a city council member," he said, "I was approached by community leaders who wanted the city to provide domestic partner benefits. We got it done in 1996. I said then, 'Domestic partnership is fine, but it's merely the first step toward full marriage rights.' That was in the spring of 1996."
Russo said he has had three house parties aimed at LGBT outreach and will continue to do more.
Merle Yost, publisher and editor of the East Bay Voice, an online site (www.eastbayvoice.org), said he was endorsing Russo for the Assembly. "I like John a lot and he is as good on queer issues as anyone out there,'' Yost said.
Asked if he supported the needle exchange legislation, Russo said, "Absolutely. The very first Saturday that I was a city council member, there were some needle exchange programs in West and East Oakland. A couple of the workers had been arrested. I went with them to West Oakland with a couple of my colleagues to distribute needles with them in an act of civil disobedience. We wanted to get a message to the police that they had better things to do than cracking down on needle exchange. I put myself on the line."
Swanson
Besides Lee, Dellums, and Perata, and the dual endorsements with Russo from the Sierra Club and California League of Conservation Voters, Swanson's list of endorsements reads like a "Who's Who" of labor and political insiders: Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante; Oakland City Council members Jane Brunner and Henry Chang; Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates; Berkeley City Council member Kriss Worthington; California Teacher's Association; California Nurses Association; California AFL-CIO; California Federation of Teachers; Service Employees International Union; American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees; and the California Legislative Black Caucus.
"I have a 30-year record of accomplishment working in the federal legislature with Dellums and Lee," Swanson said. "I think I earned those endorsements after a year of putting my record before these organizations.
"I plan to concentrate on the issues that will positively affect the health, education, and safety of children. The status of the schools, the governor's broken promises to the children in funding, challenges in the Oakland school district and the issue of getting local control back: these are all important issues.
"So many Californians are without health care. That's an important issue. I want to improve the state economy by bringing in new technologies that embrace the development of a green economy."
Asked about his contact with the LGBT community, Swanson's comments are more personal than political.
"All my life, my family has been very progressive on gender and sexuality issues," Swanson said. "It's just been part of my life. My brother, Terry, was an openly gay man from a very young age. He died of AIDS in the 1980s. My mother if you were in any way homophobic, you were never invited back to the house. I just always grew up with that sense of openness.
"In my professional career, I have always worked on a diverse staff that has always included gays and lesbians. A core part of my outreach has been diversity on my staff."
Regarding his support of the bill for more equitable representation of LGBT figures in state education materials, Swanson said, "There are many people who have made major contribution and they should be honored. It's part of human respect and dignity."
Ytuarte
Ytuarte said he was unsure of his support in the LGBT community. "I've been interviewed by one organization," he said. "I'm confident that there's nothing in my positions that people in the gay community would find displeasure with.
"As far as the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. I don't think people should join the military anyway. If the military wants to discriminate against Latinos and people with disabilities, that's fine by me. I would hope other groups would feel the same.
"Pertaining to the state, I'm looking at ways to change the tax structure, particularly for education. Corporations are getting a lot of free work preparation through the public schools. That's not fair how they're being subsidized. We should be looking at higher taxation on larger corporations. Another general thing is making sure we don't have discrimination against people who are disabled. I'm a person with a disability. I want to be a voice for the disabled in Sacramento.
"I've been very involved in housing advocacy in Oakland. I don't think the tenant's voice is being heard in Sacramento. For instance, when tenants pay security deposits and get the deposits back, they should get interest on it.
"I think the two-party system right now isn't working very well. We need new voices to start looking at new ways for more progressive voices to be heard."
District 16 race boasts four Dems
All Assembly hopefuls put education at top of their political agenda
By Cecily Burt, Oakland Tribune, May 15, 2006
OAKLAND Thanks to term limits, four familiar faces are running to succeed Wilma Chan as representative of state Assembly District 16, which encompasses most of Oakland and all of Alameda and Piedmont three cities with very different needs.
Ronnie Gail Caplane is an attorney and former Piedmont School Board president and trustee; Tony Daysog has served on the Alameda City Council for 10 years; John Russo is Oakland's elected city attorney and a former City Council member; and Sandre Swanson, former chief of staff to Congresswoman Barbara Lee and policy adviser to Ron Dellums, is chairman of the Civil Service Commission and a trustee on the Alameda County Pension Board.
The candidates are all Democrats. No Republican filed in the race.
All four Democrats are well-known within their respective local spheres.
Yet, the candidates appear to have more similarities than differences.
All are passionate about using the Assembly seat to guide policy and obtain funding to improve K-12 education and access to affordable health care for all residents.
Ronnie Caplane
Caplane wants to recruit and retain the best teachers to the state's low-performing schools through incentives such as higher pay, tax breaks and housing assistance.
She also would improve teacher training and mentoring programs to help instructors better cope with the needs of students in the most challenging schools. She would promote continued increase of small schools and seek funding to reduce class sizes in grades 4 and higher.
What sets her apart from the other candidates, she said, is her commitment and experience in all aspects of education, which will allow her to hit the ground running.
"It's an election year, and everyone says education is their main focus," she said. "But I don't know how many school board meetings they've been to, or PTA meetings, or classrooms, or how many times they've worked with teachers. I've been doing that for 20 years.
"I know what the issues are, I have all the contacts from the educational community to help guide me, and my legislative agenda will be education rather than just promising (to reform) education during the campaign," she said.
-For more information visit http://www.ronniecaplane.com.
Tony Daysog
Daysog has already engineered one ingenious way for Alameda residents to help schools by setting up a way for them to donate money out of their utility bills to fund a school technology program.
Daysog said he would also work to restore full state funding for the schools, as well as lobby for a budget reform that includes lowering the state sales tax rate but widening the net to include the majority of service industry businesses.
The estimated revenue generated by such reform $9 billion to $13 billion could be used to fully fund public schools without raising residents' taxes, which is good because Oakland and Alameda property owners have had their fill of parcel taxes, he said.
"The decision to raise more money for all of our schools has to come from state legislators, and if I am sent to Sacramento, I will fight those special interests that prevent the kinds of budget reforms that could raise money needed for our schools," he said.
He also said he has accepted no special interest money for his campaign.
"This pledge is critical because you can't say you're for health care reform or improving our schools if you take money from powerful special interests, who oppose reforms for our schools and health care system," Daysog said.
-For more information, visit http://www.daysog.info/blog.
John Russo
Russo has used his office to create a Neighborhood Law Corps to combat blight, slum lords and nuisance liquor store owners in Oakland. What he wants to do if elected to the Assembly is improve Oakland's educational system by increasing the number of small schools.
Russo would convene a local education task force to tailor curriculum to meet the needs of students, allowing for personalized learning and assessment, and to generate funding sources to accomplish it.
Russo said voters should look to the candidate who has a track record of getting things done.
"I am the only candidate who has successfully dealt with, and structurally reformed, large public budgets in a diverse and contentious, heavily politicized environment," he said. "I would work to balance the state budget so we can get more money into our classrooms."
As president of the League of California Cities, Russo was an author of a successful state proposition that prohibits the state from balancing its budget by withholding funds from local governments.
"This was a huge change in how things were being done and has dramatically benefited Oakland, Alameda and Piedmont the past two years," he said.
-For more information visit http://www.johnrusso.org/campaign.
Sandre Swanson
Swanson said he will work to restore full minimum baseline funding for schools, promised with the passage of Proposition 98 but reduced by more than $2 billion during the 2004-2005 fiscal year.
Swanson's funding priorities include full-service schools, libraries and preschools, with allocation decisions made by parents, teachers and students. The state also has to invest more money in community college trade programs so people are trained to work as contractors and electricians on housing and infrastructure projects funded by state bonds, he said.
"Young families tell me if the school system doesn't change they will leave Oakland," Swanson said. "For me, schools are not a line item in the budget, they are an investment in our future ... with positive multipliers. No investment equals truancy, drop-outs, crime."
Swanson said he would help reduce Oakland's crime rate and save the state millions in prisoner housing costs by pushing for investment in rehabilitation programs that prepare inmates for productive lives outside prison. For example, a $10,000 investment would save at least $38,000 per inmate if the person doesn't return to jail, he said.
Although born and raised in Oakland, Swanson points to his 30-year record of collaboration and leadership beyond the city's borders as the experience that will help him shape legislation and funding priorities for the 16th district.
He designed the base reuse authorities for both Oakland and Alameda and helped bring $252 million to dredge the Port of Oakland. He said his extensive endorsements from both business and labor should be seen as proof that people trust him to be an even-handed representative.
- For more information visit http://www.sandreswanson.org.
16th Assembly District
Five candidates spotlight schools, health care costs
By Christopher Heredia, San Franicisco Chronicle , May 22, 2006
The five candidates running to replace Wilma Chan in the 16th Assembly District offer similar platforms catering to East Bay voters concerned about failing schools and rising health care costs, and pundits say the winner in a tight race will be the candidate who best sells their message.
The race has drawn four Democrats who vow to boost funding for the region's public schools, and they are joined by Ed Ytuarte of the Peace and Freedom Party, a tenant and disability rights activist from the Peace and Freedom Party who says Sacramento needs to hear from those constituencies and from third parties.
The 16th Assembly District includes Oakland, Piedmont and Alameda; Chan has held the seat since 2000 and is being pushed out by term limits.
In addition to Ytuarte, the field includes Oakland City Attorney and former City Councilman John Russo; Sandre Swanson, former chief of staff to Congresswoman Barbara Lee; former Piedmont school board member Ronnie Gail Caplane; and Alameda Councilman Tony Daysog.
Russo, 47, has raised the most money -- with $287,186 cash on hand -- as of the last reporting deadline of March 17. Most of it came from fellow lawyers. He's been touting his accomplishments as the city's top lawyer, namely his work tackling problematic liquor stores and drug houses, pushing Caltrans to clean up its blighted lots, and advocating better public access to government records and meetings.
If elected, Russo said he will use his ties in Sacramento as past president of the League of California Cities to bring more money to East Bay schools and find funding for universal health care.
Russo says he is willing to call for raising taxes if that's what it takes to fix education and fund health care for California's most vulnerable residents.
"People need to be told the truth," Russo said. "It's in all of our interest to have good public schools ... if our children are going to have the tools to compete in the global economy. It's noncompetitive for California businesses to bear most of the cost of employee health care. We need to spread it out so that everybody contributes to basic and catastrophic health care coverage."
Swanson, 57, said three decades spent as a congressional aide to Lee and former Rep. Ron Dellums, who is running for Oakland mayor and supporting Swanson's candidacy, make him uniquely qualified to represent the left-leaning district.
Swanson says restoring education funding will be his top priority. He said his experiences helping local leaders dredge the Port of Oakland to allow larger ships and his work on the Alameda and Oakland military base conversion projects prepared him for lawmaking in Sacramento.
"That demonstrated my ability to bring people together," he said. "I have been the guy people go to get things done."
Education also will be a key priority, he said, and his first order of business would be working with fellow lawmakers to secure $3.2 billion in Proposition 98 funding "taken by Gov. Schwarzenegger."
"You build strong schools and students, and the positive multipliers are infinite," he said. "Well-educated students mean a well-educated and competitive workforce. Also, if we have strong schools, we will see a corresponding reduction in crime."
Caplane, a lawyer and an appointed commissioner to the state Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, said her 20 years of volunteer work in Piedmont schools and eight years on the school board make her keenly aware of the needs of students and teachers.
"The Legislature is full of people who've run for office saying education is their top priority, yet the system continues to be underfunded," said Caplane, whose husband, well-known Democratic Party attorney Joe Remcho, died in a helicopter crash in 2003. "They get to Sacramento and promptly forget about it. Having been involved with schools the last 20 years, dealing with budget matters, I understand the importance of getting additional funding and of not compromising on that."
Caplane says she would educate residents and businesses about the value of single-payer health care, which she said costs less than having private employers bear the brunt of the cost. She would consider paying for it with a small tax on businesses, a theme echoed by Russo and Swanson. She also would advocate lowering from two-thirds approval to 55 percent the threshold required for cities to pass school parcel taxes.
Daysog, 40, says Sacramento needs new blood. He touts his work converting Alameda's military base to housing as well as pushing for acceptance of gays and lesbians among Alameda's moderate residents and leaders in the mid-1990s.
"I'm taking no money from special interests, and I'm committed to campaign finance reform," said Daysog, 40, an urban planner and one of the Alameda council's most liberal members for 10 years. "Politicians have to make a personal commitment to not take money from special interests and commit to systematic reform, then we can get to education and universal health care."
Ytuarte, 60, the Peace and Freedom candidate, said he wants to go to Sacramento to inject a third party voice into legislative discussion. He also says he represents the tenant and disabled perspective that is lacking in the Capitol.
Assembly hopefuls enter final week
Candidates file list of latest sources of monetary support
By Cecily Burt, Oakland Tribune, May 28, 2006
OAKLAND Monetary support for the three major candidates vying for Wilma Chan's seat in the 16th State Assembly District is lining up mostly as expected: labor, educators and public employees behind Sandre Swanson, lawyers and developers behind John Russo, and lawyers, doctors and business executives behind Ronnie Gail Caplane.
Sandre Swanson, former chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee and policy adviser for former U.S. Rep. Ron Dellums, has collected $128,975 since March 18, which includes a $29,000 loan to himself.
He has amassed $205,605 since the beginning of the year and has $92,861 on hand heading into the final week.
His campaign filings show a broad base of support from labor unions throughout the state, including several chapters of the Service Employees International Union, the California Nurses Association Political Action Committee and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The SEIU support is not surprising because he is a trustee on the Alameda County Pension Board and has vowed to protect public employee pensions.
During the latest filing period, Swanson received several contributions of more than $6,000: California State Council of Services Employees ($6,700); SEIU L.A. Homecare Workers Local 434 ($6,400); CTA/ABC ($6,700); California State Employees Association ($6,700); and SEIU United Healthcare Workers West ($6,700).
Despite the heavy hitters in his camp, Swanson has run a grass-roots, door-to-door campaign.
He has collected hundreds of smaller contributions from administrators, teachers, executives and residents from the public and private sector in the district.
Swanson reported a $2,500 contribution from the Morongo Band of Mission Indians this filing period, and $3,200 from the Manual Tribal Administration last year. Neither have gaming interests in Northern California. He also received $1,000 from ChevronTexaco and $3,300 from Prison Health Services, a private company that contracts with California prisons to provide health care to inmates.
Swanson, who says he does not return any contribution he receives, said he supports the Indian Nation's right to provide economic development for its tribes, but he does not support Indiangaming in his district, nor will he in future.
"I assume (the tribes) are embracing my platform," he said. "I'm very clear about where I stand on the environment of Indian gaming. (The tribes) might not be happy (about it), but that's it."
Russo, Oakland's elected City Attorney, former council member and former president of the League of California Cities, has raised $28,050 since March 8, and $68,978 since Jan. 1. But he had amassed quite a war chest last year. Despite spending $215,268 since the first of the year, he still has $156,953 left for the final push.
Russo's earlier campaign finance filings reflect a who's who of the legal world, with several $1,000 to $3,000 contributions collected from law firms and attorneys throughout the state, as well as line after line of smaller contributions from individual attorneys. Russo also has received financial support from many large real estate developers and builders, both in the Bay Area and beyond.
In the latest filing period, Russo received two $6,700 contributions one from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee and the other from the Local Societies of the California Optometric Association Political Action Committee.
Caplane, a lawyer and former Piedmont School Board trustee whose late husband, Joe Remcho, was an attorney who advised the State Assembly, also has an impressive list of legal support in her campaign, with several contributions from attorneys. However, Caplane's financial base comes from a broad range of other sources, ranging from investment bankers, writers and teachers to doctors and homemakers.
The former Piedmont School Board trustee collected $76,339 since March 18; $121,735 since Jan. 1. She has $95,052 on hand going into the final week.
The Peace Officers Research Association of California Political Action Committee, which lobbies against privatization of prisons or policies detrimental to peace officers, spent $10,000 on a mailer in support of Caplane.
She also received two $3,300 contributions this filing period from the California Applicants' Attorney's Association PAC and two contributions of $1,000 from the Consumer Attorneys of California PAC.
All three candidates have spent more than $200,000 on their campaigns since Jan. 1.
Tony Daysog, an member of the Alameda City Council for 10 years, reported $22,254 in contribution since March 18, which includes $21,731 in loans he made to his campaign. He has $1,533 on hand going into the final week of the campaign.
Peace and Freedom Party candidate Eddie Ytuarte did not file campaign finance information with the Secretary of State.
Cash, donations accelerate races
Negative Fliers 16th AD
By Cecily Burt and Heather McDonald, Oakland Tribune, June 4, 2006
While the five candidates vying for the 16th Assembly District seat are using their cash reserves on glossy color mailers hitting voter mailboxes this weekend aiming well-placed barbs at their opponents' record at least one candidate is getting a substantial boost from a political action committee backed by labor, educators and health care workers.
Since May 17, the Opportunity PAC has spent $194,487 to support Sandre Swanson, Congressmember Barbara Lee's former chief of staff. Although individuals and companies are limited to giving candidates $6,700 per election, there are no limits on money spent independently of the campaigns.
Opportunity PAC also spent $74,120 on May 30 to oppose his opponent, Oakland City Attorney John Russo, according to the documents filed with the secretary of state.
In addition, Opportunity PAC produced glossy mailers touting Swanson's accomplishments and one slamming Russo, citing his vote to cut $1 million from youth programs while a member of the Oakland City Council, and his vote to raise council salaries by 62 percent(Context provided via Chronicle Editorial). It also points out that at least on April 25, 2005, Russo was the highest paid elected official in the state, earning more than the governor.
Swanson's campaign, which has taken in $18,300 in cash contributions the past two weeks including $6,700 from the AFL-CIO group of labor unions, has not paid for any negative campaign fliers as of Friday.
Russo's campaign paid for a glossy mailers stating that he is the only candidate who lives in Oakland, although Peace and Freedom Party candidate Eddie Ytuarte also lives in town. Russo points out his opponents lack a legislative record in Oakland, which may not matter much to voters in Piedmont and Alameda, all part of the 16th Assembly District.
Russo's campaign paid for a mailer that slams opponent Ronnie Gail Caplane, a lawyer and former Piedmont School Board trustee, as an "Inexperienced Piedmont politician," who is not endorsed by any Oakland elected officials.
The literature also takes a shot at Swanson by pointing out he has never held elected office and is supported by "casino interests, private prison contractors, ChevronTexaco, Republican lobbyists and corporate insurance companies."
Late Friday, Swanson disputed that, saying he is supported by the California nurses and teachers associations and endorsed by the majority of both the Oakland and Alameda city councils.
Caplane is no slouch when it comes to negative campaign ads. Her campaign paid for a mailer that accuses Russo of taking several raises while cutting funding for city services and voting to lay off city employees.
The mailer accuses Swanson of being "delinquent on his state taxes three times, forcing the state government to file tax liens against him." The mailer also states Swanson was late in paying his property taxes last year. A second mailer makes a similar case against both of her opponents.
Swanson said he and his wife have filed for extensions to pay their state taxes, later receiving refunds. He also said they have always paid their property taxes and only once in 10 years did they overlook a payment.
He said the mailer accusations show a "desperate and reckless disregard for the truth."
Caplane collected a late contribution of $6,600 from the California Applicant Attorneys' Political Action Committee.
In addition, Herb and Marion Sandler, founders of World Savings, and their children accounted for $39,600 worth of contributions to Caplane's campaign last year.
Alameda City Councilmember Tony Daysog's campaign literature highlights his accomplishments and does not mention his opponents. There haven't been any sightings of campaign mailers from Peace and Freedom Party candidate Eddie Ytuarte, who lives in Oakland.
Ytuarte has collected $723 in contributions since Jan. 1 and loaned his campaign $100. He has $552 cash on hand.
