Jim Oddie has never held elected office previously and currently serves as the District Director for Assemblymember Rob Bonta. His campaign website is located here. All my posts referencing Jim Oddie are located here.
Jim Oddie is the candidate that everyone expects to do well, clean cut guy, well-educated, well-spoken, but has been unsuccessful at getting appointed to the key boards and commissions that generally provide visibility to precede a City Council run.
Overall, I may have to hold my nose and vote for Jim Oddie because he really is the least bad of three bad choices for City Council, but I still am pretty annoyed with him over the heavy lifting he did to secure the Alameda County Democratic endorsement for Trish Spencer two years ago. Anyway not much info on him. He probably puts out the consistently best answers for the questionnaires which isn’t saying much because I doubt that all the questionnaires actually get read. His goal is to put out enough positive information about him as possible to get over the lack of name recognition.
Here’s his campaign statement
Occupation: District Director for Assemblyman Rob Bonta
Age: 50
My education and qualifications are: I chose to raise a family here almost 20 years ago because of Alameda’s quality of life. During this time I’ve devoted myself to serving Alameda as a community volunteer and public servant.
As district director for our local Assemblymember, my job is to help solve problems for East Bay residents. I served as Chair of Alameda’s Open Government Commission and as a member of Alameda Hospital’s Finance and Management Committee. I volunteered for Alameda’s public schools, where my children attended, including serving on a Parcel Tax Advisory Committee, and for my homeowners association. As an attorney and CPA I know how to balance budgets and help individuals and organizations make informed and prudent decisions.
I am running for City Council to continue to make Alameda a special place for families, seniors and working people.
I want to keep Alameda a safe place for generations of families to live. We need to continue providing excellent schools and high quality police and fire protection. We need to expand recreational opportunities and protect open space. We need to ensure Alameda Point and other underutilized properties are planned sensibly, focusing on attracting innovative new employers.
I would be honored to earn your vote.
Add to the wiki but if you do make sure that you reference it with a link. There are various questionnaires floating out there with varying levels of readability. You can start with those if you like.
Blogging Bayport Alameda 
Can anyone explain how two of his fliers landed on my door step different week along with Chen { same printer , same format , ame color ?]
Comment by joel rambaud — October 8, 2014 @ 8:06 am
The only thing that impresses me about Oddie is he has the strength to type up answers to questionnaires after holding on to Bonta’s coattails as hard as he does his fingers must be sore.
Comment by pay attention people — October 8, 2014 @ 8:07 am
The only thing he’s got going for him is that nobody knows much about him. His association with Bonta is as much a hindrance as it is a help. Who’s to say that as Bonta’s star rises, Oddie won’t continue to be along for the ride, leaving Alameda in the dust? Fool me once…
Comment by Denise Shelton — October 8, 2014 @ 9:31 am
He’s got two other things going for him: the Demo club’s endorsement (gee, how’d he get that?) and the IAFF’s checkbook.
Comment by dave — October 8, 2014 @ 10:00 am
He needs to publicly apologize for the Trish debacle.
Comment by Oh the Irony! — October 8, 2014 @ 1:29 pm
By the way I want to give a big shout out to Jim Oddie. He did a wonderful job at the League of Women Voters forum last week as well as the forum held at Mastick Center. He is so refreshing to listen to. He has a positive message and a large vision, and he brings with him his regional experience and connections to help us solve some of our problems.
I really like his vision for Alameda – more parks and open space, making Alameda a water-transit hub, and a vibrant local economy.
At the Mastic Center forum when asked about whether he would take contributions from any of the unions – he said that union members are our grocery clerks, our nurses, our teachers, our construction workers, our policemen and firemen – they are you and me, and he felt they like everyone else, deserve a seat at the table. He said he’s not afraid to talk to anyone. He comes from a working class family, and his vision is that Alameda will become a major hub for employment. Imagine that – jobs, jobs, and more jobs well into the next 15 – 20 years as we develop the Northern Waterfront and Alameda Point.
I really like his positive message – Jim Oddie has my vote!
Comment by Karen Bey — October 13, 2014 @ 8:15 am