Oakland Mayor's Race: Joe Tuman, Matthai Kuruvali, Marcie Hodge

If you think the Oakland Mayor's Race can't get under the skin of some people who say they're not "getting involved," try looking at this photo of San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer Matthai Kuruvali, who placed his head on the table of the board room at the San Francisco Chronicle as if he'd had enough of something.

 In the background is Oakland Mayoral Candidate Joe Tuman, who seems just calm and collected.

What's interesting is that Matthai Kuruvali tweeted on Twitter..

matthai matthai kuruvila - Just to be clear, I'm not on the ed board and I'm not involved in the decision, but I'll be there for the interview and will ask questions.

Yeah. Right. According to SFGate.com intern Ali Thanawalla, Matthai Kuruvali got into what Ali calls "a heated discussion" and a "funny moment" and Ai reports on both Flickr and on Twitter:

After a heated discussion with Oakland mayoral candidate Joe Tuman, writer Matthai had had enough. Funny moment. http://flic.kr/p/8Kit5P

While Matthai may claim he has no involvement in the Chronicle Editorial Board's decision, he's clearly working to influence it just by his body language. Moreover, some observe that Matthai has been hostile to the idea of any one of the candidates other than Don Perata and Councilmembers Rebecca Kaplan and Jean Quan receiving any media attention.

Moreover, of all of the candidate photos Ali took, this was the only one he took of Matthai's reaction to Tuman.  Nothing of his reaction to the other candidates at the SF Chronicle Editorial Board meetings, specifically Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan and Former State Senator Don Perata.

Additonally, Matthai has been less than respectful of current Mayor Ron Dellums, even to the point of repeating what the Mayor asked him to do - be respectful - on Twitter as if he was mocking Mayor Dellums:

matthai matthai kuruvila
At same time, Dellums always talks about how being mayor is 24/7 job. I guess not when you're w/ your wife (his "senior adviser")
4 Aug Favorite Retweet Reply

matthai matthai kuruvila
I told Dellums he was mayor of Oakland & he ought to answer questions. Dellums: "I'm with my wife. Please, respect that, brother." 4 Aug

If you're going to treat people that way as a media person, it's better to be a blogger than a journalist. What this blogger can't stand is for journalists to use that badge to hide their real feelings. More on this soon. It must be reported that Marcie Hodge has something special: a lawn sign.

Marcie Hodge Has A Lawn Sign

While driving up Oakland Avenue away from Whole Foods and toward the 580 Freeway, a shocking image flashed by: a lawn sign for Oakland Mayoral Candidate Marcie Hodge. That well-placed sign, visible by thousands of people each day, is one indication of how the sheer number of candidates coupled with Ranked Choice Voting could combine to produce an unexpected outcome.

Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan leads in media endorsements while Former Senator Don Perata leads in television commercials. Meanwhile, Tuman's name recognition grows in the Oakland Mayor's Race. The end result and the wild card is just how much on-the-ground walking is being done by the candidates.

Stay tuned.