Wilson Riles speaks on "Local Government: Hogtied by a fear of 'State Planning'"

Green Sunday, October 9th, 5 - 6:30 pm

SPEAKER: Wilson Riles served on the Oakland City Council from 1979 to 1992 and ran for Mayor in 2002. He is an active Green Party member and a former member of the Green Party County Council.

TOPIC: Local Government: Hogtied by a fear of 'State Planning'

"Out of an abundance of fear of being called socialist, local governments shy away from long term planning of and the direct influencing of the local economy for the benefit of the general good. There is no credible or effective thinking about a community's long term economic survivability or sustainability. The corporate needs or the lack of them sway local governments back and forth in their attempts to copy the latest generic community success with a "silicon valley," a "gambling haven," etc. Small business, the proven greatest job generator is ignored or worse. City budgets are littered with the detritus of past corporate sponsored Federal and State mechanisms intended to capitalize on past, failed corporate trends, fashions, and tastes-of-the-month that harnessed local government for other than the communities best interest. Wilson will trace some of this detritus."


SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month.