Oakland Mayor's Race: Sierra Club sends awful email to Zennie

Sierra Club thinks Joe Tuman isn't "viable"

The Oakland Mayor's Race just gets more interesting. As a reminder, before we continue, The Oakland Mayor's Race has thirteen candidates: Tim Brown, Terrance Candell, Arnold Fields, Sharika Gregory, Greg Harland, Marcie Hodge, Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, Don Macleay, Niki Okuk, Don Macleay, Councilmember Jean Quan, Joe Tuman, and Larry Lionel Young Jr.

Got that?  Ok.

In all of the years this blogger has lived in and been involved in politics in Oakland California, there has never been an email sent that was as awful as the one you're about to see, by the Volunteer Chairperson of Northern Alameda County Group, Sierra Club, San Francisco Bay Chapter, Kent Lewandowski.

It's the Sierra Club's way of saying they just see three Oakland Mayor's Race candidates - Rebecca Kaplan, Jean Quan, and Don Perata,  when there are 13 candidates:

Apparently assuming that Zennie Abraham's running for Mayor of Oakland, which is not the case, Kent Lewandowski, sent this email to several Oakland Mayor's Race candidates - and to me - on Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 12:41 AM PST, which reads:

Kent
to candell1@yahoo.com,
dluvcan@yahoo.com,
candidate@macleay4mayor.org,
info@arniefields.org,
info@harland4mayor.com,
mhodge@peralta.edu,
LL.Young@prurealty.com
cc zennie@zennie62.com
date Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 12:41 AM
subject Green Oakland Mayoral Forum - Sierra Club
signed-by gmail.com
hide details 12:41 AM (3 hours ago)
Dear Candidate,

Thank you for your interest in participating in the "Green Oakland"
forum sponsored by the Sierra Club. We made the decision to invite
the 3 candidates who are considered by all accounts as the "most
viable" in the race. The decision which candidates are considered
"viable" has to do with a number of factors, which includes the
elected office they may have held in the past (if any), their ability
to raise money for the campaign, and the level of organization of
their campaign.

We have only 90 minutes of time to discuss our issues, and hope to
include members of the community in the discussion. Thus there simply
isn't enough time to incorporate all 10 or more mayoral candidates in
this forum.

We understand your disappointment, but felt this was the best decision
in the interest of having a productive and informative event.

Sincerely,

Kent Lewandowski, volunteer Chairperson
Northern Alameda County Group
Sierra Club, San Francisco Bay Chapter

Thinking this was a prank, the first move was to Google the name "Kent Lewandowski" and the email kentlewan@gmail.com. The results revealed that the person indeed was Kent Lewandowski, of the San Francisco Bay Chapter of The Sierra Club.

So, this email reply was sent and to Mr. Lewandowski and all of the candidates:

Hello,

Kent, is this really you? Or someone else?

Zennie

Then this follow-up was sent:

Hello Kent,

This is, if it's real, without a doubt the most awful email I've ever seen in Oakland politics. First, I'm not running for Mayor of Oakland. Second, I'm a video-blogger, which means I intend to make the transmission public. Third, do you realize that the reasons stated for having just three candidates at the "Green Forum" add up to a silly, giant, unfunny joke on the people of Oakland?

The Sierra Club has no business sticking its nose in Oakland politics to try and rig an election. Oaklanders deserve to see and hear from each person running for Mayor of Oakland.

Those persons have taken the time and gotten the signatures to file to run for the office. In an Internet age, "money" is not the powerful political element needed, and in an economy so bad it's compared to The Great Depression by some, with people losing jobs and an Oakland unemployment rate that's over 20 percent (that's one of every five people), for the Sierra Club to send the kind of message communicated in this email - that money is all that matters - is both awful, insulting to the other candidates, and completely stupid.

Sorry to be insulting of the Sierra Club's business practices, but that's my view. I'm sure you, yourself, are a decent person. The email does not reflect what you're capable of, I'm certain.

It is possible to have a forum that's two hours long and gives 13 candidates an ability to present their case to be Mayor of Oakland.

That The Sierra Club, that great organization that seems to pride itself on intellect or at least has cultivated such a brand identity, can't solve this math and logistics problem presented is both hilarious and sad.

It's your duty as a so-called non-profit organization to figure out a solution to the problem. It's not your duty or obligation to dictate who Oaklanders should vote for at any level of office.

This blogger certainly has his favorite candidates in some races (not this one), but never deliberately refuses to talk to another candidate or give them exposure. It's not fair and its not right for organizations or people who have communicative reach to do that.

The best move for The Sierra Club is to cancel the ironically titled "Green Oakland Mayoral Forum " - ironic, because the only "green" is in the implication that it takes "green" to win the Mayor's race - as planned and rethink the idea. Or, if The Sierra Club is not intellectually capable of solving the riddle of hosting a comprehensive forum for the people of Oakland, just don't do one.

This video - blogger will close by saying he knows the answer, and, no, it's got nothing to do with video. 

Best,

Zennie Abraham

Then, as it was sent late at night and I'm three-hours ahead, I went back to sleep.

Stay tuned, Zennisters. There's more.