Election Musings

1. I find it funny (as in strange, not “ha ha”) that there were people who are upset that the voters rejected a knowledgeable incumbent in favor of a union backed candidate (Mike McMahon) and then turn around and endorsed the union backed candidate in favor of a knowledgeable incumbent (Rob Raeburn). My take is anyone who did that without some solid reasoning other than “because” (I’m looking at you John Know White and Lauren Do) are hacks.

2. That the people who felt the main knock on Trish Spencer is that she doesn’t play nice with others are ridiculing her, predicting disaster, and basically preparing not to work with her assuming she wins. One commenter referred to it as “butt hurt”.

3. That this is the closest election likely in Alameda history. I am guessing that Trish’s lead will hold up based on nothing. Well, actually it’s based on the feeling that most of Alameda’s votes may have been counted. That the closer you get to election day, the more Marie Gilmore’s share went down. I can’t explain the rather large win share in the first day’s 991 votes except to say that statistically, there must have been some systematic reason because that is way outside random variation. At this point we have to wait and see because we don’t know how many votes are left and if there will be some swing in them.

4. This was no more interesting an election in my opinion than the one in 2010 except for the more limited slate of candidates, but the number of votes in the mayoral election is way down. So far, 19271 votes have been tallied (excluding write-ins). In 2010, the total was 25101. So with a clear choice and a close race, there will be probably at least fewer votes for mayor assuming 2000 to 3000 more votes to count. I’m not sure I get that except maybe noone thought it was going to be close.

Trish Spencer for Mayor

For what it’s worth, I will be voting for Trish Spencer.  For the good of Alameda, the cartel that runs Alameda politics is BAD(TM) for the city.

1.  They give too much money and power to the fire department.

2.  We only don’t notice how much money/power the police have because the fire department is so much more powerful, but there is too little oversight of the police budget as well.

3.  The present administration is way too cozy with developers.

4.  The clique that surrounds and supports the present administration (Lauren Do, John Knox White, Karen Quick, etc.) are fatuous at best and bullies at worst.   They will generally dismiss/attack legitimate concerns ignoring the fact that the city is headed towards bankruptcy and overdevelopment.

I’ll keep this short because I doubt anyone cares and I am classified as being on the cranky fringe of Alameda politics (see #4 above).  Two more comments:

1.  Even if Trish was everything her critics say, the benefits from derailing  #1-4 would be worth it.  BUT Trish Spencer is not that caricature (remember these people are bullies even if they only strike out with snark, lies, and selective editing); I have met her and she is much more genuine than those who oppose her.

2.  I have no illusions, Gilmore will probably be reelected to the detriment of our City, but, at least, I will have done some small thing to try to prevent it.

(I would love it if the Sullwolds would try to get back into local politics.  The best information available about this city is at Robert Sullwold’s blog.  Unfortunately, the present cliquishness/power dynmaic prevented Jean (Robert’s wife) from being elected to the City Council last go round and I guess she was not up for more futility.)

Jordan Battani Resigns

She really, really wanted to be appointed to the AHS Board.  Must be tough to have all that hard work ignored.  And what about her experience, her knowledge, her expertise.  All that summarily rejected by people she perceives as not having the same grasp of the issues that she does.

What’s the word I’m looking for?

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I know!  Schadenfreude.

The Reason I Resigned (Closure?)

The Hospital’s continued operation results in unnecessary death.  In other words, the Hospital KILLS people.  Although I had my disagreements with my fellow Board members, I could not reconcile the moral obligation that I felt to try to do something to end these unnecessary deaths (or, to call it what it really is – negligent homicide) with the fact that I don’t believe them to be evil people (just causing an evil result).  The other conflict was that these supposedly smart and respectable people would always have a bigger and more credible platform than I would (many times I was derided for being right by fellow Board members; I vividly recall Jordan Battani, in closed session sneering at me and telling me that all I cared about was being right)  so that any effort I made to point out the fundamentally corrupt nature of the District [tax the people having the effect of increasing the amount of death in the community in exchange for jobs and respectability for pillars of  the community like Deborah Stebbins, Robert Deutsch, and Stewart Chen] was futile.

With the politically engineered merger with the County’s system, the inevitable ending of the Hospital’s existence due to an unsustainable financial model was not going to happen. The conflicts became impossible to ignore.  I wasn’t going to call them murderers  since that seemed extreme and inaccurate, but I couldn’t look at them across the table and listen to their casually arrogant lies and insults without feeling a deep hatred for each and every one of my fellow Board members.

Not at all karmically good.  So I resigned to be happier and to ignore the Hospital as much as I could.   I still occasionally check the financial statements to confirm that they continue to lose money.  I may point out to people if they ask me that the Hospital is a festering sore upon the community.  AND I certainly will never, ever voluntarily go to the Hospital or allow a member of my family to receive care there, but my relationship with the Hospital and this blog are done.

I wish each and every person who works for the Hospital good luck.  I hope you will take whatever opportunity you can to find a position in another healthcare organization that promotes wellbeing rather than one that through institutional malaise destroys health.  If changing jobs is not possible then I wish you the strength and wisdom to minimize the damage the organization as a whole does through your individual efforts.

No Longer a Board Member

As of tomorrow, June 4, I have resigned as a Trustee of the City of Alameda Health Care District.

Although the Hospital is not something people really pay much attention to, its continued existence at a cost to the taxpayers of Alameda in both dollars and death is an embarrassment.

Nothing Will Change

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

No posts because nothing really changes.   Consistently wrong is the mantra of the Board and Management.  Political connections trumps facts.  Perception trumps reality.  The Hospital will just go on losing money and killing people no matter how many predictions of profitability prove false or no matter how many fines, surveys, or statistics suggest that people would be better off receiving their care elsewhere.

 

 

2/6 – Choosing a New Board Member UPDATE: CHOSEN + Embarassingly wrong about City Council

We will be interviewing and voting tonight (after an abrupt cancellation of the 1/28 special meeting).  I fully expect we will be able to come to an agreement.  As to the assertion that the City Council would choose if there was some kind of deadlock (Lauren Do’s blog); well, as with most things she writes about the Hospital, she is wrong (as far as I know and I have studied the governing laws and documents more thoroughly than she I would guess).

UPDATE:  Indeed the City Council is responsible if 60 days go by without the vacancy being filled whether due to gridlock or any other reason.  Apologies to Lauren Do.

Congratulations to Tracy Jensen the newest Board Trustee.