Alameda's election season gets going

Veterans, newcomers run for City Council, school board

By Susan McDonough, Alameda Times Star, August 11, 2004

ALAMEDA -- The election season got under way this week with numerous political veterans and some campaign newcomers joining the race for City Council and the school board.

City Council winners will replace longtime Councilmembers Barbara Kerr, who terms out this year, and the late Al DeWitt, who died of stomach cancer in July 2003. DeWitt's seat has been filled temporarily by Marie Gilmore, who was selected by the council in September to fill the remainder of the term.

Gilmore, an attorney and past president of the Alameda Planning Board, has been an earnest and even-tempered presence on the council since taking over for DeWitt in September. She will seek reelection, according to the City Clerk's Office.

The deadline for filing nomination papers and candidate statements for the Nov. 2 election ended Friday, with seven candidates entering the race for the two council seats.

Also running are:

Doug deHann, 63, with 14 years on various city boards and commissions. His involvement in base reuse and redevelopment gives him the depth of knowledge, he says.

Ruben Tilos, at 28, the youngest name on the ballot. Tilos, a lifelong Alamedan, is a newcomer to local politics but has been active in efforts to give neighborhood groups more control over their city parks.

Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, a member of the Alameda Health Care District, the hospital's volunteer board. She also helped get a $10.6 million bond measure passed in 2000 to build a new library.

Pat Bail, 62, a staunch Measure A supporter who has become well-known around City Hall for fighting efforts to tweak the 1973 law that limits construction of new residential buildings to two stories.

"I'm not anti-development," Bail said Friday. "I'm just anti-bad development." Active in youth baseball and former Alameda Woman of the Year, Bail has said her vision for a "prosperous, pleasant, family-friendly community" led her to run for the council. She also wants to be involved in the selection of a new city manager when Jim Flint retires next year, said Bail, who is critical of the city's chief executive officer.

Vernice Boone, a virtual political unknown who has raised eyebrows by filing papers to run for City Council, the school board and the Alameda Health Care District, the volunteer board responsible for rescuing troubled Alameda Hospital from bankruptcy.

Betsy Elgar, a social worker who ran unsuccessfully for the seat in the 2002 election.

Ashcraft and deHann ran unsuccessfully to fill DeWitt's remaining 15 months on the council after he died mid-term.

Along with their candidacy papers, candidates were required to submit 20 signatures of endorsement, a 200-word candidate statement that will be made public Monday, local investment disclosures and a $25 filing fee.

On the schools front, four Alamedans, including incumbents Bob Reeves and Janet Gibson, have declared their candidacy for three open seats on the Alameda Board of Education.

Running for school board are:

Janet Gibson, a former Alameda school teacher who came out of retirement this year to teach again in Hayward while serving as one of the School Board's most demanding members. Gibson never shies away from asking colleagues and staff an exhausting number of questions until she understands an issue.

Reeves is a retired teacher, principal and public school director, who has said he wants to continue to be a part of the district as it improves academic achievement scores despite budget shortfalls. Both Reeves and Gibson are running for second terms.

Karin Lucas is a retired attorney and former three-term City Council member. She said she hopes to use her roots in the community to get more residents involved in schools and to help mend tensions between school administrators, teachers and the board.

Perhaps the most surprising twist to the school board race is candidates David Forbes' and William Schaff's decision to campaign and raise money together for two of the three available seats.

Forbes, who led the successful Measure C campaign this year to raise a potential $86 million for repairing and rebuilding neighborhood schools, said Friday the plan will allow the duo to consolidate campaign costs through shared lawn signs, campaign literature, etc.

The two have served on various school-related committees in recent years, including the Superintendent's (budget) Advisory Committee, and respect each other's thinking and abilities.

"We both want to be sitting on that board with the other person." Forbes said.

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Last modified: August 11, 2004

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