I heartily agree with your endorsement of Proposition Five, the Nonviolent Offenders Rehabilitation Act, and particularly with your belief that drugs should be decriminalized. Although prohibitionists have long argued that such a move would make California a magnet for drug users, I believe that to be nonsense. Research has shown that this has not been the case when US states have decriminalized cannabis.
Having said that, I have to wonder what on earth you were thinking when you wrote that passing Measure JJ, which would allow medical cannabis dispensaries to relocate within the city of Berkeley, would somehow make Berkeley a "drug destination." The absurdity of this contradiction would be laughable if it weren't so serious.

The East Bay Express must be abusing someone's access to Oaksterdam medicine. There is no other way to explain your endorsement of incumbent Peralta Trustee Marcie Hodge (Area 2) over challenger Marlon McWilson.
You cite his felony convictions as the sole reason for the endorsement, yet you obviously asked no further questions nor did any further research.
In her four years on the Board--besides her questioning of the International Student program--Hodge has done nothing for Peralta Colleges students.
I never saw her at any committee meetings for the Board, and was only using the Peralta Board as a stepping stone for the Oakland City Council.
McWilson on the other hand, has worked with youth, is working with ex-offenders, and will not only bring some new energy to the Board, but can tip the scales of the current Board majority on some issues.
It is easy to focus on the alleged criminal past of a Black man but you dismiss her criminal neglect of her constituents. (You forgot to mention that her brother Jason Hodge tried to punk McWilson out of running.)
I would've supported Johnny Lorigo (as I did in 2004) or Darleen Brooks (who opted not to run) opposed to Hodge. But we got McWilson (who both Lorigo and Brooks support) and I'm with him.
Y'all slipped on this one.
-Reginald James
Former Peralta Colleges Student Trustee (2006-2008)

The more you think about it the East Bay Express is slowly but surely becoming a crusader for conservative causes and candidates with conservatives points of views.

I am very disappointed on the reasoning for Mc Wilson and both endorsements for EBMUD both of incumbents did not cause the drought and needed to react to the facts: WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF WATER. What was the board to do? lower prices for users? Did your staff even take the time to interview the candidates? Now, I can point out to actual accomplishments done by the current EBMUD board:
1. Leads the state on Water quality - yes, and second on the nation.
2. Awarded for being the MOST GREENEST water district in the NATION.
3. We are in the low end of water rates in the region.
4. First to complete all system wide retrofitting in anticipation of the big one and a state mandate.
5. Negotiated with Sacramento for a share plan that lower our construction cost for new water supply by $40mm.
And there is plenty more to re-elect all of the incumbents on the EBMUD. Before you start saying that the folks at Contra Costa were lead off the hook you need to see the facts. For the first time this board is actual as one working as a unit with the interest of the whole district at hearth and making things happen. Big thinks and projects are on the way because of the working relationship that we now have in that board. No longer the infighting between Alameda County vs. Contra Costa County are getting on the way of making sure that all of those who depend on EBMUD get fair rates and good quality of service.

At this point I agree with Mr. James comment. The staff at the EBX needs to stop using more than the cannabis - I really believe you folks must be abusing crack cocaine and need to cut down on consumption. Mc Wilson is a true role model for a community that desperately needs one. I am proud to call him a friend. He is no mother Teresa. To believe that folks that live in poor areas in Oakland do not grow up with challenges and to set standards of purity when it comes to a past criminal changes that have been dismissed is just not realistic. He talks about his accomplishments in his community. After graduating from CAL he came back to East Oakland and gave back to his community. He did not need to that but he came back because he believed in giving back.

The East Bay Express is wrong on not endorsing Mc Wilson, Linney and Patterson.

Mario Juarez
Oakland

EBMUD's board adopted a rationing plan based on past usage that punishes customers who had already implemented water conservation practices. Rather than giving everyone an equal per-capita ration, the board's plan rewards water wasters with significantly higher allocations. The plan rewards those who've made lifestyle choices, such as the maintenance of grass lawns, that unnecessarily use scarce water resources. Worst of all, the rationing plan is written in terms a fictional gallon-per-day unit that neither EBMUD meters nor bills can accurately state (both are measured in 748-gallon units).

It's clear that the drought required action from the board, but the action they chose was unfair to conservation-practicing customers.

I'll confess that I use the Guardian endorsements as a surrogate for research and fact-checking. I suspect I'm not alone. Still, I've gotten just a bit wiser with the years. Ladies and gentleman, these endorsements are a decidedly mixed bag, and in at least one instance exhibit pure bias, rather than thought, logic, or consistency.

To be specific, what exactly is the justification for bleeding home-owners who will (or would like to) sell in the coming years. You write:

"We also support Measure P, which more than doubles the tax rate on property sellers and buyers. The tax rate would go from $5.40 to $12.00 per $1,000 of value."

But only a few paragraphs earlier you disparage Measure OO (the "Kids First" initiative)

"We see this as a classic example of budgeting from the ballot box. We think it's bad policy to hamstring the city council by forcing it to spend a specific amount of money each year on kids' programs."

So ... it's okay to budget from the ballot-box, as long as you get to decide whose pockets are picked?

If your readers were primarily home-owners rather than renters, would you still be supporting Measure P? It's easy to gang up on home-owners until you become one.

Clark Suprynowicz
Berkeley, Ca.