Light weekend reading

This is going up late Saturday, so our hope is that you read it either tomorrow or Monday. It's a very well thought out edition of Councilmember Tom Butt's e-mail forum that reiterates a point made by new Tazer friend Ixion2020. Coincidence?

Tom Butt = Ixion2020? Only one way to know for sure, but please read on...

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Following are articles from the Richmond Globe and the Berkeley Daily Planet about Richmond’s mayoral race. [EDITOR'S NOTE: We're not reprinting those articles; feel free to Google for them if you like, they're online for you to find.]

The Globe appears to blame Gary Bell for stealing African-American votes from Irma Anderson. Why isn’t anybody suggesting the opposite -- that the unpopular Anderson should have stepped aside for Bell? With the theory seemingly endorsed by the Globe that politics are predominantly racist in Richmond, Bell could have easily won with his and Irma’s votes, thus preserving the African-American mayorship that the Globe seems to prefer. The Globe noted, “…historians may place blame at Bell’s feet, labeling him as the politician responsible for the downfall of African American political prominence in the city of Richmond.” I submit that the blame lies, instead, squarely with Irma Anderson, whose lack of vision and leadership failed to inspire the electorate and brought out the worst in the City Council. And with those who blindly supported Anderson and shoveled money without end at her while knowing full well her substantial and ultimately fatal flaws.

The second article, from the Berkeley Daily Planet, is the first I’ve seen that details the vast corporate and industrial resources, significant amounts of which were funneled through BAPAC, which is closely aligned with the Globe, invested in preserving Irma Anderson as mayor.

I have always hoped that we would reach a time in Richmond where race is not the prevailing criteria for local elections. When I first ran for City Council in 1993, racism was right out front. Mailers targeted to the African-American community, usually paid for by Firefighters Local 188 and masterminded by Darrell Reese, tried to convince voters that rich white folks in Point Richmond would make sure African-Americans stayed at the back of the bus. I’m not kidding! We’ve come a long way from there in some respects, but in others, we haven’t. It’s much more subtle now, and perhaps more pernicious.

I have always been skeptical that there are really any race-related agendas in Richmond. From what I can tell, everyone wants the same things: safe and attractive neighborhoods, high-quality schools, good streets and clean parks, customer-friendly and responsive city employees and thrifty and efficient government.

Do people really believe that candidates who match their skin color or have last names that sound similar can deliver these things better than someone who doesn’t? According to the Globe analysis, they do. Do voters place a higher priority on race and ethnicity than on results? I just don’t know.

During the 90s, African-American women were consistently the top vote getters in City Council races where there had to be a substantial crossover vote to make that possible (Anderson and Penn). After the millennium, women still ruled (Viramontes). The prevailing wisdom among election watchers was that in the new order, gender had become more important than race. Except that in the last two elections, white men were the top vote getters (Butt and Rogers). But whites are the smallest of three major minorities in Richmond. Go figure.

Regardless of race and ethnicity, women have consistently fared better than men in the mayor’s race (Corbin, Anderson and McLaughlin). Is there sexism out there?

In the Globe analysis, whites voted for McLaughlin and African-Americans voted for Bell or Anderson, thus splitting the African-American vote and leaving McLaughlin a (presumed) winner. Is it really that simple? If Bell had not been in the race, would Anderson have prevailed in a landslide? I’m not so sure. What about the Latino voters? Did they vote racially, or did they vote for the person they thought could be the best mayor?

I’ll end this where I started it. I know that there are a lot of racists in Richmond – of every racial, chromatic and ethnic persuasion. I just hope I live long enough to see all that go away and find people voting for the candidate they believe will deliver to them the best quality of life.

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Amen, Brother Butt!

Racism is ugly and wrong, no matter who espouses or utters it, and the Globe should be ashamed for publishing that tripe. If they had even the merest drop of integrity, they'd fire the bigot who penned it and apologize profusely. Of course, if they had integrity, it would've never seen the light of day to begin with, so we're not holding our breath...

And if they Globe won't, we're not about to boycott them or advocate a boycott. Just pick up spare copies to use for fishwrap, birdcage liner, glass cleaning, and kindling. THAT'S WHAT RAGS ARE FOR!

And now we have responses...

Some very passionate comments to the reply that was intended for the Globe's editors.

And we can't say we disagree one bit.

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homeplate said…
The Globe is the ignorant lapdog of Anderson and her ilk. They're nothing more than the mouthpiece of the statusquo. If only Irma had realized her number was up, Richmond wouldn't be the mess it is.


Plantation politics said…
It is my opinion that the Globe is nothing more than a rag to line your birdcage to catch droppings! It is the most racist paper in Richmond today. It never has anything about the everyday people of Richmond.
Many African-American people including myself are offended, insulted and ashamed that this raggedy Black give away paper, claims to represent the Black community ! BS! These people are wannabe boojies who actually exploit and use us for their own gains. This paper does nothing more than use Race, Sex and Plantation Politics to divide our community. Whitmore and Boswell-Raines who put out this weekly rag should apologize to the community.
To use a newspaper to punish another person because another candidate ran against an incumbent is total bull[xxxx]. The Globe will always be remebered as the paper to serve Whitmore and Boswell-Raines Masters and to use the paper to keep dividing us Black folks even more.
This paper needs to keep their nose out of our business! Next time you go into one of our Black churches here in town, look at the stacks and stacks of the back editions of the Globe in the lobbies, that should tell you a lot right there. That we as an African-American community in Richmond are not reading your Master's propoganda!

We've got mail!

Someone CC'd us onto an e-mail to the Richmond Globe, which is running a silly article about how Gary Bell ruined the ruins that were Irma Anderson's mayorship and got Gayle McLaughlin elected.

Way to shill, Globe! Even if Irma has you in her pocket, it took Tazer reader "ixion2020" to spell it out to you...

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That's a nice article the Globe just ran on the front page of the Richmond edition. The only problem with it is that it came to the WRONG conclusion.

Gary Bell wasn't the end of African American political prominence in Richmond; Irma Anderson was. She's the least effective, most incompetent mayor that Richmond will ever know, and should NEVER have sought re-election. So selfish and convinced by the powerful that she stood a chance, it's Irma Anderson -- Richmond's bloodiest mayor -- who swept Gayle McLaughlin into power.

John Gioia said it best: "McLaughlin benefited from widespread discontent with Mayor Irma Anderson."

Just because there would have been two African American candidates does NOT mean that Irma Anderson was the one who should have remained in the race! Unfortunately, her pigheaded obstruction carried over from council meetings. She should have quit while she was behind and let someone qualified take over.

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BRRRR!!! That cat has it down COLD!

Curiouser and curiouser

A comment of interest came up that we'd like everyone to see...

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AK47s said...
Was the Richmond Mayor and City Council race hacked and hijacked? That is a question that Richmond political and community activists are asking!

Over the next several weeks, HBO will be airing "HACKING DEMOCRACY" a stunning and timely documentary about how easy it is to tamper with LOCAL, regional and national elections with computers and redirect who will be elected to office, regardless of who the voters voted for and who the actual winner was of the popular vote. It shows step by step how an election can be hacked and hijacked!

Airtimes will be as follows: November 18, 20, 21, 24, 27, and 29; December 2, 9, 17, 16, 17, and 19 For more information go to hbo.com and look to the right under the category of DOCUMENTARIES!

WE HAVE THE RIGHT AND DEMAND TO KNOW: WAS THE RICHMOND ELECTION HACKED AND HIJACKED?!

Wednesday Mixed Bag

First off, some REAL news...

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Teenager arrested in shooting

By Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Police arrested a teenage boy on suspicion of attempted murder Tuesday in connection with a shooting that seriously wounded a man last weekend in the Atchison Village neighborhood of Richmond.

The suspect, whom police did not identify because he is a minor, critically injured 24-year-old Paul Redondo Jr. on Saturday night during an aborted attempt to buy marijuana at a house in the 200 block of Collins Street, Detective Sgt. Mitch Peixoto said.

The suspect, who turns 14 today, rode in a Honda Accord with three other teenagers about 11:45 p.m., looking to buy drugs in and around the Iron Triangle neighborhood, police said. The suspect was acting as a "guide" for the others, all older teens who live in San Pablo, police said.

But when the group slowly rode up to the house on Collins, they apparently met a group of men standing in front, who approached the car with handguns, police said.

Someone fired the first shot. When all parties were finished shooting, Redondo and about two dozen shell casings lay in the street, police said. Redondo was flown to a trauma center in critical condition.

"Officers arriving on scene saw obvious signs of a shootout," Peixoto said. "The casings indicated that most of the shots were coming from (the house) out into the street."

Detectives identified nobody in the group standing in front of the house other than Redondo, but a security guard working at the St. John's apartments on nearby Macdonald Avenue saw the Honda leaving the area and got its license plate number.

Early Sunday, police traced the car back to the address of its registered owner in the 2000 block of Stanton Avenue and found it parked in the driveway, pockmarked with bullet holes. The three older teens were nearby.

Police questioned and released the teens. Later Sunday, they served a search warrant on Collins, where they recovered three handguns and about 1 pound of marijuana and arrested two residents: 27-year-old Miguel Cerda and 19-year-old Joaquin Cerda.

The elder Cerda was the victim of a shooting in front of the house on Nov. 4, when someone attacked him as he worked on his car. He was inside at the time of the more recent shooting, Peixoto said.

On Tuesday morning, police served a warrant at the Moran Avenue home of the teenage "guide" and arrested him without incident. They found two handguns in his bedroom, Peixoto said.

The suspect was booked into Juvenile Hall in Martinez on suspicion of attempted murder and possessing a firearm.

Both Cerdas were booked into County Jail in Martinez on suspicion of drug and weapon offenses.

Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@cctimes.com.

HOW TO HELP
Police ask anyone with information about Saturday's shooting in the Atchison Village neighborhood of Richmond to call Detective Aaron Mandell at 510-620-6622.

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The only consolations we can think of in this story are that a suspect was apprehended, there were no fatalities, and these thugs can't shoot worth a darn.

Now for some UNREAL news...

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Some races hinge on absentee ballots
Votes mailed in or dropped off at polls prove key to deciding half a dozen seats in Bay Area

By Lisa Vorderbrueggen
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Candidates in a half-dozen tight Contra Costa and Alameda county races, such as those seeking a seat on the Antioch City Council and mayoral hopefuls in Pleasanton and Richmond, may have to wait days or weeks for the outcome.

An unprecedented number of absentee ballots turned in at the polls has left Contra Costa election officials with 40,000 ballots -- about 13 percent of all the ballots cast -- to count this week.

Alameda County experienced a similar deluge, though its clerks counted most of its 70,000 absentee ballots during the weekend.

Its staff is now counting as many as 5,000 absentees that were rejected by the county's scanning equipment because they were mismarked or torn.

"We got one ballot with an apology note from someone because his dog got a hold of the ballot," said Alameda County spokesman Guy Ashley. "We will examine each of those ballots and see if we can determine the voter's intent and record those votes."

After absentees have been rounded up, Contra Costa officials must count another 9,000 provisional ballots, while Alameda County has 15,000.

Provisionals are ballots in which the voter believes he or she is eligible but whose name does not appear on the voter rolls. The voter fills out the ballot and clerks confirm eligibility after the election.

What does all this mean?

It's time-consuming to examine and process thousands of ballots individually, especially when voters drop them off by the truckloads on Election Day. Clerks must open every envelope, check every signature and scan every ballot themselves.

Contrast that with votes cast in the polling place, where the voter marks it, inserts it into an optical scanner and clerks download the results into the computer.

As a result, in races where a few dozen or a few hundred votes separate winners from the losers, it could take days or weeks to finalize results.

In most of the close races in Contra Costa, Clerk-Recorder Steve Weir hopes to have answers by Thursday or Friday.

"We're hoping to finish the absentee counts by Thursday or Friday, and we'll update our results," Weir said.

But in exceptionally tight races, outstanding provisional ballots could affect the outcome.

Clerks hope to finish counting these ballots next week or, at the latest, after the Thanksgiving holiday. Counties have until Dec. 5 to certify the election results.

In particular, the 900 provisional ballots in Richmond could be a factor in the outcome of its mayor and council races. Residents unwilling to vote at a community center in the Iron Triangle contributed to the higher-than-usual numbers of provisional ballots in the city, Weir said.

It's unclear why so many absentee voters waited until Monday and Election Day to cast their ballots.

But this trend, say election officials, is here to stay. Vote-by-mail rolls have expanded steadily, either out of convenience or a growing distrust of voting equipment.

For the second election in a row, more people voted absentee than went to the polls in both Contra Costa and Alameda counties.

By the time all ballots have been counted, Weir estimates that turnout in Contra Costa will reach 63 percent, about average for the county. About 52 percent of the ballots were absentee while 48 percent were cast at the polls.

Alameda County reported a lower turnout rate of 55 percent, but it reported a similar split between absentee and voting at the polls.

Lisa Vorderbrueggen covers politics. Reach her at 925-945-4773 or lvorderbrueggen@cctimes.com.

election 2006: too close to call

Races with close margins include:

[....]

• Richmond mayor: Gayle McLaughlin leads incumbent Irma Anderson by 192 votes.

• Richmond: Myrna Lopez has a 160-vote lead over Corky Booze in the competition for the third opening on the City Council.

[....]

Source: Contra Costa and Alameda County election departments

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Once again: RIDICULOUS!

We at the Tazer sincerely hope that the correct mayor and council were elected last Tuesday.

Community policing at work

RPD showing its teeth this time, literally.

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K-9 units add teeth to law enforcement
Richmond department a pioneer in use of dogs to sniff out drugs and other criminal activity

By Sean Aronson
TIMES CORRESPONDENT

RICHMOND - Twenty kids and their parents gathered at the St. David School baseball field on a recent weekend for the first Fall Festival and patiently awaited the arrival of Arrow, a 6-year-old Dutch shepherd in the Richmond Police Department canine unit.

"We're gonna keep an eye on the dope," canine Officer William Cantrell, Arrow's handler, told one of the parents.

Cantrell placed a small amount of marijuana in a yellow envelope and put it under a large orange cone in the grass. He also placed a plastic toy gun in the grass.

On command, Arrow charged for the cone and tipped it, revealing the marijuana. A few minutes later, he took the gun in his mouth and dropped it at Cantrell's feet. The officer gave Arrow a toy and congratulated him for the good work.

The Richmond canine unit does about 20 such demonstrations a year, Cantrell said, to show the public police and dogs working together. He also views the demonstrations as a way to deter children from using drugs by showing just how effective dogs are at finding narcotics.

"Maybe it will make some of these kids think twice about using drugs," Cantrell said.

Richmond formed its canine unit in 1961, making it the second-oldest in Northern California, to cut the number of officers needed to patrol industrial areas and large commercial buildings by half. Dogs work faster and more efficiently.

The canine unit is also instrumental in fighting crime, allowing police to get to difficult areas and cover a lot of ground quickly. They are most effective in tracking down runaway suspects.

"They're trained to find people, not bite them," said Sgt. Mitch Peixoto, canine unit coordinator.

Most in the audience marveled at the speed and accuracy with which Arrow found the gun and marijuana. Some of the children wanted to move closer to get a better look, but Cantrell cautioned them to stay back, prohibiting petting while Arrow was at work.

Still, no one seemed the least bit frightened.

"I think the dog looks cute," said 8-year-old Mirabel Sanchez , who was eating cotton candy while she watched with her mother.

Richmond teams -- handler and canine -- regularly place in the top five at the annual Sheriff's Canine Competition, a statewide event. Because it is so well-regarded, the Richmond canine unit often does work for other police departments as well.

"We go all over the Bay Area with our dogs," Peixoto said.

For the better part of three decades, Richmond police used German shepherds for their canine unit. The breed is aggressive and easy to train. The dogs also have incredible tracking abilities.

"You can't get a better dog that will track and find a person," Peixoto said.

But their large size was often intimidating to the public, according to Lt. Mark Gagan. In a predominantly African-American city, police were conscious of the images police dogs carried from the civil rights era, he added.

"Any time we use force, we have to be aware of the community perceptions," Gagan said.

For this and other reasons, the department in 1988 introduced the Belgian Malinois into the unit. Malinois are the most popular police dog and currently account for five of six dogs in the Richmond unit. Arrow is the only shepherd.

Malinois are smaller and faster than shepherds. They also can work as a police dog for up to 12 years, almost double the average career of a shepherd. And, most importantly, they are less intimidating to the public.

"They can tell the difference between work and play," Peixoto said.

Most often the canine unit does narcotics searches in a city that faces a huge problem with drug trafficking and use, Peixoto said. Each dog in the force undergoes five weeks of narcotics training.

"If he can't pass dope (training), I'm getting a new dog," Peixoto said.

On Peixoto's first official narcotics search with his dog, Phoenix, they found 13 pounds of cocaine tucked into the back of a water heater inside a house -- something officers likely would have missed.

At the St. David School demonstration, Cantrell led Arrow into his patrol vehicle after many of the children had a chance to take pictures with the officer and the dog.

Cantrell was clearly enjoying the work.

"If I can influence 20 kids to have more respect for police work, I'm making my job easier in the long run," he said.

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Meanwhile, the Tazer wonders how purported Mayor-Elect McLaughlin feels about dogs being enslaved by humans, and if these fascist K9 unit demonstrations at all address the "root causes of crime."

Arrow the Dog wasn't even recruiting for the "Youth Corps," after all...

Holding the fort

Three pieces for today. Let's get started.

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Richmond
MEN ROB BANK:

Two men robbed a Mechanics Bank branch on West Cutting Boulevard on Friday.

The robbers walked in and ordered everyone to the floor about 11:10 a.m. Moments later, a customer entered the bank, and the gunman ordered him to the floor as well, said police Lt. Enos Johnson.

Instead, the customer dashed out the door and through the parking lot.

Afterward, the robbers left with cash in a Lexus. Nobody was hurt.

-- Karl Fischer

Richmond
MAN HOSPITALIZED AFTER SHOOTING:

A 25-year-old man was listed in serious but stable condition after an early morning shooting, police said.

At 12:20 a.m. Friday, police were called to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Richmond by a report of a shooting victim, Lt. Mike Gormley said.

The man said he was walking in the 200 block of South 12th Street late Thursday night when he heard three or four shots fired and was hit in the torso, Gormley said.

The man managed to flag down a passing driver, who gave him a ride to the hospital.

No information was immediately available on a suspect.

The shooting took place about a block from the site of a gun battle Wednesday afternoon that left at least two young men wounded and forced a lockdown at nearby Nystrom Elementary School for the third time this school year.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police department's homicide section at 510-620-6612.

-- George Kelly

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The area around Nystrom Elementary is a magnet for violent crime, but nothing seems to be getting done about it. Was "Safe Streets Now" supposed to have that fixed? Will "Youth Corps" fix it? Would "Gun Free Zones" have been the fix?

Anybody in power care to comment?

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Election snafus left many hustling
Erroneous mailers directed voters to wrong precincts and consolidation resulted in crowded polling stations

By Sean Aronson
TIMES CORRESPONDENT

When schoolteacher Mary Oshima arrived at work on Election Day, she didn't know she'd be helping people search for a place to vote.

But when at least 20 voters showed up at Grant Elementary in Richmond on Tuesday only to find their polling place had moved, Oshima started making phone calls. She tried the city of Richmond; no answer. She tried the Contra Costa County Elections Department; no answer.

"One woman was just going to give up and leave, but I said, 'No, you have to vote,'" Oshima said.

Finally she typed the woman's address into the Elections Department Web site and found the right location.

"You feel like you're being disenfranchised," Oshima said.

The problems at Grant were among a series of snafus that left people confused and angry Tuesday.

Problems started with mailers carrying erroneous voter information -- including instructions sending people to vote outside their cities -- and ended with the county still counting a large number of provisional ballots at week's end from people who voted in the wrong places.

With Richmond election results so close -- the mayor's race and final seat on the City Council were each decided by fewer than 200 votes -- some said the confusion could have altered the outcomes.

"I think precinct consolidation and changing of polling places is an unintended way of limiting the voters' participation, which may have had an impact on the results," said Antonio Medrano, an unsuccessful candidate for the West Contra Costa United School District board.

The county Elections Department changed the polling place for 29 of 472 precincts, notifying voters less than a month before the election, said County Clerk Stephen Weir.

The election board also sent notices Oct. 20 to many Richmond residents indicating they would have to vote in other towns such as San Pablo, El Cerrito and even Walnut Creek. It was an error in printing, Weir said.

Cecelia Valdez, 62, a San Pablo resident and former president of the Latina/o Democratic Club of West Contra Costa County, said some people in San Pablo were told they would have to vote in Lafayette. She received a notice to vote in Richmond.

"I contacted (Richmond City Councilman) John Marquez about it, and he called Steve Weir," Valdez said.

The elections office received more calls of confusion stemming from mailings between Oct. 21 and 23 that outlined changes in polling places, Weir said.

Then, on Oct. 27, the department sent another mailing correcting the earlier one instructing people to leave their cities to vote.

"Our job was to admit to the problem and to fix it -- and we did that," Weir said.

The Elections Department ran television announcements and sent news releases to inform people of the mistake.

Richmond City Clerk Diane Holmes also posted a "voter alert" on the city Web site on Oct. 27, telling voters: "If you received a white card instructing you to go to another city to vote, please destroy the card. You will receive a yellow card with the correct information for your polling place for the Nov. 7 election."

"We received a lot of phone calls about the precinct changes in the morning of the election, and we referred everyone to the county offices," Holmes said.

At Wilson Elementary School, three precincts were combined into one, meaning 1,700 registered voters were eligible to vote there. Lines were out the door all day, and poll workers were exhausted.

The same was true in Pinole. At Ellerhorst Elementary School, two precincts were combined with a potential voting population of 800. There were long lines, not enough pens and no spaces in the booths, said Maria Alegria, Pinole mayor pro tem.

"People were sitting on the floor," Alegria said.

There are still about 40,000 absentee ballots to be counted countywide. Weir estimated that 1,700 of those were from Richmond. Another 9,000 provisional ballots remained to be counted, 900 from polling places in Richmond.

County officials said updated results, including absentee ballots, would not be available until later this month.

"I'm ready to be part of a blue-ribbon committee to tackle these issues," Alegria said. "Let's get this voting issue straightened out."

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The word RIDICULOUS easily comes to mind for this. Considering the foibles of previous elections, we'd think that this sort of nonsense would've been stamped out. Sounds like a lot of problems at the county level, and with more problems than Richmond itself.

At the Tazer, we wonder if this will affect the races for mayor and council. Might it be that our previous rant was premature?

Anyone out there with stories of voting irregularity, please feel free to comment.