Saturday, October 29, 2011

Pat O'Keeffe Endorses Nora Davis?

More Election Shenanigans From Nora Davis:
Nora Davis Claims Pat O'Keefe As An Endorser

Opinion
City employees are barred from endorsing any specific candidates for city council.  It's clearly inappropriate since the employees serve at the pleasure of the city council itself.  This is especially true of City Manager Patrick O'Keeffe, the man that's accountable for the entire workings of City Hall.
If however Pat O'Keeffe were to endorse a candidate for council, with his high profile and high respectability, just imagine the positive effect it could have on that candidate's chances for election.  But alas, it can't happen because it would be unethical.

And yet Mayor Nora Davis' latest re-election campaign mailer lists Patrick O'Keefe as an endorser of her re-election.  What's going on here?

Is this the guy?
The majority of voters will no doubt simply think the City Manager must support the re-election of Nora Davis.  Most probably think that gives Nora's candidacy an extra level of gravitas, an extra reason to vote for Nora Davis.  This is what Mayor Davis wants voters to think obviously.

What our mayor is not telling us though is that in this case Pat O'Keefe is not the City Manager but instead an Emeryville resident, coincidentally, with the same name as the City Manager.  Sharp eyed readers might note the one 'f' in the resident Pat O'Keefe.
Ms Davis could have easily noted in her mailer that the Pat O'Keefe listed as an endorser is not the same Pat O'Keeffe that works as our City Manager, but the Mayor didn't.

This is not the first time Nora Davis has pulled this.  Last election, four years ago, she listed the same Patrick O'Keefe as an endorser of her re-election.  After the City Manager received complaints, Ms Davis was notified that she should make sure voters understand the City Manager is not an endorser.
So now Nora Davis does it again four years later.  Perhaps it slipped her mind.  Maybe it was a "senior moment" for the Mayor.  If Nora Davis is re-elected, are there to be ever increasing senior moments like this?

This is the second endorser list slip-up, if it is that, for Nora Davis this campaign cycle.  Ms Davis also erroneously listed former Emeryville mayor Greg Harper as an endorser.  We call on Nora Davis to stop this amateurish campaigning and play fair.

7 comments:

  1. >>Maybe it was a "senior moment" for the Mayor. If Nora Davis is re-elected, are there to be ever increasing senior moments like this?<<

    Shame, shame, Brian!

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  2. This is why Emeryville needs a candidate dedicated to reform, who has not taken Nora Davis's (and Ruth Atkin's) endorsements.

    www.webberforcitycouncil.com
    www.conditionemeryville.tumblr.com

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  3. To Ms Anonymous @12:49 PM-
    Either council member Davis knew she was attempting to pull the wool over the voter's eyes with this Pat O'Keefe thing or she forgot again to add a disclaimer to make sure the voters know it's not the City Manager. If it's the latter, then it's gotta be a senior moment. Unless that is you want to assert that Ms Davis is somehow mentally deranged.

    If one applies Ockham,s razor to this problem, then the most likely answer is that the Mayor is attempting to fool the voters for her own benefit. Either scenario is not very flattering for Ms Davis.

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  4. Brian - is there a reason you are referring to some anonymous posters as Ms. and some as just Anonymous? Are you just assuming the poster is a Ms (and making that kind of assumption could be promblematic!) or are posters not as anonymous on your end because you administer and therefore know who posts regardless of how people sign? If in fact you are privy to this information, i'd like you to stop adressing only certain posters as Ms. Anonymous and just address every anonymous poster as "anonymous". Choosing to identify people's gender without the posters consent kind of sucks and undermines posters decision to remain anonymous. Thanks.

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  5. I love this story. One F or two. It is not a pretty picture being F'd by Ms Davis.

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  6. To Mr Anonymous @ 12:04 AM-
    It's all in the writing style, sir.

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  7. The endorsment list has numerous people listed who say they have not endorsed Nora. One listed endorser, Linda Jones, a former city employee, died over two months ago. prior to the filing period to run for City Council. Her condition was so bad it's very unlikley she provioded the legally required "written permission" to list someone as an endorser.

    When a city employee dies, the city must be notified, to stop retirement benefits. There is usually a moment of silence, and adjournment in their honor. No such mention was ever made about her death.

    We also know, Harper would never endorse Nora. How could his name be added to her list..? At least two other folks are improperly listed. Both serve on City committees.

    One person said, although they did not endorse Nora, if they complain, they risk the potential of not being reappointed to the committee.

    Although there is no way to stop the misleading endorsements in the already printed expensive mailer, Davis could make the corrections on her website, rather than just continue to mislead voters. Such false endorsements are prohibited by law, as follows....
    --------------------------------

    Included in the Political Reform Act. One of the purposes of the Act is......

    (10) Help restore public trust in governmental and electoral institutions; and
    (11) Help ensure the integrity of the election process by prohibiting campaign advertisements that contain false endorsements of current and former public officials, candidates, political clubs, and organizations.

    Such false endorsements undermine the integrity of the electoral process by misleading and confusing voters about the actual support for or opposition to candidates or ballot measures and it is too burdensome for individual voters, inundated with campaign messages, to verify the accuracy of such claims and for persons whose positions are misrepresented to correct the misrepresentations close in time to the election.

    (c) This Chapter is enacted in accordance with the terms of Sections 5 and 7 of Article XI of the Constitution of the State of California.

    ReplyDelete