Click here for a complete list of our election recommendations.
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Corrections to an earlier version of this editorial have been appended at the end.
For Tuesday’s election, we have made recommendations on more than 160 state and local races and ballot measures. In the East Bay, we tried to touch on every city. We wish we could have done more.
We talked to a lot of well-qualified people seeking public office. And a lot of well-intentioned candidates who need to do more homework.
Then there are those who should not be running. They are the landmines on your ballot — the candidates to avoid: (To read our editorial recommendation for each race, click on the candidate’s name.)
Jim Oddie — The Alameda City Council incumbent seeks re-election even though a city-commissioned investigation found that he violated the City Charter. The charter prohibits council members from meddling in hiring decisions. But Oddie pressured the city manager during selection of a new fire chief to pick the union’s preferred candidate. Oddie is seeking city payment for his legal bills for the investigation, which was prompted by his own misbehavior.
Desley Brooks — An Oakland councilwoman seeking re-election, Brooks faces a city ethics investigation into whether she misused city resources and has cost Oakland millions for her assault of former Black Panther leader Elaine Brown in a restaurant altercation. There’s also the city auditor’s finding that she interfered with the construction of two city recreation centers and meddled in the contracting for demolition of an Oakland Army Base building.
Ken Bukowski — The former Emeryville city councilman trying to make a comeback hasn’t paid a nine-year-old, $15,500 fine from the Fair Political Practices Commission for multiple violations, including using campaign money to help pay down his mortgage. When Bukowski was on the council, he was censured for failing to disclose a consulting contract with a company that had business with the city. Running now for the school board and City Council simultaneously further undermines his credibility.
Jeff Belle — To win a seat on the Contra Costa Board of Education four years ago, Belle lied on his ballot statement about his education. It wasn’t the first time he claimed college credentials he didn’t have. He has also illegally practiced respiratory care without a license and pleaded guilty in a bogus-check case. Most recently, he threatened to sue the county board after his colleagues refused to pay him for a meeting he didn’t attend.
Debra Vinson — One of the candidates running against Belle, Vinson, an Antioch school board trustee, was censured for inappropriately meddling with district staff in a student transfer case. Her conduct during an investigation of her actions “tended to support the overall allegation that she considers herself not bound by policies and procedures,” the outside investigator found.
Joel Young — Running for a fifth term on the AC Transit board, Young has been censured by his board for his actions with respect to confidential district information. A district investigation and the board censure found that Young, an attorney, admitted to the investigator that there was no district business purpose associated with review of the documents; rather it was to aid him in separate litigation. The AC Transit investigator and a subsequent Oregon state bar investigation found no evidence that Young actually used the information he acquired from the AC Transit case.
Michael Menesini — A candidate for Contra Costa Community College District and former Martinez mayor and councilman, Menesini in 2014 considered taking the position of city manager, for which he was unqualified, in a move that would have increased his pension.
Diddo Clark — A candidate for Contra Costa Board of Education and attorney, Clark has been suspended twice by the state bar, once for lying to the court about mailing a brief, the other for appearing before the court on behalf of one of her brothers without authority. She’s appealing the second case. And, in a legal dispute with her mother, a jury found her mother was a victim of financial elder abuse.
Linda Handy and Bill Riley — These two longtime incumbents seeking re-election to the Peralta Community College board of trustees still don’t understand, or choose to mislead the public about, the district’s extraordinary debt, created when the board launched a risky, complex borrowing scheme two years before the Great Recession.
Nicholas Harvey — He’s running for the boards of the Hayward school district, AC Transit, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Eden Township Healthcare District and Fairview Fire Protection District. It’s an abuse of taxpayers and a misuse of the election system. We were not amused; nor should voters be.
If you want more details about these candidates’ actions, you can click on their names above or go online to www.eastbaytimes.com/endorsements to read our editorials about the races they’re competing in.
And be sure to vote no later than Tuesday.
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Correction: November 5, 2018 An earlier version of this editorial incorrectly described AC Transit Director Joel Young’s actions with respect to confidential district information. A district investigation and board censure found that Young, an attorney, admitted to the investigator that there was no district business purpose associated with review of the documents; rather it was to aid him in separate litigation. However, the AC Transit investigator and a subsequent Oregon state bar investigation found no evidence that Young actually used the information he acquired from the AC Transit case.
Correction: November 5, 2018 An earlier version of this editorial incorrectly described Michael Menesini’s 2014 discussions about taking the position of city manager.
