Jerry Brown and Oakland Crime - Here's My Sixty

To those who brag about Oakland's property values rising under Jerry Brown, here's proof that the rise has nothing to do with him and everything to do with the Bay Area market -- crime in Oakland. What Jerry should be able to reduce, he's not done and even cut the police budget.

Oakland crime rate not helping Brown in attorney general bid

Opponent jumps on spike in homicides

By Kim Curtis
ASSOCIATED PRESS

March 6, 2006

OAKLAND – More than 20 homicides in just over two months: This is not what Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown needs as he campaigns for the state's top law enforcement job.

The dramatic spike comes just three months before the primary election, and Brown's challenger for the Democratic nomination for attorney general is already accusing the former governor and presidential candidate of being “asleep at the switch.”

Oakland police say the number of killings so far this year is nearly triple last year's rate.
“He will be held responsible for that,” said Elizabeth Garrett, a law professor at the University of Southern California. “It doesn't surprise me that he's acting quickly to appear to take charge of the situation.” Though, she said, it may be too late to affect the outcome of the June 6 primary.

Brown has created a new crime suppression unit, with 115 police officers reassigned from other areas, that will target problem areas.

“We are going to move them around the city like a chessboard, so they're deployed more strategically,” said Capt. David Kozicki, who's in charge of the new unit.

For example, 16 officers are investigating three homicides that occurred Thursday rather than the 10 who would have investigated prior to the change, he said.

“It's being flexible,” Kozicki said. “Criminals adapt and we need to show that we're going to adapt right with them.”

But Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, who's running against Brown, calls that approach too reactive and has sent out of series of blistering news releases expressing his displeasure and Brown's ineptitude.

“(Brown's) been asleep at the switch,” said Delgadillo, who points to his hardscrabble youth on the east side of Los Angeles as his crime-fighting experience. “I wouldn't have allowed this to happen. I believe very firmly that one needs to be proactive.”

Delgadillo, who attended Harvard, earned a law degree from Columbia Law School and was elected city attorney in 2001, said he's implemented measures that fight crime at its roots. He pointed to a truancy reduction program; a neighborhood prosecutor program, designed to put more criminals behind bars; and gang injunctions, which attempt to limit gang activity in certain areas.

Brown called Delgadillo's attacks “cheap political rhetoric from a guy who sits behind a desk and has no idea how to fight crime effectively.”

Both men want to challenge state Sen. Chuck Poochigian of Fresno, who's seeking the GOP nomination.

“I would bet the television ads are being made,” said Mike Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly, a conservative grass-roots organization, adding Oakland's increasing homicides will be a big liability for Brown.

As governor, Brown vetoed the death penalty bill – which the Legislature then overrode – and he appointed Supreme Court Judge Rose Bird, who was voted out in 1986 for her anti-death penalty rulings.

He now says he'd have no problems enforcing death penalty laws.

Jerry Brown Had Nothing To Do With The Oakland Housing Value Boom

Someone just sent a comment to one of my posts -- that I published -- in which he attributes Oakland's property value boom to Jerry Brown.

Gimme a break!

Property values in Oakland started increasing just two year's before Jerry was elected and that was Bay Area wide; not just in Oakland -- memories are short.

All of us in Elihu's administration said that Jerry was lucky: he was taking over as Mayor at a time when the Bay Area economy was booming and all of the office and housing projects Elihu helped to get off the ground were being constructed. From the new skycraper on 11th street and just behind the APL Building, to Old Oakland Housing Phase II, to The Rotunda, and all of the government buildings downtown. All of that -- the modern Oakland skyline -- was Elihu's stamp; not Jerry Brown's.

Heck even Jerry himself said this. I was there when he did at the ceremony for the new Rotunda building. That structure was redeveloped by Phil Tagami and California Commercial Investments and all under Elihu's tenure and he and I played key roles in it (both of our names are on the plaque in the building).

Jerry said "Well, I didn't have anything to do with this..."

He was correct.

Adams Point Bangkok Palace Killer May Be Tied To Grand Ave Robbery - Oakand Tribune

Cops: Killing, holdup may be tied
Police want to question man in crimes at liquor store, restaurant
By Harry Harris, STAFF WRITER - OAKLAND TRIBUNE

OAKLAND — A liquor store holdup may be related to the robbery-slaying of a Grand Avenue restaurant manager four days later, homicide detectives said Tuesday.

Killed in the April 24 robbery at Bangkok Palace, 3300 Grand Ave., was 29-year-old Sonethavy Phomsouvanhdara.
"There is potential that (the liquor store) case is related to the robbery-murder," especially since the suspects in both cases are similar in appearance, homicide Sgt. Lou Cruz said Tuesday He declined to say more, except that the liquor store robber is "certainly someone I would like to talk to." Cruz released surveillance pictures taken of the gunman during the April 20 robbery at Grand Express Liquors, 363 Grand Ave., about a mile from Bangkok Palace.

Cruz said the man entered the store through the front door about 9:50 p.m. and demanded money from the register. He left with several hundred dollars. No one was injured.

The suspect in the liquor store robbery is African American, 25 to 30 years old, between 5 feet 9 inches and 5 feet 11 inches tall with a stocky build. He was wearing a dark knit cap, sunglasses and a dark jacket.

Although there are some similarities in the two robberies, including the descriptions, there also are some differences.

The biggest is that no one was killed at the liquor store. Also, the suspect in the restaurant robbery waited for customers to leave before entering through a rear door just before 10 p.m.

Phomsouvanhdara, a native of Laos who hoped to someday own a restaurant, was working his last shift that night with two other employees. He was to have started a new job at a casino the next day.

He is survived by his wife of three years and a 3-year-old stepdaughter.

The restaurant has since reopened. The owners could not be reached Tuesday.

The restaurant killing galvanized the busy commercial district, one of the city's most prosperous, and dozens of people left bouquets of flowers outside to show their respect.

It also highlighted rising crime problems in the area and prompted at least one rally and a large community meeting attended by upset residents and businesspeople. It also resulted in the return of a foot patrol police officer to the area.

Up to $25,000 in reward money is being offered by police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland in the restaurant case and up to $1,000 in the liquor store robbery. Anyone with information should call police at 238-3821 or Crime Stoppers at 238-6946.

Ron Dellums Is The Answer - On The "Bloogers" Who Blog About De La Fuente For Mayor of Oakland

You know what kills me is the handful of bloggers that seem to "speak" for people in Rockridge and who attack Ron Dellums for not being specific. Many of them -- ah, all of them -- don't even understand Oakland's history, nor have seen it change over 32 years as I have. Moreover, all of them are not black and none of them have been true insiders. They write without a knoweldge of history and an understanding of Oakland's culture. They're blind. Blind to the way Oakland's changed. Blind to the inner-workings of Oakland government. Blind to the unusual crime wave plaguing Lake Merritt and the reasons behind it. Blind to how Oakland works.

And yet they blog. Because they do so without knoweldge of their subject, I'll call them "Bloogers" -- a Blooger is a person who writes just for the matter of expressing an opinion, but not sharing new knowelge.

Thus, it's no surprise to me that they can't "see" the basic and clear anger of Oakland's Black community. One of the bloggers -- who I will not mention -- wrote that the Dellums candidacy started because of how the City of Oakland handled the Head Start Program.

What a bunch of hooey!

The campaign to "get" Ron Dellums was started by Geoffrey Peete, the long-time onwer of Geoffrey's Inner Circle, C. Diane Howell, and then the group grew -- and fast, to about 8,000 by December of last year.

What the Bloggers don't understand is that Oakland at one point was a really inclusive city where everyone was welcome everywhere and one could have a voice in city government and even gain business with it, provided that they had a business to work with. African American's have seen this Oakland fade away under Jerry Brown, who's call for 10,000 more people downtown and his promise to end the Oakland "black political machine" -- a controversial comment made during his initial run for Mayor -- started the begining of an Oakland that in some ways is divided.

And we need a uniter, not a divider.

Ron Delums is that man.

ADAMS POINT WALK AGAINST VIOLENT CRIME May 17th

From the Yahoo! Message Board

Walk for our communities, our lives

We are the Community Coalition Against Crime. We are unsatisfied
with the response that city leaders have given to this issue. For
instance, the walking officer on Grand Ave ends his/her shift at
8pm – while most crime happens after dark. We believe the City can
do more to combat the ongoing violent crime wave in Oakland. We
refuse to simply lock our doors at 7pm and live in fear. We will not
be quiet until we know our voices have been heard.

7 pm
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Splashpad Park

We want to achieve the following:
1) increased awareness about crime
2) building community
3) organizing real, permanent solutions

For more information contact us at ccac_Oakland@hotmail.com