Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The Perata Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Straight
Politics / People / Law Enforcement & Crime Robert Gammon — Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 10:47 AM
If the events of recent days are any indication, Don Perata’s candidacy for mayor is off to a very shaky start. Not only have the major dailies noted the many ties between the ex-state senator and a shadowy political group that blanketed the city with two political hit pieces over the weekend. But the glossy mailers sent by the Perata-linked group — Coalition for a Safer California — are full of ridiculous errors that raise serious doubts about the intellectual capacity of Perata’s close associates, while offering potential insight to how a Perata mayor’s office would function.
For starters, the mailers urge Oakland residents to call councilmembers and voice their concerns about the cops’ layoff plan before a “Tuesday, June 29th” vote. But the council already voted for the cops’ layoff plan on June 24 — before the mailers had even arrived in peoples’ mailboxes. In fact, there is no City Council meeting on June 29 (today). It was canceled last week, before the mailers hit Oakland.
In addition, the mailers target Councilwomen Rebecca Kaplan and Desley Brooks, criticizing them, along with Councilwomen Jean Quan and Pat Kernighan, for the Oakland cops’ layoff plan and the city’s financial woes. However, Kaplan and Brooks voted against the cop layoffs on June 24 — again, before the mailers arrived in Oakland.
In other words, if the purpose of the mailers was to convince residents to put pressure on the council to not vote for the cop layoffs, then the hit pieces completely missed the mark. Pathetic and amateurish are two words that immediately come to mind.
Not surprisingly, Larry Tramutola, Perata’s campaign manager, distanced himself from the mailers, telling the Express in an interview that the former senator was not involved with them. Still, there is no denying that Perata has close ties to the group behind the mailers — Coalition for a Safer California.
That group is funded primarily by the California Correctional Peace Officers’ Association, which gave it $100,000. As this newspaper reported last week, the prison guard’s union has paid Perata at least $350,000 in the past seventeen months for work as a “campaign consultant,” even though it has mounted no political campaigns. Perata has long had ties to the prison guard’s union, and helped protect it from budget cuts while he was state Senate president pro tem. The prison guard’s union also is Perata’s only political campaign client.
Coalition for a Safer California also is co-run by Paul Kinney, a Sacramento political operative whose son, Jason Kinney, has been one of Perata’s longtime spokesmen. The group’s headquarters is Paul Kinney’s Sacramento offices.
In addition, other contributors to the group include longtime Perata supporters and campaign donors, including Foster Interstate Media, which is owned by the ex-senator’s close friend John Foster. Foster gave the group $25,000. Perata friend Ronald Dreisbach donated $10,000 to the group. Oakland lobbyist and Perata supporter Carlos Plazola and his business partner Laura Blair donated a total of $5,000.
Tramutola also said Perata had nothing to do with last week’s robocalls from the Oakland police union that attacked Quan, who is also running for mayor this year. It should be noted that the robocalls also contained inaccurate information. They blamed Quan for the city’s budget problems, noting that she is the council’s budget chair. However, most City Hall observers agree that Oakland’s financial problems are primarily due to the recession and to generous employee wage, benefit, and pension packages approved by the council before the economic downturn.
Finally, as previously reported, the robocalls also alleged that Quan had refused to consider budget cuts other than police layoffs, when in fact, she and Kernighan, along with council President Jane Brunner and Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, had proposed nearly $19 million budget-balancing measures, including cuts unrelated to the layoffs, prior to the robocalls going out.
Comments (11)
Showing 1-11 of 11
"Getitrite should get a life."
I have a life, you loser, one that includes REAL life, REAL facts and not just a sick obsession. You call my questioning Gammon's using the face of journalism to pursue a personal vendetta about a public figure a "screed". REALLY? This is a guy who has been consistently WRONG in every accusation of Perata over the past decade - where is the accountability? And what gives YOU the right to call Perata corrupt?
Dishonest? Let alone incompetent. No charges filed, no indictment, no trial - despite Gammon repeatedly predicting all of the above. Now you - who I truly believe are Gammon faking yet another stupid anonymous commenter-pose - call Perata incompetent. Right, he got to be Senate President by being incompetent. He passed milestone legislation on a variety of issues by being incompetent. What do YOU do for a living? Exactly - not a damn thing.
It is not MY fault Gammon is a pathetic excuse for a journalist who embarasses those of us who actually work, or worked, in the news business. We were actually required to have proof before accusing anyone of crimes, but of course public figures don't count anymore, just sling the sh$t and let it stick where it lands.
I especially love this hillbilly "thems the facts" comment. WHERE? WHAT "FACTS"?????????????? Proof. Evidence. Data. You are a liar, and have a grudge against someone who has made something of his life and you haven't. Your screed against me, and Perata, is embarrasing. Your corruption of the public trust and your clumsiness in repeating unsubstantiated gossip are your fault, the the lame rag EBE that passes in some circles as "journalism". YOUR fault. Not Perata. Not me. And
now everybody knows it.
See how easy it is to juxtapose your rant with yours & Gammon's names in place of mine & Perata? I didn't give a rat's a$$ about the mayor's race, or Perata, until I started hearing what Gammon has been doing for years. I am sick to death of everyone in the media being able to say what they want with no repercussions - the rest of us would be sued. Gammon should not only be sued but banned from journalism. He's got some kind of mental problem that needs addressing - ironically, any help he'd get from the state would likely be thanks to Don Perata who passed the best legislation to help the mentally ill in about 40 years. I can't wait til November when he's voted Mayor just so I can add another "Gammon wrong again" column to my collection - now YOU, Loser-Loggins get to be part of that collection. Congratulations. Now go collect your unemployment check.
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Sorry Oaktown but that dog won't hunt.
Perata's problem is Perata. Not Gammon.
If Perata wasn't in bed with the prison guards union no one would be able to write about it.
If Perata didn't launder money through his son's consulting firm no one would be able to write about it.
If Perata didn't use campaign donations to buy expensive gifts to pay off his cronies no one would be able to write about it.
Having his buddies at the prison guards union send out that mail piece was just the latest example of the dishonesty and corruption that Perata has become known for. It showed poor character.
It's also an example of why he won't get elected Mayor.
I agree that the Perata/COPS mailer was poorly executed and that Don Perata bears responsibility for the actions of his long-time Sacramento supporters. That said, I agree with many respondents who challenge Gammon's journalistic credibitily. Perata is not above criticism, quite the contrary. But the problem is that Gammon criticizes no one else. He consistenly apologizes for the other players, particularly failed incumbents like Quan, Kaplan and Dellums, while trying to convict Perata of murder in public opnion if he suspects jay-walking has occured! The lack of focus on anything substantive, other than "he said, she said" about Perata, is a disservice to Oakland residents looking to make informed choices, and raises fundamental, psychological questions as to why why Gammon is so obsessed.
Getitrite should get a life. His/her ridiculous screed against Gammon is beyond embarrassing.
It is not Gammons' fault that Perata is a corrupt, dishonest career politician who is also showing himself to be remarkably incompetent too.
Perata is bought and paid for by the prison guards and cops and is willing to sell out the taxpayers to help his friends and cronies.
And now everybody knows it.
Thems the facts and all the blame lies with Perata. His corruption and clumsiness are his fault. Not the media.
God, Bob Gasman, you must be beyond desperate to spend every waking minute stalking Perata. Does anyone but Quanabeemayor actually give a rats about robocalls or mailers? Why don't you call Quan's record into question, that nutjob has not only jacked up city employees' pay & benefits (and not just cops) but she is the budget chair. And how can you even mention Desley Brooks as if she was anything but a total moron - this is someone who forced an expensive multi-page opionion by the city attorney PAID FOR BY OAKLAND TAXPAYERS to determine if she or Quan gets a damn PARKING SPACE 2 feet closer to the office! The bigger question is: Why does Gasman keep ragging Perata but never Dellums? Quan? Brooks? and the multitude of other wackjobs that have run Oakland into the joke/slum/ghetto that it is. If they put on the ballot "Should we just nuke Oakland and start all over again?", 90% of Californians would vote YES. Oakland needs a huge change, not do-nothing-but-bankrupt-everything-she-touches Quan, and not I-think-I'm-qualified-cuz-I-got-BART-a-shuttlebus Kaplan. Gasman, you need to get over whatever Perata did to you - steal your girl? dump you for another guy? WHATEVER - because you have officially reached the level of stalker. I think he should put a restraining order on you, and the Eastbay Express should apologize to anyone with an IQ for continuing to tolerate your incredibly weird obsession with that bald white guy.
The leadership of CCPOA does what it wants without seeking out the approval of it's membership.
Believe me there are a lot of CCPOA members that would not vote for Perata even if he was the only individual running for office.
HA HA HA! Can Perata do anything right? He can't even be corrupt without being incompetent.
What an overrated has been.
The Coalition for a Safer California is funded primarily by the California Correctional Peace Officers’ Association, which gave it $100,000 and the very same CCPOA has has paid Perata at least $350,000 in the past seventeen months for work as a “campaign consultant.” It's also common knowledge that Perata has long had ties to the prison guard’s union, helped protect it from budget cuts while he was state Senate president pro tem, etc. Has Tramutola denied that the prison guard’s union is Perata’s political campaign client. Meanwhile, has anyone heard what Perata is proposing to resolve the city's budget mess? Or is he hoping that the voters will blindly fall in line, as they did when they elected our absent mayor, hoping that he's Oakland's salvation.
Seems like this is going to be the next smear? Can't have it both ways. Jean Quan was on the School Board when Jerry Brown and Ignacio negotiated the police pensions.
She was on the City Council when the state takeover took place. School activists will tell you when the district offered teachers a 24% raise because their antiquated accounting systems over stated their revenues, she was one of the few to question the county, state and outside auditors.
If you watch the Finance Committee meetings at all you would have seen her lead the fight to rebuild reserves and pay back internal fund loans and take on the former city manager.
Bob, if you have actual proof of involvement then show it. All this article says to me is that you suspect Perata has something to do with the mailer and the robocall. Well, you have two clear on-the-record denials from an identified source--where's the there there?
City Hall "observers" also agree that it was Jean Quan who negotiated the said "generous employee wage, benefit, and pension packages" and spent our reserve funds before the economic downturn (which was supposed to protect us in leaner times).
The cops, firefighters, Perata, and anyone else in Oakland are right to target Jean Quan. Just as Jean Quan drove OUSD into bankruptcy, this mess is also her doing.
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