Politics

Amid Criticism, Clinton Sticks to Low-Key Campaign Strategy

Published

9 years ago

May 20, 2015

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton stops at Em’s Coffee Co., Tuesday, May 19, 2015, in Independence, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

JULIE PACE, AP White House Correspondent

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — During two days of campaigning this week in Iowa, Hillary Rodham Clinton didn’t make a formal speech. She answered questions from reporters, but only for five minutes. Pressed by a moderator at her own event to say where she stood on a trade pact that’s dividing her party, she steered clear.

It was the kind of trip that infuriates her Republican critics, yet gives them fodder to keep up their argument she’s a candidate dodging tough issues and avoiding taking positions that could haunt her politically. That’s started to worry some Democrats, who are publicly prodding Clinton to wade deeper into the political fray and pick a side on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal.

Clinton and her team are unmoved. They’re sticking to their plans for a low-key start to her second presidential campaign, displaying an early level of discipline that was lacking when Clinton sought the White House in 2008 and struggled with campaign infighting over strategy.

It’s an approach they’ve crafted to show voters Clinton isn’t taking the Democratic nomination for granted. Yet by not taking a stand on issues of the day and dismissing some of the traditional trappings of presidential campaigns, some political operatives say Clinton risks appearing as if she’s doing just that.

“There is a demand if you are a candidate to signify a lack of entitlement by submitting yourself to questions from the news media on a regular basis,” said David Axelrod, a longtime adviser to President Barack Obama. “There is risk to that, but it is a risk that comes along with the task of running for president.”

Before a brief exchange with reporters Tuesday, Clinton hadn’t taken questions from the press in nearly a month. Republican presidential hopefuls seized on her reluctance to engage with reporters and repeatedly mocked her for ducking questions.

“You can’t script your way to the presidency,” said Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor.

So far, Clinton’s campaign does have the appearance of a carefully choreographed operation. Each of her stops in the early-voting states has looked similar to her two-day swing through Iowa this week, where she attended a meet-and-greet with local officials and campaign volunteers at a home in Mason City, discussed economic policy with small business owners at a bicycle shop in Cedar Falls, and dropped by a coffee shop in Independence for an espresso and sandwich.

The house party she attended in Mason City was invitation-only and, as with her past policy roundtables, participants at the small business event were selected by the campaign.

Even when unexpected moments arise, Clinton sticks to her script. When a small business owner asked her Tuesday to state her position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, Clinton politely refused.

“I want to judge the final agreement,” she said.

Clinton’s advisers intended her campaign to start slowly. She will hold a more formal campaign kick-off next month, likely with a major speech and a series of one-on-one interviews. But even as the campaign enters that phase, aides say Clinton will still do the smaller events like those she’s held so far.

Though she never mentioned her critics directly, Clinton pushed back this week at those who say she should be taking a different approach.

“Somebody asked me the other day, ‘Well, you’re going to these events where you’re taking time to actually talk and listen to people, is that really what you’re going to do?'” she said Monday. “And I said, ‘Well, yes it is.'”

Clinton’s advisers also dispute the notion she is avoiding taking positions on policy, pointing to her backing of Obama’s executive actions on immigration and her call to outfit police departments with body cameras. On Tuesday, she voiced her opposition to Republican-backed legislation that would revamp the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulation law.

But each was unveiled as part of a careful rollout by Clinton’s campaign. She’s been far less willing to weigh in on issues that don’t fit with her campaign schedule, including the fall of Ramadi to Islamic State militants in Iraq over the weekend.

Clinton’s sidestepping on the Asia-Pacific trade pact has been most notable, given that Congress is currently debating whether to give Obama the ability to seek faster ratification of a final deal.

While Clinton called the pact the “gold standard” of trade agreements while serving as secretary of state, she has refused to take a position on the deal since announcing her candidacy.

As Clinton spoke to small business owners in Cedar Falls on Tuesday, a small group of protesters stood outside demanding she clarify her stance on the trade pact. Chris Schwartz, an Iowa organizer with the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action, said Clinton’s silence was “troubling.”

“People in Iowa and people across the country want to know the specifics on all of these issues, including TPP,” Schwartz said, referring to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. “We have a right to have our questions answered.”

___

Follow Julie Pace on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

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MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

4 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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5 days ago

April 19, 2024

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Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.