Oakland – (Special to ZennieReport.com) – It’s now quite obvious that the Democratic Party this Oakland Blogger belongs to along with former District 1 Councilmember Dan Kalb has forgotten about small business. With all of the closings of Oakland restaurants and crime done to stores, one would think that the one of the first priorities of any candidate running for office in Oakland would be to send a message to small business owners that they have their back and will push for economic aide programs to help them stay open, right?
But candidates, people I know, like former District 1 Councilmember Dan Kalb and Emeryville Councilmember Kalima Priforce and former Oakland Mayoral Candidate Alyssa Victory, and others, send a powerful message that they forgot to even think about the small business owner in Oakland.
Take this message Former D1 Councilmember Dan Kalb sent out to me and others:
| Your Vote Needed to Make a Strong CA Democratic Party! |
| Reminder! There’s an election happening this weekend that is critical to ensuring an effective and strong Democratic Party in California. Now, more than ever, we must not sit back. Our country as a democracy is at stake. Every other year, the California Democratic Party (CDP) holds district-based elections to elect 14 delegates (7 men and 7 women) from within each state assembly district. These delegates shape the policy direction and political activism of our Party. Your vote is crucial to ensuring the CDP focuses on what matters–including taking bold actions to push back against Donald Trump and Elon Musk. I’m officially running for Assembly District Delegate this year as part of a great slate of public interest policy leaders, environmental advocates, and engaged political activists. There are two ways for your to vote: (1) IF you registered in advance (by Jan. 31), you should’ve received a letter from the CA Democratic Party with instructions on how to vote on-line NO later than 6pm Feb. 23rd; or (2) VOTE in-person this Sunday, Feb. 23rd, between 10:00am and 2:00pm at Congregation Beth Israel, 1630 Bancroft Way in Berkeley. You can quickly register in advance to save time on Sunday. Serving as one of the 14th Assembly District representatives (Buffy Wicks’ district) to the Democratic Party will help get us to a Party platform and endorsed candidates across the state that align with our shared vision of a safe, affordable, and environmentally responsible thriving East Bay and state. This is even more critical as Trump and his ilk do their damage across the nation. We must fight back! |
That message could have been written at any time. It implies that no one has an economic problem in Oakland. And while there’s nothing wrong with uniting to fight the problem an unhinged President Trump presents to a functioning country, that process of unification should not toss out our focus on what contributes the homeless problem; a lack of resources for those who create their own means of economic production: a business operation. And when Democrats in Oakland do focus on business, it seems as if it’s only concerned about weed. That’s bad.
This is what I wrote back to Dan:
Hi Dan,
Would love to have you on to introduce your slate. I have just one question: why does the list of concerns not include economic development? It seems we have a good list: Affordable Housing Needs; Prioritizing Environmental Justice and Climate Action; Defending Reproductive Freedom; Ending Gun Violence; Protection of Immigrants; Combating Hate, Bigotry, Racism, Antisemitism, Homophobia; Funding for Public Education; Smart Emergency Preparedness; Transportation Safety for All; Clean Money Elections; and a more engaged and responsive Democratic Party!
But no economic development? At a time when civic disinvestment due to long-term outsourcing of jobs, lack of programs to provide grants to small businesses (not loans), and technological change. Those are the reasons we lost the 2024 Election, Dan.
What’s up? Come on and let’s talk about it.
Best regards, Zennie
Dan had not responded to my email. And the last time he responded to my text message was July 18th, 2023. See:
And it’s nothing that’s new. I was complaining about Mayor Thao and Brandon Harami, her aide both in the Mayor’s Office and when Sheng was District Four Councilmember. Here Dan stopped to defend Sheng and then he cut me off from any other exchange. Now, Sheng has been recalled; go figure.
And that was after I revealed and distributed the report on how certain Oakland Councilmembers, including Dan, and then-District Six and now Oakland Mayoral Candidate then Councilmember Loren Taylor, were contributors at a fundraiser for the nonprofit news site Oaklandside. And that in spite of Oaklandside and parent company Cityside’s claim that they don’t have cozy relationships with politicians that impact their editorial policy – something that is illegal under nonprofit law (you cannot produce partisan political news if you’re a nonprofit organization). You can see the truth here at this ZennieReport post.
This Is Why Democrats Lost The 2024 Election: Forgetting Its About The Economy
Money solves problems. Now how many times have you got that message? What’s the problem where we as Democrats forgot that in order to get people to focus on issues of civil rights, we have to make sure their basic needs are taken care of? A person who’s homeless and hungry can’t effectively protest anything because they’re just trying to survive. Why did folks like Dan and others forget that? Is that what being “progressive” is all about?
No. Not at all.
Time for a reset.