The Question of Criticizing Oakland Mayor Dellums

How should progressives handle criticism of Mayor Ron Dellums and his administration, their own criticism, and that of others? It’s a complicated question without an easy answer. Dellums won last summer’s election handily over two solid opponents, and it would appear that the new mayor has done little in the ensuing 11 months that would indicate a lessening of his popularity with the people who voted for him. Certainly, that would be indicated by the favorable reception he received at the recent Sixth District Town Hall meeting at Frick Middle School. The new mayor has made no major missteps and, has not, in the four months since he took office, been accused by any responsible observer of breaking any of the promises he made to Oakland voters in the campaign.

Still, the media has not been afforded Dellums the “honeymoon” period new officeholders are generally allowed to get their feet wet and to establish the direction of their new positions.

Most recently, for example, we have San Francisco Chronicle political columnists Phil Matier and Andrew Ross combing through Dellums’ newly released 500 page, two year proposed budget to discover that, according to the columnists, “Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is thinking big—a big $1 million-plus increase in his own office budget next year. Dellums is asking the City Council to give him seven new or redefined staff positions, including a $130,000 chief of staff, two $100,000-plus senior deputies and both a full-time bodyguard and a driver.”

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