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P&F 2006 Campaign News Coverage

From the 20 April 2006 Bay Area Reporter, original version archived by publisher:

E. Bay voters face choices in Assembly race

by Roger Brigham

LGBT voters in Oakland, Alameda, and Piedmont will have five candidates to choose from in the District 16 race to replace state Assemblywoman Wilma Chan (D), who is termed out after six years in office.

Among the candidates, there are no departures from Chan's progressive Democratic agenda on any of the main campaign issues. All support same-sex marriage, adoptions by LGBT couples, and the bills currently before the legislature regarding equitable representation in educational materials of LGBT people and the use of HIV-education and prevention funds for needle and syringe exchange programs. All cite education as a top issue.

Their major differences are in financial backing, experience, endorsements, and emphasis.

The four Democratic candidates are:

Ronnie Gail Caplane, 57, who served eight years on the Piedmont school board, says it is important to preserve women's representation in the Assembly, and has the heavyweight celebrity endorsement of Rob Reiner and out lesbian state Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica).
Alameda City Council member Tony Daysog, 40, who thinks most politicians act too "apologetic" when they speak out for LGBT rights and thinks his fellow Democrats are too indebted to special interest groups to achieve their objectives.
Oakland City Attorney John Russo, 47, who brings name recognition, lengthy experience in city government, and the backing of conservationists and firefighters.
Sandré Swanson, 57, a former chief of staff and senior policy adviser to Congresswoman Barbara Lee and former Congressman Ron Dellums, who last ran for political office 20 years ago, when he lost a county Board of Supervisors race against current Senate President pro tem Don Perata, who now joins Lee and Dellums in endorsing him.

Edward Ytuarte, 60, a housing activist from Oakland, is running on the Peace and Freedom Party platform. There are no Republican candidates in the race.

There was enormous disparity in the funding each of the candidates had by the end of the campaign reporting period ending March 17, with Swanson having spent the most money and Russo having the most money in reserve. Ytuarte said he has raised about $700 and spent most of it on filing fees. Daysog had reported spending in 2006 of $7,000 and had $401 on hand. Caplane had spent $44,000 and had $187,000 on hand; Russo had spent $49,000 and had $287,000 on hand; and Swanson had spent $199,000 and had $92,000 on hand.

Here's a quick look at each of the candidates:

Caplane

Caplane is the widow of former Democratic campaign attorney Joe Remcho, who represented Gray Davis, Willie Brown, and other notable politicians until his death in a 2003 helicopter crash. She worked as an attorney in maritime, aviation, and civil litigation before becoming a "full-time mom" in 1985. She serves on the member of the state Workers' Compensation Appeals Board in San Francisco and served eight years on the Piedmont school board before being termed out of office. A board member of the National Women's Political Caucus and a member of the National Association of Women Judges, she has the organizational endorsements of the Oakland Police Officers, NWPC, and Emily's List.

With Chan leaving the Assembly, Caplane said she thought she could play an important role in maintaining diversity in the government. "It's important that we have women and men in the Assembly," Caplane said. "At the end of this year, we will have 15 women who will be termed out. Even if all the women who are running are elected, we'll still be down.

"A little over three years ago, my husband died. That's a transforming experience on many levels. One of the things that comes out of it is that there's no waiting for tomorrow. We really need to start doing things now.

"The legislature seems to be at a long-time low in accountability. Accountability is key. Seventy-five percent of my time has been spent fundraising to get clean money. If we want to change the way people regard government, we need to change the face of government."

Caplane said she believed her experience on the Piedmont school board makes her the best candidate for the Assembly. "Everyone is probably saying education is the No. 1 issue," she said. "Anyone who can read a poll knows education is the first issue. The difference is I am the only one who has worked in education. It helps me understand the need not to cut school funding and to understand what is needed for schools to be effective."

Caplane said her political outreach to the LGBT community has included attending an LGBT roundtable in Oakland City Hall and going on a march. "None of the gay groups I have interviewed with are endorsing anyone yet," she said. "My daughter was a driving force behind a gay-straight alliance in school. We passed domestic partner benefits while I was on the school board. I'm just open to the issues."

Daysog

Daysog has been a member of the Alameda City Council since 1996. He has no major endorsements. He has written op-ed pieces favoring state taxation of sales of services, opposing proliferation of major gambling casinos near urban centers, and calling for federal government and medical industry to cooperate in controlling health care costs. He said standing up to major unions such as the state corrections officers is critical to funding better education.

Daysog said things changed in the state, particularly regarding education funding, following the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978.

"While it served a useful purpose then and continues to do so now, it slowly and inextricably strangled the educational system of funds that allowed the breadth of programs, instructors, and counselors. The tragedy of it all is that we – the Democrat Party – have figured out a way to miss every opportunity to dramatically improve our K-12 and post-secondary educational systems. I suspect it is largely because the kinds of reforms needed for this to happen run contrary to the wishes of the powerful special interests with whom we are so sadly tied.

"I want to reduce the retail sales tax and then expand the base from which we collect sales taxes to include services industries (except real estate, personal investments, and health care) – a fiscal reform that can generate anywhere between $9 and $13 billion in new money. But powerful special interest groups with whom the Democrats are tied, such as trial lawyers, oppose this."

Daysog sees most funding solutions for education as "shell games" that do not really solve any problems.

"We need to fully fund our schools with 'new money,' not money that is taken from health and social welfare budgets," Daysog said.

Daysog, who would be the state's first Filipino lawmaker if elected, is critical of the timidity he thinks some other politicians exhibit on LGBT issues.

"I support same-sex marriage; I believe this is a civil rights matter" he said. "I've worked hard and successfully in Alameda in acknowledging and extending certain rights to LGBT domestic partners and city employees, as well as successfully passing legislation that exempts LGBT domestic partners from the real estate transfer tax.

"In pursuing this work, I've always believed that it was not enough to advocate for what I was doing using sheepish language that seemed to apologize to the larger heterosexual community for what I was doing. And I see a lot of politicians doing exactly that when it comes to LGBT issues, especially same-sex marriage. They say they are for it, but their body language sends an apologetic message to the larger heterosexual community that, in my mind, undermines the sincerity with which these politicians took on this important civil rights issue."

Asked about LGBT adoptions, Daysog said, "If elected, I would deny resources (funds and in-kind resources) to nonprofit adoption agencies (including Catholic Charities) that discriminated based on sexual orientation."

Russo

Russo was elected to the Oakland City Council in 1992, and then became Oakland's first elected city attorney in 2000 after voters approved the "strong-mayor" initiative that made the job an elected position. Russo ran unopposed in 2004 and cannot run again because of term limits.

Russo made headlines by suing Caltrans for not cleaning up trash along freeways and going after dozens of liquor stores for quality-of-life violations. His work to protect Alameda Creek and against use of herbicides in the pest management programs, as well as his work to initiate the county recycling program and his legal representation to get the Green Party on the ballot, all helped him earn a dual endorsement with Swanson from the Sierra Club. Russo's other endorsements the California League of Conservation Voters, former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, and California Professional Firefighters.

"It's a long track record of improving lives and communities," Russo said. "You only get six years in the Assembly. It's important that you're experienced enough to hit the ground running."

Russo said he has been on the record in support of same-sex marriage for 10 years.

"Back in 1995 when I first became a city council member," he said, "I was approached by community leaders who wanted the city to provide domestic partner benefits. We got it done in 1996. I said then, 'Domestic partnership is fine, but it's merely the first step toward full marriage rights.' That was in the spring of 1996."

Russo said he has had three house parties aimed at LGBT outreach and will continue to do more.

Merle Yost, publisher and editor of the East Bay Voice, an online site (www.eastbayvoice.org), said he was endorsing Russo for the Assembly. "I like John a lot and he is as good on queer issues as anyone out there," Yost said.

Asked if he supported the needle exchange legislation, Russo said, "Absolutely. The very first Saturday that I was a city council member, there were some needle exchange programs in West and East Oakland. A couple of the workers had been arrested. I went with them to West Oakland with a couple of my colleagues to distribute needles with them in an act of civil disobedience. We wanted to get a message to the police that they had better things to do than cracking down on needle exchange. I put myself on the line."

Swanson

Besides Lee, Dellums, and Perata, and the dual endorsements with Russo from the Sierra Club and California League of Conservation Voters, Swanson's list of endorsements reads like a "Who's Who" of labor and political insiders: Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante; Oakland City Council members Jane Brunner and Henry Chang; Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates; Berkeley City Council member Kriss Worthington; California Teacher's Association; California Nurses Association; California AFL-CIO; California Federation of Teachers; Service Employees International Union; American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees; and the California Legislative Black Caucus.

"I have a 30-year record of accomplishment working in the federal legislature with Dellums and Lee," Swanson said. "I think I earned those endorsements after a year of putting my record before these organizations.

"I plan to concentrate on the issues that will positively affect the health, education, and safety of children. The status of the schools, the governor's broken promises to the children in funding, challenges in the Oakland school district and the issue of getting local control back: these are all important issues.

"So many Californians are without health care. That's an important issue. I want to improve the state economy by bringing in new technologies that embrace the development of a green economy."

Asked about his contact with the LGBT community, Swanson's comments are more personal than political.

"All my life, my family has been very progressive on gender and sexuality issues," Swanson said. "It's just been part of my life. My brother, Terry, was an openly gay mne from a very young age. He died of AIDS in the 1980s. My mother – if you were in any way homophobic, you were never invited back to the house. I just always grew up with that sense of openness.

"In my professional career, I have always worked on a diverse staff that has always included gays and lesbians. A core part of my outreach has been diversity on my staff."

Regarding his support of the bill for more equitable representation of LGBT figures in state education materials, Swanson said, "There are many people who have made major contribution and they should be honored. It's part of human respect and dignity."

Ytuarte

Ytuarte said he was unsure of his support in the LGBT community. "I've been interviewed by one organization," he said. "I'm confident that there's nothing in my positions that people in the gay community would find displeasure with.

"As far as the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. I don't think people should join the military anyway. If the military wants to discriminate against Latinos and people with disabilities, that's fine by me. I would hope other groups would feel the same.

"Pertaining to the state, I'm looking at ways to change the tax structure, particularly for education. Corporations are getting a lot of free work preparation through the public schools. That's not fair how they're being subsidized. We should be looking at higher taxation on larger corporations. Another general thing is making sure we don't have discrimination against people who are disabled. I'm a person with a disability. I want to be a voice for the disabled in Sacramento.

"I've been very involved in housing advocacy in Oakland. I don't think the tenant's voice is being heard in Sacramento. For instance, when tenants pay security deposits and get the deposits back, they should get interest on it.

"I think the two-party system right now isn't working very well. We need new voices to start looking at new ways – for more progressive voices to be heard."

Peace and Freedom Party Campaign 2006