Reminder: MGO Endorsement Meetings for the November 2018 Election
Join MGO for the last of our three endorsement meetings for the November 2018 election this Friday, October 12th from 7-9pm in the Family Room of the Montclair Presbyterian Church. This is the larger of the two MPC rooms that we have used this year.
These endorsement meetings are special opportunities to meet and question candidates in the intimate and constructive setting that is MGO’s hallmark.
MGO is grateful to all candidates for their support and availability. So far, MGO has confirmed the following candidates for this Friday’s meeting and is still working to secure the participation of those not listed.
Friday 10/12, 7-9pm
Oakland City Council, District 2
Nikki Fortunato Bas
Abel Guillen
Oakland City Council, District 4
Pamela Harris
Francis Hummel
Nayeli Maxson
Charlie Michelson
Joseph Simmons
Joseph Tanios
Sheng Thao
Oakland City Council, District 6
Natasha Middleton
Marlo Rodriguez
Loren Taylor
Mya Whitaker
All are welcome to attend and participate in MGO’s endorsement meetings, regardless of membership status. All meetings take place at:
Montclair Presbyterian Church
Family Room
5701 Thornhill Drive
Oakland, CA 94612
If you have been a dues-paying MGO member within the last two years but have not renewed your membership for 2018, you may do so before or at an endorsement meeting. If you have not been a dues-paying MGO member within the last two years, you must join MGO no later than 20 days before an endorsement meeting; this deadline has passed for all three meetings.
To join or to renew your membership, please click this link, bring a check to an endorsement meeting, or mail a check to:
Steve Statler, Treasurer
MGO Democratic Club
P.O. Box 11622
Oakland, CA 94611
The MGO dues schedule is:
$30 – one-year dues for one individual
$45 – one-year dues for two individuals living at the same address
$50 – two-year dues for one individual
$75 – two-year dues for two individuals living at same address
$20 – two-year dues for students, seniors, or individuals with limited income
If you have any questions about whether your MGO membership is current, please do not hesitate to email: vincent.oakland@gmail.com
Results of MGO’s 2018 Endorsement Meetings to Date
MGO is pleased to announce the following results from the second of our three endorsement meetings for the November election, held on Friday 10/5.
AC Transit Board of Directors, At-Large: no endorsement
BART Board of Directors, District 4: Robert Raburn
OUSD Board of Education, District 4: no endorsement
Peralta Community College District, Area 5: Cindi Reiss
Alameda County Assessor: Phong La
California State Assembly, District 15: Jovanka Beckles
Additionally, MGO is pleased to endorse the stated “yes/no” positions on the following ballot measures:
YES, California Prop 1 – authorizes bonds to fund specified housing assistance programs
YES, California Prop 2 – authorizes bonds to fund existing housing program for individuals with mental illness
YES, California Prop 3 – authorizes bonds to fund projects for water supply and quality, watershed, fish, wildlife, water conveyance, and groundwater sustainability and storage
YES, California Prop 4 – authorizes bonds funding construction at hospitals providing children’s health care
NO, California Prop 5 – changes requirements for certain property owners to transfer their property tax base to replacement property
NO, California Prop 6 – eliminates certain road repair and transportation funding; requires certain fuel taxes and vehicle fees to be approved by the electorate
NO, California Prop 7 – conforms California daylight saving time to federal law; allows Legislature to change daylight saving time period
YES, California Prop 8 – regulates amounts outpatient kidney dialysis clinics charge for dialysis treatment
YES, California Prop 10 – expands governments’ authority to enact rent control on residential property
NO, California Prop 11 – requires private-sector emergency ambulance employees to remain on-call during work breaks; eliminates certain employer liability
YES, California Prop 12 – establishes new standards for confinement of specified farm animals; bans sale of noncomplying products
YES, Measure E – Peralta Community College District – parcel tax
YES, Measure G – Peralta Community College District – bond issue
YES, Measure V – City of Oakland – cannabis business taxes
YES, Measure W – City of Oakland – vacant property tax
YES, Measure X – City of Oakland – graduated real estate transfer tax
YES, Measure Y – City of Oakland – amending eviction ordinance
YES, Measure Z – City of Oakland – minimum wage and employment standards for Oakland hotel workers
YES, Measure AA – City of Oakland – parcel tax for education
YES, Measure FF – East Bay Regional Parks District – extension of existing parcel tax
For your reference, please review a PDF version of the state voter guide here and the text of the local measures here.
The newly endorsed candidates join the following candidates who have already been endorsed in previous meetings:
U.S. Senate: Kevin de León
U.S. Congress, California District 13 – Barbara Lee
Oakland Mayor: Libby Schaaf
California State Board of Equalization, District 2 – Malia Cohen
California State Assembly, District 18 – Rob Bonta
California Secretary of State – Alex Padilla
California State Treasurer – Fiona Ma
California State Controller – Betty Yee
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction – Tony Thurmond
MGO extends its heartfelt thanks to all the candidates, representatives, MGO members, and community members who have attended its endorsement meetings so far. All the candidates were impressive and it is with regret that MGO can only endorse one candidate per position. To earn our endorsement, a candidate must receive at least 60% of the votes cast for a position.
Also, many thanks to MGO’s Judy Cox, Annie Flores, Gary Sirbu, and Steve Statler for their work in organizing these endorsement meetings and in keeping MGO running, and to Arlinda Befort in helping count votes!
MGO September General Meeting: Wildfire Prevention and Vegetation Management in Oakland
Join MGO for our September general membership meeting on Friday, September 14th at 7pm in the Thornhill Room of the Montclair Presbyterian Church. We are honored to welcome Vincent Crudele of the City of Oakland and Sue Piper of the Oakland Firesafe Council for a discussion on wildfire prevention and vegetation management in Oakland. We will also elect a new set of board directors for the 2018-2019 program year.
Don’t forget to save the following dates for our endorsement meetings for the November election. We will use all three dates and we will vote at each meeting on the races discussed, instead of saving and combining the endorsement vote for the final meeting. All endorsement meetings take place at 7pm in the (larger) Family Room of the Montclair Presbyterian Church:
- Friday, September 28th
- Friday, October 5th
- Friday, October 12th
If you have not been a paid MGO member in the last two years, you must join 20 days before an endorsement meeting in order to vote. If you have been an MGO member in the last two years, you may renew up until any endorsement meeting. Join or renew here.
Save the Dates: Upcoming MGO Meetings
Save the following dates for our upcoming series of MGO meetings. All meetings will take place at the Montclair Presbyterian Church at 5701 Thornhill Drive.
MGO General Meetings
- Fri 9/7, 7-9pm, Thornhill Room
- Fri 9/14, 7-9pm, Thornhill Room
MGO Endorsement Meetings for the November Election
- Fri 9/28, 7-9pm, Family Room
- Fri 10/5, 7-9pm, Family Room
- Fri 10/12, 7-9pm, Family Room
As a Democratic club, MGO only considers Democratic candidates. If you are a candidate, MGO will be in contact with you shortly.
Join MGO for a Special Summer Meeting with Sen. Nancy Skinner
- SB 827 – housing density near transit
- SB 1025 – sentencing for drug offences
This MGO general membership meeting takes place Thursday, July 19th at 7:15pm. This marks the first summer meeting that MGO will have held in recent memory.
Also, please note the new meeting venue and time:
Many thanks to East Bay for Everyone for graciously offering to host this event. Also, many thanks to Sen. Skinner for taking the time out of her busy schedule to meet with MGO once again. And, without hesitation, many thanks to Gary Sirbu for helping arrange this meeting with Sen. Skinner, and to Tasha Henneman and Chris Martin for working with MGO.
MGO Endorsements for the June 2018 Election
A heartfelt thanks to all the candidates who took time out of their weekends to speak with MGO at our endorsement meetings on both April 7th and April 21st. To learn more about MGO’s endorsed candidates and measures for the June 2018 election, please click here.
MGO Informational and Endorsement Meetings for the June 2018 Election
Many thanks to all MGO members, community members, and panelists who attended our January meeting that examined OUSD finances and our February/March meeting that examined the issue of homelessness in Oakland. The MGO Executive Board hopes that these meetings were informative and not only provided in-person access to some of the most relevant people working on these topics, but also spoke to the reasons why you joined MGO in the first place – for in-depth discussion of pressing Oakland issues.
The June election is fast approaching, which means it’s already that time of year for MGO endorsement meetings. Because of the sheer number of candidates and measures that will be on the ballot in June, MGO will hold two meetings.
As of April 5th, candidates for races that have not already been mentioned in the listings for April 7th below are being scheduled into the April 21st meeting. There remain limited slots in the April 7th meeting for candidates in the races listed for that meeting below.
Saturday, April 7, 7:00-9:00pm
Informational Meeting #1
- Short, one-by-one Q&As with candidates or representatives from the following races:
- California Governor
- California Lieutenant Governor
- California Attorney General
- California Secretary of State
- Alameda County Board of Education, District 1
- Oakland Measure D
- Regional Measure 3
- Alameda County Superior Court Judge, Seat 11
- Alameda County Assessor
- Alameda County Auditor
- Informational meeting only – no endorsement vote takes place on this date
Saturday, April 21, 1:30-5:00pm (note revised, earlier start time to accommodate more candidates)
Informational Meeting #2 and Endorsement Vote
- Short, one-by-one Q&As with candidates or representatives from the following races:
- California Treasurer
- California Superintendent of Public Instruction
- California Lieutenant Governor
- California Board of Equalization, District 2
- U.S. Senate
- Alameda County Measure A
- California State Assembly, District 15
- Alameda County District Attorney
- Full endorsement vote for all offices and measures takes place on this date
All meetings will take place at:
Montclair Presbyterian Church
Family Room
5701 Thornhill Drive
Oakland, CA 94611
If you have not renewed your paid MGO membership in the last two years – or if you would like to become a new MGO member – and would like to vote at the endorsement meeting on Saturday, April 21st, MGO bylaws state that you must be a paid member 20 days before the meeting. This date was Sunday, April 1st.
If you have been a paid MGO member within the last two years, you may renew your membership right until the endorsement meeting. Thanks to all of our existing and new members who have already confirmed their memberships!
The MGO member dues schedule is:
- $30 – one-year dues for one individual
- $45 – one-year dues for two individuals living at the same address
- $50 – two-year dues for one individual
- $75 – two-year dues for two individuals living at same address
- $20 – two-year dues for students, seniors, or individuals with limited income
Please make your check payable to MGO Democratic Club and forward your dues to:
Steve Statler, Treasurer
MGO Democratic Club
P.O. Box 11622
Oakland, CA 94611
You may also renew online here at our website (https://mgodems.org/join-us/), but please note that the dues quoted here are for two-year memberships.
To receive the latest updates on MGO activities, please “like” our Facebook page or subscribe to our email newsletter. Paid MGO members also receive access to our private MGOTalk email discussion list.
