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My top priorities are on the splash page of this web site.
As much as possible I put my political positions out in public on my blog.
Here are links to some of what I find important
and relevant to this election:
First, I believe in ethics and have proposed these ethics for grass roots political candidates: http://donmacleay.blogspot.com/2012/02/commitments-for-progressive-candidates.html
Here is a short version of my views on public safety and crime as a PDF handout.
I am a very strong advocate of getting Oakland off the merry-go-round that takes out youth into the criminal justice system and rarely lets them back off. This vicious circle is a big part of why we have such chronic crime in our city. There are better ways, those ways are community policing and restorative justice, and both of them are officially city policy. Yet we still send our youth to jail and our parolees back to jail with little hope of reform and integration into society. As a council member I will propose that we set up our own diversion program if the County of Alameda is not willing and ask the State of California to divert the criminal justice funds to the city to deal with it.
In keeping with my desire to promote restorative justice and stop the vicious circle that traps many our youth, especially our youth of color, I find it appropriate to participate in the Oakland Rising endorsement process. I share many concerns and ideas in common with the Ella Baker Center and Urban Habitat dating back to when Urban Habitat was lead by Carl Anthony and was a project of Earth Island Institute. This document is my submission to Oakland Rising.
I am also opposed to continuing with Measure Y because I support the community policing and restorative justice that it is supposed to promote, but hampers instead.
http://donmacleay.blogspot.com/2012/05/it-is-time-for-measure-y-to-go.html
I am committed to sticking by the will of the voters in all of the ballot measures. The only ethical way to change the mandate of a ballot measure is to take a replacement ballot measure to the people.
http://donmacleay.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-simple-commitment-to-respect-will-of.html
My own background is as an industrial union member and activist. It is with pleasure that I address the local public sector unions, who I respect and support.
I have filled out a questionnaire for the Oakland Education Association, our teacher’s union and you can view it by clicking here. I met with them on Thursday Aug. 2nd and am very grateful to have their endorsement, ranked #2 for the City Council race District 1.
This is the only district where they chose to rank a second choice.
I have also filled out a very long (9 pages of questions) form for SEIU Local 1021. view it by clicking here Since it tool longer than the deadline that they gave me to fill it out, their representative
(Jon Asmerom Political Organizer SEIU Local 1021 (510) 316.4903 m or (510) 350.4566,
Jon.Asmerom@SEIU1021.ORG) decided to not even interview me as part of their process. I asked if there would be another chance to dialog with them or if they would reconsider and meet me and got no reply.
I have also participated in a lunch time panel with Local 21, they have not requested any campaign literature or asked us to fill out any questionnaire.
Here is an open letter to the business community
http://donmacleay.blogspot.com/2012/05/12.html
and here is the same text with an intro as a PDF handout
Here is basic PDF handout on the Environment and what the City of Oakland should be doing.
I have also participated in the Sierra Club process this year and this is my submission to them.
I am in favor of budget reform.
We need to have stable planning.
That planning should take some basics into account such as the business cycle, taxes raised as a base line instead of projections, being more flexible with our budget, providing stable employment to city workers, and the effects of spending on the local economy.
I propose consolidating all our various taxes and rules into a new general plan.
Taxes need to be more for some, less for others and fairly based on what can be afforded by all.
http://donmacleay.blogspot.com/2012/09/what-would-better-budge-look-like.html
I am in favor of reforming the way our council is elected and how it works.
Firstly, we need to do away with these districts that do not look like our neighborhoods.
Secondly, we need to have a proportional system that gets all groups with over 5% represented.
Thirdly, we need to get the roles clear as to what the Mayor does as an administrator and what council does as the oversight authority. Right now we have a mix of authorities and a lack of accountability.
Fourthly we need to give our neighborhood groups
I think the City of Oakland should ask for accounts of other local governments.
Specifically, AC Transit, BART, The County of Alameda (who provides, or does not provide, social services and prosecutes and incarcerates our youth), EBMUD (the water company) and others that we depend on for our basic services need to be questioned on how well they are doing for us. Oakland should be more active in our minimal regional government associations. ABAG (governments) and the MTC (transit) both should be doing more and have Oakland better represented. Oakland should advocate better regional government as a major part of our policies.
I think the City of Oakland should support the schools without meddling in educational affairs.
We have supposedly had the policy of building up our schools and supplementing our buildings, play yards, libraries and parks to provide a community center support to our schools and neighborhoods. There are many things the city can do and there is no reason for City Council to throw up their hands and call the problems not-our-job. If elected I will consider better schools in Oakland EVERYONE’S job and until the graduation rate is up, and the desertion rate is down, it is EVERYONE’S PROBLEM.
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