It’s ladies night

I don’t follow San Leandro or San Lorenzo politics, so I generally rely on the East Bay Citizen who does a great job covering that region.   But what the East Bay Citizen has been covering thoroughly  is the race for the Board of Supervisors, District 3.

As folks probably know, Alice Lai-Bitker has decided to not run for re-election which means that there was a brief feeding frenzy where folks started throwing their hats into the ring left and right.   But now that the filing period is over and the political calculus has been performed, the race has now been whittled down to two (major) candidates.   There are actually three but the third guy is not as politically “known.”  So the two candidates that are going to collect the lion’s share of the votes are Wilma Chan and Beverly Johnson.

Highlights from East Bay Citizen:

In the meantime, Johnson held her kick-off party Tuesday evening in Alameda telling a large group at the Blue Dot Cafe her top priority is saving San Leandro Hospital, which is red meat to San Leandrans and part of her strategy to pull in chunks of San Leandro and San Lorenzo. Both areas have been shut out of the supervisor’s chambers for over a decade.

Johnson took a quick opening shot at Chan saying, “As some of my opponents groan on and brag about what they have done in the past, IO  want to change the conversation to how we are going to sustain the many important programs and services that the county provides going into the future.”

So far though, Wilma Chan has been quietly collecting some key endorsements like the Alameda Labor Council and leaders in Oakland Chinatown.    With the support of former candidates like Lena Tam and Shelia Jordan, Wilma Chan is ahead in the endorsement game.  [Note: Lena Tam has clarified that she has not yet made an endorsement for the Supervisors race] However, don’t count Beverly Johnson out just yet.  More than likely she will be the beneficiary of big name endorsers like Don Perata, Loni Hancock, and Sandre Swanson.

However, both Wilma Chan and Beverly Johnson both know that the battleground for votes will more than likely be in San Leandro and San Lorenzo where there is not a candidate from that region.   As noted by the East Bay Citizen, Beverly Johnson has already pounced on the San Leandro Hospital issue which is of great importance to a large constituency.   So wooing San Leandro and San Lorenzo votes is going to be key to winning the Supervisor seat.   Although, Beverly Johnson has gotten off to a pretty rocky start by announcing that San Leandro Mayor, Tony Santos, has endorsed her, when he has in fact not made a decision:

It was reported today District 3 supervisor candidate Beverly Johnson told supporters in Alameda she had been endorsed by San Leandro Mayor Tony Santos. While it is accurate Johnson publicly announced the endorsement, Santos says he has not made a decision whether he will endorse a candidate for the race.

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