Election Section

Why the hell is Berkeley Citizens Action siding with the drug dealers in my South Berkeley neighborhood? Speaking on behalf of the BCA Steering Committee, Linda Olivenbaum (Commentary, Nov. 11) endorses the charges of racism leveled against me and 13 of my neighbors who are suing a local drug house in small claims court and chastises us for pursing “narrow, short-sighted solutions.” Our problem, BCA suggests, is that “when newer, often white and more affluent residents moved in as gentrification has proceeded” they neglected to notice “what’s going on around them and to acknowledge the dynamics and strengths of the existing community.” 

I love it when self-styled “progressives” who don’t live next to crack houses talk about drug-dealing and the attendant violence as though it were just part of African-American culture—like Juneteenth, maybe, except that it goes on all year. Here’s a heads up to BCA: No one here in South Berkeley not involved in the drug trade is ready to acknowledge drug-dealing as part of the “dynamics and strengths” of our community. The drug culture has torn this neighborhood apart for decades, ruining the lives of countless kids. The notion that drugs are “just life in the ’hood” is a large part of the reason why those lives continue to be ruined.  

A vivid example of this attitude was on exhibit last Tuesday, when pwog scold Bill Hamilton wouldn’t even grant that it would be a good thing if our suit succeeded in curtailing the dealing in our neighborhood. Why? Because then “the many relatives and friends of Lenora Moore would have even fewer resources to work with.” So here’s the progressive solution to our dilemma: We’re supposed to allow drugs to be openly dealt in front of our homes and teach our kids to step around the dirty needles and used condoms and crack baggies, just so as to provide gainful employment for drug dealers. If there are further difficulties, Hamilton suggests we “form a network of informal social connections with each other to monitor and modify personal behavior and direct resources to problems.” Only in a very special sort of fantasy land does this pass for a practical solution to dealing with drug dealers with semi-automatic pistols. No thanks, I’ll just take my chances in court.  

I want to say something about that court case that a lot of people who know better are pretending not to understand. We are asking for monetary damages for the fear and suffering that persistent drug dealing at 1610 Oregon Street has caused us. We don’t know if we will win. We have presented our evidence, the defendant has presented hers, and Commissioner John Rantzman will decide. If he decides for us, the defendant can appeal to Superior Court. There is no coercion involved, let alone the “force or violence” suggested by Hamilton. We are taking this approach because we have tried everything else. We will succeed or fail based on the law, not (thank God) on what our patronizing Berkeley betters have to say about it. 

It doesn’t have to be this way, you know. On Oct. 24, Oakland announced the conclusion to a very similar situation:  

“Oakland City Attorney John Russo and City Council President Igancio De La Fuente said today that a family of drug dealers has agreed to sell a house that they say has terrorized a Fruitvale District neighborhood for 20 years. . . .Russo and De La Fuente said Ruby Harris, whom they described as the matriarch of a drug-dealing family, agreed in a settlement filed in Alameda County Superior Court today to sell her home in the 3000 block of School Street and move out by Dec. 20. 

“In its lawsuit, the city attorney's office alleged that Harris ‘allowed her home to be a drug nuisance, permitting the unlawful use, sale, storage and manufacturing of controlled substances since at least 1987.’ 

“Russo and De La Fuente said the city has tried for years to get Harris to control the behavior of her children and grandchildren through signed settlements, but Harris’ family members have violated the agreements. . .[N]ow the Harris Family, in order to stave off hundreds of thousands of dollars in public nuisance fines from the city, will have to move out and the residents will be able to take back control of their street.” 

Why can’t we do that? Berkeley citizens might well ask. And for a good start, my many friends in Berkeley Citizens Action might well ask their leadership why it is participating in smearing good people who are only trying to rid their neighborhood of a notorious source of drugs and violence.  

Paul Rauber is an editor at Sierra Magazine and a former columnist for East Bay Express.