Ranked-choice voting, he said, "is an injustice, and Oakland will pay the price.

Jean Quan will be Oakland's next mayor. As I've said before, it's a lesser of two evils situation as Rebecca Kaplan had my vote. But the above quote from a Perata campaigner cries of sour grapes and underscores why Perata was a terrible choice as mayor. He had no problem using gutless tactics and bending the rules when it came to campaign financing. The fact that he lost is almost as sweet as a Kaplan victory. Though I don't think much of Quan, I felt she at least ran a cleaner campaign and didn't shy away from tough questions. But again, proof will be in the pudding and Quan needs to step up to fix the problems of Oakland.

During the interview, we were shocked by Perata's evasiveness, use of faulty facts, and ignorance of some of the major issues facing the city ... Regardless of his standing in the polls, we felt that Perata's poor knowledge of the issues, combined with his history of ethically questionable dealings, made him a poor choice for mayor.

Many newspapers in the Bay Area have chosen Rebecca Kaplan as their choice as Oakland's next mayor. Unfortunately, that's not always a good predictor of who will win the election.

I don't know much about Rebecca Kaplan. I'm only hearing about her candidacy for mayor of Oakland after reading the Q&A re: the proposed Oakland Streetcar Line. Her bio definitely sets her apart from the current batch of Oakland politicians. MIT Degree and JD from Stanford (won't hold it against her) in addition to being intimately knowledgeable of public transportation systems. Could be what Oakland needs... somebody not Ron Dellums.

It Came from Wasilla...

As I've stated before, I'm not a registered Democrat or Republican (I am registered with somebody, though). However, this country needs to have a balanced mix of voices in Washington to work at its best. With Al Franken's victory in Minnesota, the Dems now have 60 seats in the Senate (though Arlen Specter is a wild card) which makes it much easier for them to push through a leftist agenda. That's not actually a bad thing per se but it does mean that one party has a big advantage in terms of setting legislation for the next few years.

The above Vanity Fair article is just another in a long string of bizarre acts coming from the Republican Party. First the Governor of South Carolina with his international escapades, now the in-fighting regarding Sarah Palin with the 2008 campaign and her supposed 2012 Presidential run. What has the GOP become when the face of your party is Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck? Why not put sensible (not to mention, intelligent and effective) candidates like Colin Powell, Meg Whitman, or Bobby Jindal as the face of the party? If nothing changes, I predict lopsided victories for the Democrats in the next few elections.