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To help run his bid for mayor, former state Assemblymember Tom Bates has enlisted the help of veteran pol Larry Tramutola, a successful campaign manager who is well known for his grassroots politicking. 

Bates is running against incumbent Mayor Shirley Dean. He sought the help of Tramutola because he said a dull governor’s race will result in low voter turnout Nov. 5. Tramutola has a unique ability to identify voters and get them to the polls, Bates said. 

“I first met Larry many years ago through his work with Cesar Chavez and the farm labor movement,” Bates said. “I chose him to run the campaign because low-turnout elections are one of his specialties.” 

During his 30 years in politics, Tramutola, who is president of the Oakland-based Tramutola Company, has consulted an impressive list of Democratic candidates including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-San Francisco, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and Mayor Jerry Brown. He also worked on former President Bill Clinton’s California campaign in 1992. Locally, Tramutola has represented Assembly candidate and former Berkeley Mayor Loni Hancock (who is married to Bates), Assemblymember Dion Aroner, D-Oakland, and Councilmember Linda Maio. 

In addition to promoting candidates to office, Tramutola is known for his successful campaigns for parcel taxes and general obligation bonds for schools, colleges and libraries. 

According to his web site, his company has produced more than $11 billion in voter-approved bonds for 127 schools and college districts, most of which required approval of a two-thirds majority. 

Despite Tramutola’s work for Democrats and their causes, he has represented landlord organizations that have not all been associated with progressive agendas. 

Tramutola said he is especially looking forward to Bates’ campaign.  

“I think this is going to be the most interesting race in the Bay Area,” he said. “It’s not often you have a politician who spent 20 years in the state Assembly seeking a local seat.” 

Tramutola said the campaign will focus on reintroducing Bates to voters who already know him from his years on the Assembly and getting those who are new to the area acquainted with him. 

“We are going to let the voters know who Tom is, what his vision is and what his goals are,” he said.  

He added that Bates, who represented the 14th District in the state Assembly from 1976 to 1996, already has a reputation for fighting for the East Bay Shore Park and for finding funding for parks, medical clinics and schools.  

Tramutola claimed that Bates may have enough respect from both moderates and progressives to bring peace to the divisive Berkeley City Council. 

Tramutola graduated Stanford University in the 1970s. After that he went to work for the United Farm Workers of America as an aide to Cesar Chavez. 

“I worked for the UFW for 11 years,” Tramutola said. “That’s where I developed a grassroots approach to politics that is based on mobilizing workers to get the message to the voters in a way that they understand why it’s important they vote.” 

Tramutola has also worked for landlord organizations that often sponsor campaigns against tenant rights ordinances. In 2000 he consulted for the “No on Measure Y” campaign which failed to stop a pro-tenant initiative in Berkeley.  

Tramutola’s administrative director would not comment on rumors that Tramutola is currently working against Oakland’s “Just Cause” campaign, another pro-tenant initiative. 

Despite the campaigns, Tramutola said he is not anti-tenant. 

“I could agree with 80 percent of a pro-tenant agenda but I also think that landlords should have some control over their property,” he said.  

Bates, who has a long history of supporting tenants’ rights, said even if Tramutola works for anti-tenant campaigns his image with voters won’t suffer. 

“My record on supporting tenants rights, especially for supporting ‘just ’cause’ evictions, is pretty clear,” Bates said. “I also have a record of working with small landlords on issues that are important to them.” 

Bruce Cain, the director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, said that it’s not unusual for political consultants to work with clients that have contradicting agendas, especially on referendums that are not necessarily affiliated with a political party.  

“It could possibly be an issue for a liberal candidate who was running for the state Assembly... but the local level candidates look for the consultant who is going to do the best job of communicating their message to the community,” he said. 

Editor’s note: This is one of two stories profiling the political consultants who will be working for Berkeley mayoral candidates Mayor Shirley Dean and former Assemblymember Tom Bates.