Barbara Lee

COMMENTARY: Ageism Behind Smear of Sen. Dianne Feinstein

The more senior you are, the more power your state has. In the Senate, where every state, regardless of size, has two votes each, those two votes backed by seniority are magnified. Feinstein, who has been in the Senate since 1992, is more powerful for all Californians and its 6 million Asian Americans than a rookie senator with blind ambition.

Published

4 years ago

April 25, 2022

Oakland Post

Senator Dianne Feinstein (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

By Emil Guillermo

So how would you like the idea of Barbara Lee, Oakland’s member of Congress, getting a bump up to the big house, the U.S. Senate?

Lee’s name has risen to the top of the list after some sitting members of Congress went to the San Francisco Chronicle to air concerns that Senator Dianne Feinstein is “mentally unfit” to do the job.

This is nothing less than a blatant smear of Feinstein by cowardly anonymous sources. Rumors about Feinstein’s memory lapses have been around for at least three years. That’s when I first heard them. But for some reason everyone has been civil about things until now.

The Chronicle didn’t have to publish the story. But knowing it would create a splash, it readily agreed to protect all involved. Except Feinstein.

The paper cited a Democratic member of the House, and four U.S. senators (three Democrats, one Republican). One of the Democratic senators said Feinstein’s memory is “rapidly deteriorating,” and that “it appears she can no longer fulfill her job duties without her staff doing much of the work required.”

This is serious stuff. But it was a mistake to not name all the sources. Every last one.

The Chronicle said the sources “who expressed concerns about Feinstein’s acuity said that doing so was painful because of their respect for the senator and her groundbreaking career. Each spoke on condition of anonymity, because they said they did not want to jeopardize their relationship with her and their mutual friends and colleagues.”

Those are backstabbing friends Feinstein doesn’t need.

Indeed, it would help to know who is sharing this information because one of them may be interested in running for Feinstein’s seat should this story generate the push that forces Feinstein’s resignation.

Think about this. The Chronicle is protecting those using innuendo of the possible medical condition of a sitting U.S. Senator. And then casting aspersions on her ability to govern.

That’s the cover. It’s a governance thing.

No. It’s a cheap shot, enabled by journalism’s use of the “anonymous source.”

The paper editorialized: “If Feinstein is mentally unfit, Democrats need to tell her openly. And she should resign.”

The conditional “if” is intended to make everything seem fair. But how fair is it after the Chronicle puts out a sensationalistic story and protects all the naysayers?

That’s just dirty. In the meantime, the scuttlebutt has already begun as to who will replace Feinstein. For what?

There is nothing in the Constitution that makes memory lapses illegal.

What you are seeing is unmistakable, unabashed AGEISM.

Ageism is a form of unfair discrimination and oppression toward older people based on stereotypical views.

It is a form of othering no less virulent than racism or sexism.

Yet society hasn’t quite come to terms with ageism, and it remains a disgusting form of discrimination that we allow to go unchallenged.

In response to the story, Feinstein issued a statement, but declined an interview:

“The last year has been extremely painful and distracting for me, flying back and forth to visit my dying husband who passed just a few weeks ago,” she said. “But there’s no question I’m still serving and delivering for the people of California, and I’ll put my record up against anyone’s.”

The fact is some impatient Democrats want Feinstein’s job, and they’re not ashamed of attempting to push her out this very minute and resorting to ageism.

This, unfortunately, has become standard practice.

I saw it happen before when Rep. Mike Honda, who succeeded Norman Y. Mineta in Congress and served from 2001 to 2017, was pushed out by Ro Khanna.

It’s a pure power grab by the upstarts. But no one ever stops to consider how the Senate actually works.

The more senior you are, the more power your state has. In the Senate, where every state, regardless of size, has two votes each, those two votes backed by seniority are magnified.

Feinstein, who has been in the Senate since 1992, is more powerful for all Californians and its 6 million Asian Americans than a rookie senator with blind ambition.

If there’s a problem with Feinstein, these things should be discussed in private among party leaders. We are talking about a health issue after all.

Ultimately, Feinstein, who has been a dedicated public servant from the time she was a San Francisco supervisor in the 1970s, deserves the right to decide when she steps down.

Feinstein is owed at least that. If she can do the job and deliver for the people of California, her seniority is a benefit.

Besides, ageism is not a good look in a democracy.

NOTE: I’ve known Feinstein since the 1970s and will talk about this column and other matters on my “Emil Amok’s Takeout” at 2 p. m. PDT. Livestream on Facebook; my YouTube channel; and Twitter. Catch the recordings on www.amok.com

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Alameda County

Mayor Lee Responds to OPD Chief Floyd Mitchell’s Decision to Resign

Chief Mitchell announced last week that he will be stepping down from his position after 18 months. His final day will be Dec. 5.

Published

5 months ago

October 27, 2025

Oakland Post

OPD Chief Floyd Mitchell. Official portrait.

By Ken Epstein

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee Office has responded to the announcement that OPD Chief Floyd Mitchell has decided to resign.

Chief Mitchell announced last week that he will be stepping down from his position after 18 months. His final day will be Dec. 5.

“I want to thank Chief Mitchell for his dedicated service to Oakland and his leadership during a critical time for our city,” said Mayor Lee.

“Under his tenure, we have seen significant reductions in crime – a testament to his commitment to public safety and the hard work of our police officers,” said Lee. “I am grateful for Chief Mitchell’s collaboration with our administration and his focus on community-centered policing.

“The women and men of the Oakland Police Department have my full support as we work together to ensure a smooth transition and continue building on the progress we’ve made for Oakland’s residents,” Lee said.

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Barbara Lee

Under Mayor Lee, Oakland Is Cutting Red Tape for Small Business Permits

Abad said permit reform is already underway. Recent code amendments have relaxed rules for businesses in Downtown Oakland, the Broadway-Valdez district in Uptown, and the area around the Lake Merritt BART Station.

Published

7 months ago

August 25, 2025

Oakland Post

Mayor Barbara Lee. Photo courtesy of City of Oakland.

By Post Staff

One of Mayor Barbara Lee’s top priorities, along with housing, illegal dumping, homelessness, and public safety has been to respond to calls for permit reform, a longtime concern of economic development groups and community advocates who have complained that complex and restrictive permit rules are squashing small businesses.

According to Robin Abad, ombudsperson for the City of Oakland, the goal of permit reform is to “streamline and reduce bureaucracy for small businesses.”

“Permit reform impacts so many aspects of our local economy,” Abad said. “With the right changes, more entrepreneurs will be able to realize their dreams by starting up businesses in Oakland, and we’ll be able to retain the rich and diverse small business community we enjoy here.”

More amendments will be proposed this fall to expand those relaxed rules to commercial districts across the whole city.

The changes will make it easier for businesses such as medical offices, banks, tutoring facilities, pet groomers and fitness studios to open in ground-floor retail spaces up to a certain square-footage.

Makers and sellers of artisanal goods — such as furniture making, textile production, and metalworking — could operate in commercial zones citywide with no square-footage or floor-level requirements. And businesses in these zones could have billiards tables and arcade games without a special permit.

Currently, these activities are either not permitted or require an application for review by the Bureau of Planning. Some conditional permit applications also must go through a public hearing, where community members can weigh in, before the permit can be approved.

“We have expanded places where land use regulations don’t require extensive approval processes, so it’s much easier to open up,” Abad said. “These changes are part of stimulating local business and inviting folks to open up businesses in Oakland.”

Further, until recently all businesses, like arts and entertainment venues, had to apply for a special permit to sell alcohol. This required a Planning Commission hearing, which could take up to a year.

This was a separate permit on top of a liquor license from California State Alcohol Beverage Control, the latter of which is required for all businesses that serve alcohol and is granted at the state level.

This flexible new permit now makes it easier for bars, nightclubs, theaters, pool halls, museums, art galleries, salons, and similar venues in central business district zones to serve alcohol.

Other proposed changes include the addition of entertainment and food sales in dispensaries that have an existing onsite consumption permit to operate as cannabis cafes.

These changes come in response to the passage of California State Assembly Bill 1775, authorizing cities to permit cannabis cafes that provide valid county health permits for preparation, sale, and consumption of non-cannabis food and beverages at state-licensed and locally permitted cannabis dispensaries with onsite consumption lounges.

“Visit Oakland” already offers a Cannabis Trail, and the introduction of cannabis cafes could contribute to cannabis tourism in The Town.

Changes like these require amendments to the city’s planning code. Already, the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan, adopted in 2024, prioritizes new zoning that allows flexible ground-floor uses for customer-oriented artisan production, office, and retail use.

Abad said the city aims ultimately to expand the planning code amendments to all commercial corridors in Oakland. Ideally, this expansion would go before the City Council to be adopted before the end of this calendar year.

“We have many incredible small business entrepreneurs and restaurateurs here in the City of Oakland, and that’s part of what makes Oakland beautiful and wonderful,” Abad said. “We want to encourage local enterprises to open as much as possible. So, let’s cut out any unnecessary procedures and streamline the process.”

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Activism

Hundreds in Oakland Denounce Trump’s Suppression of Voting Rights

The Oakland rally was sponsored by local organizations including Bay Resistance, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Alameda Labor Council, SEIU 1021, California Working Families Party, and Indivisible East Bay.

Published

7 months ago

August 25, 2025

Oakland Post

Speakers at the Aug 16 pro-democracy rally at Lake Merritt in Oakland included Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, and Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas. Photo by Ken Epstein.

‘I came here today to bring this message that it is absolutely midnight, and we will find our way to morning’ – Congresswoman Lateefah Simon

By Ken Epstein

Joining more than 300 protests and marches across the country, hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators rallied on short notice in Oakland on Saturday, Aug. 16 at the Lake Merritt Amphitheatre in Oakland to denounce the Trump administration’s plans to guarantee Republican reelection by gerrymandering and suppressing voting rights in Texas and other states.

According to Drucilla Tigner, executive director of pro-democracy coalition Texas For All, tens of thousands of people in 44 states and Washington, D.C., attended the day’s protests.

Among the speakers were elected officials Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, and Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, as well as local labor and community leaders. The rally was emceed by Valarie Bachelor, a union organizer and vice president of the Oakland Board of Education.

Rep. Simon took a strong stand for justice in Oakland and internationally, speaking out for a free Palestine.

“I came (here today) to bring this message that it is absolutely midnight, and we will find our way to morning. … It is midnight when we have an administration that is so vested in their racism and their xenophobia they are clear that their job is to go into homes and to separate families and to take our brothers and sisters into gulags.

“It is midnight when we sat on the floor of the United States Congress and watched the Republican Party vote ‘yes’ on sending trillions in bombs all over the world,” she said. “Believe me, they are watching that there is a durable (opposition) movement that is growing, that is swelling all over this country.”

Oakland Mayor Lee said, “We (in Oakland) are showing the country what ‘power to the people’ means.

Hundreds rally at Lake Merritt Amphitheater Aug. 16 protesting Trump administration attempts to gerrymander and suppress voting rights. Photo by Ken Epstein.

“This is a coordinated, dangerous effort to take power from the people and hand it to the Trump MAGA extremist Republicans,” Lee said. “They’re trying to rewrite the rules and the laws to restrict and to dismantle what’s left of our voting rights and what’s left of our democracy.”

“We’re not going to let that happen, though,” she continued. “Here in Oakland, once again, we’re not sitting this one out. Let us show what Oakland power is. We believe in our democracy and not in autocracies.”

Supervisor Fortunato-Bas said, “Trump and his Republican allies are trying to steal the 2026 election by redrawing districts in their favor and attacking voting rights. They know they’re going to lose if there’s a level playing field.

“I am working with all of you to fight back,” she continued. “I’m chairing a committee called Alameda County Together for all and we are funding, Know Your Rights trainings, rapid response, and legal services to keep our immigrant families together.

“We have already allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to shore up our social safety net that Trump is defunding,” she said.

Said Derrick Boutte, SEIU 1021’s vice president for the East Bay region, “This is a political emergency. Trump allies are undermining fair elections, silencing votes of color, and holding entire communities hostage to push their political agenda.

“The Republicans keep rigging the rules to tip the balance of power, and if we do nothing, they will continue to pass laws that hurt workers. They have already illegally suspended union contracts and collective bargaining rights for federal workers.”

Kampala Taiz Rancifer, president of the Oakland teachers’ union, the Oakland Education Association (OEA), said, “(Trump) is trying to cut people of color out of the democratic process and disenfranchise our communities. He wants to destroy our democracy. He wants to destroy us. But Oakland, we must show them who we are.”

Gerald Lenoir, co-founder of Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), connected the current fight for democratic rights against fascism to the context of lessons learned from the historic battles against slavery and Jim Crow.

“Freedom and democracy are on the line, and we know if we fight, we can win,” he said. “But we’ve got to do it across all our different communities. We’ve got to invite the immigrant rights movement into this. We’ve got to invite the labor movement. We’ve got to move across the generations, across the movements, across the lines of racial identity, across the lines of gender identity, and fight to win.”

Calling for solidarity and unity within the community, Rev. Jeremy J. McCants, senior pastor-elect of Imani Community Church, said there is a “moral imperative” to oppose the greed that is now rampant in this country, which is “purely evil” and a symptom of terrible “leadership malfunction.”

To counter this evil, “we must rely on ourselves,” he said. “We are utilizing and putting our faith into action. This is what love in action looks like. This is what faith in action looks like. This is what community in action looks like.”