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Choosing Up Sides in Berkeley for the 2016 District 9 State Senate Race

Wednesday November 11, 2015 - 02:33:00 PM
  Nancy Skinner's backers invite you to contribute to her campaign,.
Nancy Skinner's backers invite you to contribute to her campaign,.

Are you wondering which candidate to support in the race for State Senate, leading to the election about a year from now, on November 8, 2016? Battle lines are forming.

The accompanying graphic gives you a good idea of the kind of people who support candidate Nancy Skinner.

If you don't know who those hosting this Skinner fundraiser are or what they've been up to, you haven't been paying attention. To refresh your memory: John Caner and Susie Medak are honchos in the Downtown Berkeley Association, also know as the Downtown Business Association, the organization which represents downtown commercial property owners and some businesses. Mark Rhoades is the former City of Berkeley Planning Department manager who now fronts for big developers,notably for 2211 Harold Way, and Patrick Kennedy is a well-known (some say notorious) developer, one of Berkeley's most avid housing entrepreneurs, who has sold most of his downtown Berkeley holdings to a corporation headed by Chicago magnate Sam Zell.

Nancy Skinner's main opponent in the Democratic primary will be Sandré Swanson. From his web page

"... Before his election to the California State Assembly, Mr. Swanson served five years as Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Before that, he worked for 25 years as the District Director and Senior Policy Advisor for Congressman Ronald V. Dellums... 

"Early key endorsements of his campaign for the California Senate include key legislators currently representing the people of the 9th Senate district. They include the incumbent, Senator Loni Hancock, Assemblymember Rob Bonta, Assemblymember Tony Thurmond and his campaigns Honorary Chair, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and more." 

Whose side will you be on? Brother, could you spare $4,200 to put your gal in the Senate?