Thursday, November 10, 2011
Who Cares About Emeryville?
Q: How Many People Care
About Emeryville?
A: 1374
How many of us care enough about our town that they're willing to turn off the TV for ten minutes and actually vote? These would be the heroes of our town, by the way.
Here's the sad tale:
(Info from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters except as noted)
Emeryville Population: 10,080 (2010)*
Registered Voters: 5279
Voted On Tuesday: 1374 (26% of registered voters)
Compared to our neighbors:
Oakland Registered Voters: 203,469
Voted (Nov 2010): 124,557 (61%)
Berkeley Registered Voters: 78,631
Voted (Nov 2010): 49,640 (63%)
* US Census
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this is pitiful.
ReplyDeleteby the way, one day after voting, i happened to google the league of women voters and found my name on the list as one of ken bukowski's supporters for the nov. 8, 2011 election. i did not support ken in this election and told him so several months ago. when i asked him if he listed my name, his reply was "would i list your name as a supporter?"
so not only did nora davis pull this stunt, but so did ken. good thing i have no standing in the community since ken lost his seat on the council.
Shirley, I researched a bit and saw that you were a Ken supporters in previous elections. Perhaps it was a mistake. Ken is not the type to use Nora Davis tactics. I know several students who offered to do a smear of their own against those who opposed Ken, and he refused to even consider such a thing. If you noticed the error then you should have emailed the League of Women Voters so they could make the correction. I'm guessing that you didn't do that, but instead you would rather complain here.
ReplyDeleteI was and still am a supporter of Ken, and I agree that we all lost our standing in Emeryville now that Ken was a victim of dirty politics, and a lack of ethics of the other council members. They may have manipulated the minds of a fraction of voters in this election, but I believe things will be different from this point forward.
I am personally offended with your comment that was not even relevant to this topic. I think you were just trying to get your words on top. Shame on you Shirley.
The question is how do we engage the residents of Emeryville? Part of the problem is people feel that they have no power against the corporations in the city. Talking to many residents over the years, many feel that their voice has no weight. A sad tale to be sure. We also have many young people in the city whose focus is on other things; their job with a corporation, long hours working, life! What they may not realize is that building community is at the heart of being human. I agree, it is pitiful. Historically, if we think of how many people suffered and even died to get the vote for the ordinary common man, then for women 1919, and people of color by federal law in 1965-- state technicalities excluded. It is a sad tale and it allows those with power to hang on to power. Maybe it is time to insist that all people who can--vote!
ReplyDeleteConsider joining Residents United for a Livable Emeryville (RULE).
MS.
To the 7:27 commenter-
ReplyDeleteFYI, You're not doing Ken any favors with your comments.
Brian, I'm not trying to do any favors for Ken or anyone. I simply wanted to call Shirley on her BS comment. And following your post which was very good. No need to slam Ken now that he is out. He was our only voice of the people. I liked how he always threw a wrench into dominant agenda. Now everything can be decided behind closed doors, and the council meetings will simply be for show.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, I'm moving anyway because the Hayward Fault is long overdue. Nature will determine the ultimate future of Emeryville, as well as other cities along the fault. A new wave of developers will probably buy up all the space at post-quake salvage prices. Then the cycle repeats for another 140 years. Please be prepared...
Wow, that is pretty surprising/disheartening
ReplyDeleteWhat does this say about Emeryville? Why is it so different? Condo to home ratio? High outside commute rate?
to anonymous who chastised me for apparently placing my comments in the wrong place. it is the candidate who provides his list of supporters and endorsers. it is not the responsibility of the league of women voters to see if it is accurate or not. it took mr. bukowski three days to reply to my question. he admits that to save time, he merely provided a list of supporters from a previous election. the issue is now moot since the election is over and since i did not discover it until after the election.
ReplyDeleteif you wish to place additional shame on me, identify yourself so that we can resolve this mano a mano, you lily livered coward....said with tongue somewhat in cheek.
Props to Shirley for her Mano a Mano comment! Way go rock Shirley!
ReplyDeleteTo Dan-
ReplyDeleteAll we can do is conjecture as to why Emeryville suffers from a lack of suffrage. I think your idea of high condo rate to homes is correct. Emeryville, due to the type of housing we've been building, is very high in transience and students. These are two groups with traditionally low voter turnout. There are also very few families, the demographic group that votes at the highest rate.
The kind of favors I'm seeking from candidates are legal only in Nevada.
ReplyDeleteIt's also not completely accurate to compare 2010 elections to 2011 elections. There were many more issues and offices on the ballot in 2010 and that drove turnout up.
ReplyDeleteMs anonymous @ 11:14-
ReplyDeleteGood point about even year vs odd year election turnout. The Tattler is preparing a story on this as it turns out. Watch for it.