Oakland Mayor Dellums' rocky transition from decades in Congress

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 8/14/7 | Chip Johnson

[SmithL]

Making the transition from almost 30 years on Capitol Hill to the daily grind of an urban mayor has not been an easy one for Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, who stepped into his new job in January.

In his first eight months, Dellums' new role has compelled him to drop the hammer on union workers to end a garbage lockout and call in more police in an attempt to restore law and order after a crime wave claimed nine lives in the last two weeks.

The mayor made the decisions reluctantly, said City Hall sources. That's not surprising, given that he made a career standing between America's disenfranchised citizens and colleagues who preferred law-enforcement solutions. As a congressman, he was a friend of the working man, and certainly not the kind of elected official who would threaten to replace them to end a labor dispute.

After a monthlong garbage company lockout of 481 Teamsters garbage truck drivers ended late last month, Dellums told both sides to settle the dispute or he would replace them.

And last week, Dellums put his own politics aside and asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for the assistance of the California Highway Patrol after a crime wave that began with the assassination of Chauncey Bailey, a well-known Oakland journalist, followed by a police raid on Your Black Muslim Bakery (whose associates were arrested in the killing and an unrelated kidnapping) and eight other slayings.

It's going to take a while to find out whether Dellums, now 71, will successfully make the adjustment, . . .

[SmithL]

[SirJohnBarleycorn]

Brown, now state attorney general, was Dellums' immediate predecessor in Oakland and learned soon after he took office in 1999 that residents expect to see some food on their plate at the end of the day.

ROFL. As a bona fide red, it will be difficult for Dellums to grasp this, but those residents could go out into the free market, get jobs, get paid, take part of the pay to their grocery store, and voila! - food will appear on their plate at the end of the day.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

This guy would make Bernie Sanders look conservative.

[IronJack]

Another Castro-worshipping, tin-plated socialist who can’t sleep in the bed he made.

[RooRoobird20]

From Christopher Hitchen’s 8/6 column in Slate regarding Oakland’s “Your Black Muslim Bakery” and the slaying of Chauncey Bailey:

“...Ron Dellums—who I was startled to find was still alive....”

LOL, I was startled, too!!! First Jerry Brown, now Ron Dellums—Oakland is an Old Leftist burial ground. If Detroit is “New Falluja” (ala Rush), Oakland is “New Falluja #2”. What a sorry excuse for (Democrat machine-run) local government.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Dellums has a big problem in that Your Black Muslim Bakery was also His Black Muslim Supporters. ;)

I swear that many lazy Californians simply cast their ballots for a name they recognize, without regard to what the individual stands for.

[bigfootbob]

"Another Castro-worshipping, tin-plated socialist who can’t sleep in the bed he made."

Another Castro-worshipping, tin-plated socialist communist who can’t sleep in the bed he made. There, fixed it!

[jiggyboy]

...a crime wave that began with the assassination of Chauncey Bailey, a well-known Oakland journalist...

Excuse me? That's like me saying my life began this morning.

[jmaroneps37]

Comrade Ron meets reality.