Alameda County Supe Candidate John Bauters Presents a 'Tough on Crime' Platform

"Appropriate Punishments" Are Needed to Discourage Criminals Says Bauters

Bauters Broadens His Base in Supervisor Race

By Appealing to the Right Wing 

Flush with cash from corporate donors to his election campaign, candidate for Alameda County Supervisor district 5 and Emeryville City Councilman John Bauters says he wants to increase penalties for criminals as part of his plan to reduce crime in the county.  Mr Bauters said crime is up in general but an area of particular concern for him is the so called 'smash and grab' crime and getting tough on crime is part of his solution, he recently told the League of Woman Voters.

The corporate sector likes the kind of politics that generates tough-on-crime public policy so much they have given generously to Mr Bauters' campaign (a future Tattler story will reveal who is giving how much).  The resulting mutual benefit, rich donors giving to politicians who get them elected to deliver policy the donors want, is revealed by the expensive and now ubiquitous Bauters campaign ads on the internet, especially on YouTube.  People with local IP addresses need only to start watching a YouTube video and there will be a short wait to see a diaphanous and schmaltzy Bauters pop up video.  Stay online longer and it becomes an assault.  Low on content while proliferating in mawkish election campaign clichés, these Bauters video ads join with the mailers everyone's been getting to help spread the message that Mr Bauters wants us to understand: he doesn't like crime. 

But his performance at the League of Woman Voters election forum on February 8th proved more revealing than what can be had on YouTube.  There, Mr Bauters' let slip an informative nugget perhaps meant to be buried from progressives amongst all the progressive verbiage.  Careful listeners however, will note the newsworthy point within a long winded monologue.  Mr Bauters told the viewers at the forum, "We need to assure the legal system has appropriate punishments in place to discourage people from engaging in future criminal behavior."  The set up is that he says there is too much crime in Alameda County and then he gives us the solution: appropriate punishment, more commonly referred to as more jail time for criminals.  This is quite unusual politics for a self described progressive candidate in Alameda County it should be noted. 

The more jail time argument would generally not be a winning argument to make to voters and usually only abashedly Republican candidates present that as a solution to crime.  Knowing that and because the Tattler is not interested in 'gottcha' journalism, we thought perhaps Mr Bauters might have misspoken so we gave him a chance to correct himself but he has waived off all our attempts to correct the record.   So all voters have to go on with this subject are the words from candidate Bauters himself.

It's hard to imagine candidate Bauters wants to run on a 'tough on crime, build more jails' platform but here we are.  We will assume he has made some kind of political calculation that he thinks will work to get him elected.  

The election is on March 5th and out of the nine candidates for district 5 County Supervisor, Mr Bauters pits himself against two other candidates who have also presented tough on crime campaigns - Chris Moore from Piedmont and Trump supporter Gerald Pechenuk.

Below is the entire candidate forum hosted by the League of Woman Voters for the Alameda County Board of Supervisor district 5 race.  Mr Bauters' section on crime is found between 22:30 - 24:04.

League of Woman Voters Brainstorm Called

From the local League of Woman Voters chapter:

The League of Women Voters Berkeley Albany Emeryville is hosting a brainstorming session Tuesday, February 17, 2017 from 7 pm to 9 pm at the Ed Roberts Campus, 3075 Adeline Street, Berkeley (across from the Ashby BART station).  The event is free, and we encourage registration.

POST-ELECTION ACTION BRAINSTORM 

TUES, FEB 21, 7 PM 

ED ROBERTS CAMPUS BERKELEY

Are you energized by the Election or the Women’s March? The League wants to hear your ideas for effective post-election action! Our “Post-Election Action Brainstorm” will be on Tuesday, February 21st from 7-9pm at the Ed Roberts Campus. We will share our current projects, identify new avenues to affect change, and discuss follow-up action. Snacks and beverages will be served!

Please sign up for this event! 

We want your ideas!

Want to find out about and support the post-election action of the national and state League via quick emails, phone calls or more?  Here’s how to do it:

To sign up for LWVCalifornia Action Alerts, go to  https://lwvc.org/stay-informed.

To sign up for LWVUS Action Alerts on specific areas and see recent Action Alerts, go to http://lwv.org/get-involved/ 

Diz Swift action@lwvbae.org

League of Women Voters Candidates Forum

The League of Woman Voters Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville presents:

Emeryville Candidates Forum

for the

EMERYVILLE MUNICIPLE ELECTIONS

LWVBAE Forum for Emeryville City Council and Board of Education

Wednesday September 21, 7-9pm

at Emeryville City Council Chambers, 1333 Park Ave, Emeryville

• City Council (3 positions) – John J. Bauters, Brynnda Collins, Louise Engel, Ally Medina, Christian Patz, John Van Geffen
• Board of Education (2 positions) – Cruz J. Vargas, Barbara Inch, Ken Bukowski

League of Woman Voters Endorses Emeryville Measures U&V

The League of Woman Voters, the venerable 94 year old universal suffrage organization known for its refusal to endorse candidates has no such compunction about endorsing ballot initiatives.  In that spirit, our local branch of the LWV has recently endorsed Emeryville's Measures U&V.  They join the California Democratic Party, Residents United for a Livable Emeryville (RULE) and all five Emeryville City Council members in their endorsement of these Measures.
Here is the notice from the LWV Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville:

The League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville urges citizens to support Ballot Measures U & V; please vote YES on both when you cast your ballot.

Measure U will enable Emeryville to become a charter city for the limited purpose of being able to create and collect a property transfer tax, thus gaining more control over the income of the City.  Measure V would create the local property transfer tax itself.  The rate would be $12 for each $1,000 of sale value.

The income from the new property transfer tax would begin to replace the funding lost to the City when the State dissolved all redevelopment programs. Emeryville lost $30 million, half of its annual budget.

Since the income will depend on the number and value of property sales in future years, the income cannot be predicted.  In 2013 Emeryville collected $130,000 in property transfer tax revenue. If a local transfer tax had been in force at the $12/$1,000 rate, the City would have received $2.85 million. Eighty-five percent of this would have come from sales of commercial properties. The proposed Emeryville rate is lower than the $15/$1,000 rate charged by neighboring cities Berkeley and Oakland.

The tax would be spent in the City where your homes and buildings are located.  It would help keep City services running well, maintain parks and much more—thus maintaining and enhancing the value of the individual properties that are bought and sold.

For more information on these taxes, you can download a copy of our Pros & Cons on the Emeryville measures here(http://league.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Emeryville-2014-Ballot-Measures.pdf). You can read the measures themselves and more about these measures at www.SmartVoter.org.  You can download copies of all League Pros and Cons on local and state ballot measures from our website at www.lwvbae.org.

Please make sure you are registered before Oct. 20 and vote in the November 4, 2014 election.  You can register on line athttp://registertovote.ca.gov/

We urge you to vote Yes on Emeryville’s ballot measures U & V.

Guest Commentary: Measures U&V Vital for Emeryville

From the Oakland Tribune:

Guest commentary:  November election will dictate Emeryville's future By Nancy Bickel and Barb Singleton  Oakland Tribune  My Word POSTED:   10/20/2014 11:58:46 AM PDT Emeryville voters face an important choice Nov. 4.  Will they vote to increase their city's taxing authority and raise taxes so that the city can maintain and improve its services? The future of Emeryville as a growing and thriving small city is at stake. In 2011, during the economic downturn, Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Legislature dissolved all the redevelopment agencies in California. Emeryville lost $30 million, half of its annual budget.  Because of Prop. 13 and related laws, Emeryville doesn't have many options to replace the lost income. The city's proposal is to change Emeryville from a "general law" city into a "charter city" for the limited purpose of getting the authority to create a property transfer tax.  This is Measure U on the November ballot.  In addition, the city proposes Measure V, which would create the local property transfer tax itself.  The tax rate would be $12 for each $1,000 of sale value. Right now, Emeryville is a general law city and follows the laws of the state of California. Real property transfer tax rates for general law cities are set by the county and limited by state general law to no more than $1.10 per $1,000 of the sale price.  Emeryville receives half -- or 55 cents. The other half goes to the county. Income from the new property transfer tax would begin to replace the funding lost when the state dissolved all redevelopment programs.  Since the income will depend on the number and value of property sales in future years, the income cannot be predicted accurately. But here's an example. In 2013, Emeryville collected $130,342 in property transfer tax revenue. If Emeryville had been a charter city with a local transfer tax rate of $12 per $1,000, the city would have received $2.843 million.  Eighty-five percent of that income would have come from sales of commercial property.  The proposed Emeryville rate is lower than the $15 per $1,000 property transfer tax rate in the neighboring charter cities, Berkeley and Oakland. The tax would be spent in Emeryville, where residents' homes and buildings are located, and would greatly benefit residents and property owners.  It would help keep essential city services like police, fire and emergency services running well; keep parks, sewers and storm drains in good shape; develop and maintain open space; provide programs for younger children, youth and seniors, and more. Measures U and V would maintain and enhance the value of all the individual homes and commercial properties bought and sold in the city.  An organization called Citizens to Preserve Emeryville, No on Measures U and V, supported by realtors with a Sacramento address, and which has received $60,000 from the National Association of Realtors, is campaigning against U and V.  We assume that the national organization just doesn't like taxes on real property and doesn't want them to go up -- anywhere. Emeryville residents should use their own judgment about what's good for their own city. The League of Women Voters thinks Measures U and V are worth the cost -- to current and future property owners and to all Emeryville residents -- because they will keep Emeryville a vital and healthy city. For more information, visit www.lwvbae.org. Just look for Measure U and Measure V. Read the measures at www.SmartVoter.org. We urge you to vote Nov. 4 and to vote yes on Emeryville's ballot Measures U and V. Nancy Bickel is President and Barb Singleton is Voter Services Team Representative in Emeryville of League of Women Voters Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville.

League of Women Voters Hosts Emeryville Candidates Forum

From our friends at the League of Woman Voters: