Posted on 07/24/2007 5:10:47 PM PDT by csvset
Just about every proposal Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums has pitched since he took office seven months ago has sailed past the City Council.
His first, a plan to hire qualified ex-felons for city jobs, was praised for its utility and humanity.
And when he asked the council to significantly increase the budget for the mayor's office, not one member of the council questioned it.
But now it seems that Dellums' honeymoon with the council and the public is coming to an end.
Many residents are weary from the 3-week-old garbage lockout and are looking to Oakland City Hall -- including the mayor -- to provide answers and leadership in a time of crisis.
Last week, Dellums became a party to negotiations aimed at ending the lockout, but outside the closed doors he has said little to reassure the public that the dispute will be resolved soon.
And the council, which has until now accommodated the new mayor's every whim, has thwarted one of Dellums' nominations to the city's Port Commission, which sets the policy and direction for the economic behemoth.
The council's problem with Dellums is not new, and it touches on what has been his greatest weakness as a public official in this city -- his sheer lack of communication or availability to anyone outside his inner circle, about his plans, his pet projects or anything else.
"He needs to be able to share information and be aware that we (the council) are part of the process," said a council member who declined to be identified. "He can't take these votes for granted."
For the first time since he took office in January, the council halted Dellums in his tracks this month when he took its temperature on his plan to appoint Margaret Gordon, a feisty West Oakland environmental
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Dellums use to be my congress critter. The Rats decimated our military, and and the CIA in the ‘80-90’s with Dellums leading the charge.
Part of the blame for 9/11 lays at his feet.
They need to settle this lock out....my apartment complex of 65 units has had one pick up in the last month.
In Oakland, thats a plus. How else is he supposed to get elected up there?
True. Jerry Brown was mayor of Oakland.
How many see Oakland going the way of Detroit and Washington DC?
I have vague memories of this guy...but this is a hit piece. His failings in a big city is the rejection of only 1, maybe three appointees and that he,
“outside the closed doors he has said little to reassure the public that the dispute will be resolved soon”
Heck, if I saw that, I would take it as a message residents and businesses better make their own actions. Better than false hope.
That's Ron "Red" Dellums to those who have known him for about 35 years.
yitbos
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