Sponsor of "Nuisance" faces challenger in Oakland

Oakland City Council - March 2 Election
District 7 (Elmhurst East-Oakland)
MICHAEL HUDSON vs. LARRY REID


Incumbent Larry Reid is a Democrat who once worked on the campaign staff of presidential hopeful Walter Mondale. Here in Oakland he’s been a city council member since 1996, and he’s done some good things.

Last spring, following the police attack of April 7th, Larry Reid was one of the four council members who accompanied the Port Protesters on a march back to the docks on May 12th. By doing so, he helped to ensure the protesters’ safety during that successful demonstration which was a victory for First Amendment rights.

Nevertheless, Reid is one of the more conservative members of the council, and he seems to have an excessive fondness for the powers that be, including those in the Oakland Police Department.

Currently, Reid is sponsoring the Nuisance Eviction Ordinance. The proposed law lacks safeguards and would in effect overturn the hard-fought protections of Measure EE, the Just Cause Ordinance of 2002.

Ostensibly, Larry Reid's nuisance eviction ordinance is aimed at drug dealers, but it gives the city extensive powers to evict any Oakland renter who might arbitrarily be labeled a "nuisance." An example of how such a law can be misused is illustrated by the case of the "Oakland 25," who are now facing charges of "creating a public nuisance."

Larry Reid may be a Democrat in name, but when he sponsors such a dangerous ordinance, he's acting all too much like a Republican. His seat is being contested by union activist Michael Hudson, who should be seriously considered as an alternative on March 2nd.

Candidate Michael B. Hudson is native of Oakland who served 6 years in the Navy and is a Vietnam Veteran. For 20 years he worked for AC Transit, where he began as a driver and became an information manager. He's past president of the AC Transit Employees Federal Credit Union and is an AFSCME Local 3916 Delegate to the Alameda County Central Labor Committee.

Michael Hudson is being outspent at a rate of nearly ten to one, $3,000 to $29,000. But he has the support of the Green Party of Alameda County and is running a grassroots campaign.

********************************

For more on the Nuisance Eviction Ordinance:

http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/02/1670211.php

http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/02/1670510.php

http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/02/1670862.php