Why Aimee Allison's Campaign is Essential

This election will determine the immediate future of
Oakland politics and the ability of those of us
working for Oakland's youth and for a progressive
vision of Oakland's ability to succeed in creating
true progressive change in Oakland. The following
shows why.


From Neighbors for Aimee:

Dear Friends,

All along, Aimee Allison's campaign for City Council
has been about the future of Oakland. Today the East
Bay Express reaffirmed our belief that a vote for
Aimee really is a critical vote for a progressive and
hopeful future in Oakland. From today's article,
"Rebranding a Candidate:"

If Kernighan wins on Tuesday, and subsequently
realigns herself with De La Fuente, it may be all he
needs to retain control of the council. But if
Allison is victorious, then the council president's
grip on the
city may finally pull apart. At least three of the
eight council members — Allison, Nadel, and Brooks —
would be openly opposed to him. And with Dellums in
office, one or two others might finally break
ranks for good, thereby ending the machine's dominance
over City Hall."

We hope you'll read the whole article for yourself.
Please share it with any friends who may be undecided
as well - its an important look at who each candidate
is and what they stand for. Here's the link, and
we'll paste the article below as well:

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/Issues/2006-11-01/news/feature3_full.html

Thanks so much. Six days to an inspiring win for
Oakland!


Rebranding a Candidate - Oakland Councilwoman Pat
Kernighan recasts herself as a progressive with the
help of friends.
By Robert Gammon
East Bay Express, November 1st, 2006

At her core, Pat Kernighan is a buttoned-down,
pro-business, pro-development Democrat. She's the
darling of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of
Commerce, and throughout her career has allied
herself with Oakland's most pro-business politician —
City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente. But now,
at least publicly, Kernighan has reversed course. Her
moderate credentials and political ties have
become a liability. Kernighan is in the political
fight of her life against Aimee Allison, a Green Party
member and conscientious objector in the first Iraq
War.
Allison's progressive ideals, coupled with a
demographic shift in central Oakland, have propelled
the two into a dead heat in the final weeks of the
campaign. Allison also has capitalized on the odor of
corruption that encircles City Hall and De La Fuente,
who is being investigated by the FBI in a probe of
bribes for city contracts.

In response, Kernighan has seemed to distance herself
from De La Fuente and the machine of his close friend
and mentor, state Senate President Don Perata — who is
also the target of an FBI investigation.
She has moved toward the left and sought to remake
herself as a "progressive." She recently opposed the
council president on a key council vote, and in a
recent glossy mailer was recast as a "feminist
and antiwar activist." The makeover is a last-minute
gambit to save Kernighan's seat, and also a final
attempt to keep the Perata machine
from breaking apart.

Moderate and moneyed politicians have dominated
District Two for a decade, and Kernighan has been at
the center of it all. She was chief of staff for
Councilman John Russo, who stepped down in 2000 to
become city attorney. She then held the same job under
Russo's successor, Councilman Danny Wan, who became
one of De La Fuente's most loyal lieutenants. After
Wan resigned last year, Kernighan replaced him.

Russo, Wan, and Kernighan's base traditionally has
been the Feinstein Democrats who reside in
million-dollar homes in the Crocker Highlands, Trestle
Glen, and upper Lakeshore neighborhoods. They also
have been
popular among Asian voters in East Lake and Chinatown.
But over the past several years, thousands of
progressive hipsters have poured into District Two,
taking up residence in the apartments around Lake
Merritt. They've been joined by young families who
bought homes in the East Lake and San Antonio
neighborhoods.

This new coalition is now embracing Allison, whose
antiwar credentials resonate with people angry over
the Iraq War and national political climate. "District
Two has become a very progressive district," Allison
said. "My antiwar background appeals to people because
of the
times that we're in."

Allison burst onto the political scene in early 2005
as a newcomer. She had never held office, but
instantly gained attention simply for outworking other
candidates. She walked door-to-door and chatted up
residents nearly every day for five months.

But in the eight-person race to finish out Wan's term,
Kernighan was the clear favorite. One of her largest
early donors was Perata's best friend, developer Ed De
Silva, who, along with his family and top
executives of his companies and their wives, showered
$8,400 on Kernighan's campaign.

Sure enough, Kernighan won, albeit with just 29
percent of the vote. Allison finished fourth, but she
had momentum. Less than a year later, she was knocking
on doors again, seeking to unseat Kernighan, who had
finished Wan's term and was running for a full
four-year council seat. As the incumbent, Kernighan
again had the advantage as the June primary
approached. And just as before, some of Perata and De
La
Fuente's biggest donors began cutting checks. Among
them was Ana Chretien, who is the former chair of the
chamber's PAC, and one of De La Fuente's best friends.

This time, it was a three-woman race — Kernighan,
Allison, and Chinatown activist Shirley Gee. Just as
before, Kernighan had the biggest endorsements and the
most money. She also loaned her campaign
$68,000. But Allison made it close. Buoyed by the
winning mayoral campaign of Ron Dellums, the East
Bay's most famous progressive, Allison garnered 39
percent of the vote. It was enough to force Kernighan,
who received 46 percent, into a November runoff.

Allison also gained the backing of progressive
Councilwoman Nancy Nadel, who has a strong following
in District Two. Kernighan, meanwhile, picked up Gee's
endorsement, but lost ground among progressives with
her unwavering support for the controversial Oak to
Ninth project, a massive 3,100-unit condominium
development to be erected along the estuary. Its
opponents, many of them District Two
residents, became further enraged when Kernighan's
former boss, Russo, tossed aside their referendum
against the project on a legal technicality.

Then in late September, the FBI rocked Oakland City
Hall with the arrest and indictment of De La Fuente
acquaintance Maurice Himy. The
feds said they taped Himy extorting cash from an
Oakland businessman
in exchange for a promise to help land a city contract
with the
assistance of a politician later identified as De La
Fuente. The
council president has strenuously denied any
wrongdoing, but Allison
has effectively exploited the allegations. "One of the
things that Aimee has done well is to tie Pat to
Ignacio," said Councilwoman Desley Brooks.

Indeed, Allison has made the FBI probes a cornerstone
of her campaign. In public speeches and conversations
with voters, she pledges to help Dellums clean up City
Hall and change its pay-to-play culture. "There's been
all this corruption, insider dealing, dirty dealing,
in
City Hall and it has to stop," she said last week to a
group of
supporters and journalists.

City Hall insiders said the barrage of bad publicity,
along with
Allison's door-to-door reminders, ultimately convinced
Kernighan it
was inflicting damage on her campaign. According to
one source,
Kernighan confronted De La Fuente and said she needed
to separate
herself publicly from him.

Kernighan wouldn't comment on this alleged
confrontation. De La Fuente
acknowledged that the two recently discussed campaign
strategy in a
closed-door meeting. Kernighan subsequently voted
against De La Fuente
on a major issue for the first time.

The vote concerned a proposed new law that would force
developers to
include affordable housing in their projects.
Developers strongly
opposed the so-called "inclusionary" housing
ordinance, and De La
Fuente voted against it. But Kernighan supported the
idea, joining
Nadel and Councilwomen Jane Brunner and Jean Quan, who
also often
align themselves with the council president.

Days later, Kernighan began to disavow a legal victory
by OakPAC, the
chamber of commerce's political action committee.
OakPAC, the city's
most influential pro-business committee, convinced a
federal judge to
suspend an Oakland law that sought to limit the amount
of money PACs
can raise and spend on behalf of a candidate. The
group endorsed
Kernighan and wanted to spend $58,000 on her behalf.
The judge told
the group it could spend as much as it wanted.

Kernighan said last week that she had nothing to do
with OakPAC's
maneuver or planned expenditures. Nonetheless, the PAC
contributed to
her makeover. In a glossy eight-page mailer that cost
$14,685 and was
sent to District Two residents, Kernighan was touted
not for her
moderate, pro-business political career but for her
"progressive
values" and support of "economic equality and social
justice." The
mailer even linked her with Nadel, saying they have
"sponsored" public
meetings together on such issues as affordable housing
and
homelessness.

Nadel grew angry when told of the mailer, calling it
"frustrating"
because it falsely implied that she supports
Kernighan. "It confuses
voters, because I didn't endorse her; I endorsed
Aimee," she said.
Indeed, Nadel is the only other politician mentioned
in the mailer. In
response, Kernighan said she "had nothing to do" with
the ad. OakPAC
chairman Michael Colbruno did not return a phone call
seeking comment.

For her part, Allison believes Kernighan's about-face
is a sham. She
also believes the alleged rift with De La Fuente is
merely a campaign
tactic, and that her opponent will return to his side
after the
election. "She campaigned directly for him for mayor,"
Allison said.
She also does not believe Kernighan's assertion that
she was not
involved in OakPAC's efforts.

Campaign finance records do show that many of the same
people funded
Kernighan's campaign and OakPAC. In total, at least
fifteen
deep-pocketed donors gave $69,100 to OakPAC and
$10,100 to Kernighan.
Among them are Oakland developers Phil Tagami and
James Falaschi, who
have both won lucrative deals with the city in recent
years, and Clear
Channel Outdoor, which last year paid for a series of
giant De La
Fuente billboards around the city.

Last week, mayor-elect Dellums convinced OakPAC to
drop its Kernighan
campaign when he threatened to denounce it publicly —
but not before
it already had sent out a second mailer. In total,
OakPAC spent at
least $25,000 promoting Kernighan.

If Kernighan wins on Tuesday, and subsequently
realigns herself with
De La Fuente, it may be all he needs to retain control
of the council.
But if Allison is victorious, then the council
president's grip on the
city may finally pull apart. At least three of the
eight council
members — Allison, Nadel, and Brooks — would be openly
opposed to him.
And with Dellums in office, one or two others might
finally break
ranks for good, thereby ending the machine's dominance
over City Hall.
____________________________________________________________
Visit http://www.AimeeAllison.org to get involved in Aimee's
Campaign
Neighbors for Aimee Allison * FPPC #1274089