Politics

Many in Baltimore Community React with Skepticism to O’Malley’s Claims of Progressive Bona Fides

Published

8 years ago

June 9, 2015

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley speaks before signing a bill abolishing capital punishment in the state during a ceremony in Annapolis, Md., Thursday, May 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

by Roberto Alejandro
Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley officially entered the presidential race May 30 with a speech in Baltimore’s Federal Hill, but many in Baltimore are skeptical of both his chances as well as the idea that he is a legitimate liberal alternative to Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“[O’Malley’s candidacy] is still a long shot,” wrote John Bullock, professor of political science at Towson University, in a statement to the AFRO. “He is trying to present himself as a credible alternative to Clinton, but that may not be successful unless she falters. In his announcement, he attempted to appeal to progressives, but Bernie Sanders has the strongest record in that area.”

Indeed, O’Malley made his case for the Democratic nomination during his announcement speech on the strength of a series of supposedly progressive accomplishments during his time in city and state government.

“Together, we made our city believe again and we invented a better and new way of governing called CitiStat, and we got things done. Together, we made our state’s public schools the best in the nation. We made college more affordable for more families. . . . We led our people forward through a devastating recession and we took greater care to protect the land, the air, and the waters of our Chesapeake Bay. And we passed the DREAM Act and we passed marriage equality. Together, we raised the minimum wage and we maintained the highest median income of any state in the nation,” said O’Malley, according to a video of his announcement speech on his campaign website.

But it is not only Sanders’s progressive record that O’Malley will have to overcome, but the skepticism of those who lived through the era of these alleged progressive accomplishments and remember it differently.

“It’s the job of people like myself and others who know O’Malley, who directly engaged and challenged his policies as it relates to Black people to elevate the stories about the things that he did during his time as governor, his time as mayor, to push back against that idea (of O’Mally as a progressive),” said Dayvon Love, public policy director for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, referring, in part, to O’Malley’s institution of zero tolerance policing during his time as Baltimore City mayor and the O’Malley administration’s support for a $100 million youth jail that was halted by grassroots efforts a number of years ago.

For Leo Burroughs, chairman of the Committee of Concerned Citizens, that history of pursuing policies that were often deleterious to persons of color makes O’Malley more of a “blue dog Democrat” than a tried-and-true liberal.

“[O’Malley is] extraordinarily good at wheeling and dealing in ways that are not in the best interest of the poor, Blacks, or the middle-class. Horrible thought this guy running…but he knows how to reconfigure and reinvent himself,” said Burroughs. “He feigns being some kind of a liberal—this guy was never a liberal; he was always Mr. Zero Tolerance and he’s still Mr. Zero Tolerance.”

To media consultant and political strategist Catalina Byrd, the persons speaking in support of O’Malley at his announcement event were representative of the alleged disconnect between the politician’s rhetoric and policies, of which Burroughs and Love spoke.

“The people that he had speaking for him . . . either weren’t here (in Baltimore City) when he was mayor, or lived outside the city and don’t know what type of mayor he was, or were not impacted—based on their social status, or their fiscal status—by the type of governor that he was, and can’t make the connection and the correlation to how he has failed at every level besides just winning every election. He’s failed in terms of leadership and new direction for both the city and the state,” said Byrd.

In his announcement speech, O’Malley said his accomplishments in Maryland were a function of new leadership and perspective, but it seems he will have to do a better job of convincing the nation this is what he brings to the table than he has some of his previous constituents.

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California Black Media

Sen. Steve Bradford Introduces Historic Reparations Legislation

Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) has proposed that the state should create a system of redress for injustices committed against Black Californians. Senate Bill (SB) 490, introduced by Bradford on Aug. 21, would amend Title 2 of the state government code to establish a new state agency called the California American Freedman Affairs Agency (CAAFAA).

Published

6 hours ago

October 2, 2023

Oakland Post

Sen. Steven Bradford

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. and

Edward Henderson

California Black Media

Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) has proposed that the state should create a system of redress for injustices committed against Black Californians.

Senate Bill (SB) 490, introduced by Bradford on Aug. 21, would amend Title 2 of the state government code to establish a new state agency called the California American Freedman Affairs Agency (CAAFAA).

The agency would be responsible for managing the reparations process for Black Californians as determined by the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“This historic legislation lays the groundwork for the future,” Bradford stated. “My fellow task force members and I have documented the harm, detailed its generational impact, and determined the way forward to right these wrongs.

“The Freedman Affairs Agency will establish the instrumental infrastructure California will need as our state takes responsibility for the historical harms that have been committed.”

The task force completed a two-year study and submitted its final, 1,075-page report to the Legislature on June 28 and one of the recommendations was to create the CAFAA.

California Black Media

Lawmakers Present $3 Million Check to 40-Acre Conservation League for Its First Land Acquisition

On Aug. 24, Assemblymembers Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun), chair of the Legislative Black Caucus and Mike A. Gipson (D-Carson) presented a $3 million symbolic check to the 40-Acre Conservation League, California’s first and only Black-led conservation group. This investment, provided by the Wildlife Conservation Board and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, will help the league acquire its first land acquisition, a 650-acre plot 70 miles north of Sacramento.

Published

7 hours ago

October 2, 2023

Oakland Post

Shown left to right, Sacramento Branch of NAACP President Betty Williams, Jade Stevens (president; 40 Acre Conservation League), Asm. Mike Gipson (D-Carson), and Julie Avis, chief deputy executive officer from Sierra Nevada Conservancy. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey. Aug. 25, 2023.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. and
Edward Henderson
California Black Media

This investment, provided by the Wildlife Conservation Board and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, will help the league acquire its first land acquisition, a 650-acre plot 70 miles north of Sacramento.

“I am so thrilled that I was able to help secure $3 million for 40-Acre Conservation League’s first land acquisition,” said Gipson. “This remarkable achievement is a gateway for more people of color to enter the conservancy space, and it demonstrates that when like-minded organizations unite for a common cause, they can achieve remarkable results.”

The 40-Acre Conservation League is a nonprofit land conservancy that aims to protect nature by connecting people to it, especially people of color. It also wants to acquire land for economic, environmental and recreational justice.

“With the support and partnership of assemblymembers Mike Gipson and Lori Wilson, we’re excited and humbled to make history as the first Black-led land conservancy in California,” said Jade Stevens, president of the 40-Acre Conservation League. “Today represents a strong step forward in rectifying historical wrongs, restoring dignity, and providing the foundation for economic empowerment and social equity. We look forward to what lies ahead.”

California Black Media

Aging Californians: Relaxing the State’s Public Meeting Law Is a Good Thing

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that temporarily suspended some of the requirements of the California’s public meeting law, the Bagley Keene Act. Newsom’s executive order allowed elected boards, commissions and other state “bodies” to hold remote meetings via teleconference without posting each official’s teleconference location (which in some cases were private homes); posting agendas at each location; or making those locations accessible to the public, as required by law.

Published

9 hours ago

October 2, 2023

Oakland Post

Sedalia Sanders is a member of the California Commission on Aging, Cheryl Brown is the chairperson of the California Commission on Aging. Courtesy photo.

By Manny Otiko
California Black Media

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that temporarily suspended some of the requirements of the California’s public meeting law, the Bagley Keene Act.

Newsom’s executive order allowed elected boards, commissions and other state “bodies” to hold remote meetings via teleconference without posting each official’s teleconference location (which in some cases were private homes); posting agendas at each location; or making those locations accessible to the public, as required by law.

A bill is currently being considered by the California legislature that would extend some of the changes to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act until Jan. 1, 2026.

Senate Bill (SB) 544, which was amended Aug. 14 and is currently being reviewed by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, was introduced by Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) in February.

Supporters of the legislation argue that the bill saves taxpayer money by driving down the costs associated with in-person meetings by up to 90%, and that virtual meetings give access to vulnerable populations who may not be able to attend meetings in person.

One of those vulnerable populations is aging Californians.

“For many citizens, this was a way to stay active in the community,” says former Assemblymember Cheryl Brown, who is now the chair of the California Commission on Aging.

“Once we got them trained, they fall in love with it. They become engaged with their government,” said Brown.

“They want more communication, and they don’t want to be isolated,” Brown says referring to the changes SB 544 is proposing. She wants people to have permanent access to public meetings.

During the pandemic, there was record participation in meetings because they were broadcast online and people could access them by teleconference.

However, SB 544 has its share of opponents.

Groups such as the First Amendment Coalition (FAC), the California Newspaper Publishers Association, California Common Cause, The Society of Professional Journalists, and other groups committed to holding government accountable have spoken out against the bill.

They believe that if SB 544 passed, it would lead to more government secrecy and turn state government boards and commissions into “faceless bureaucracies.”

The FAC was one of several civic groups that co-signed a letter critical of SB 544.

“This rewriting would ensure that a state body would never again have to meet in person. This would fundamentally undermine one of the law’s key protections for public access and participation — the guarantee that the press and public can be physically present in the same room as those sitting on the dais and making decisions. Such physical presence has been a constant hallmark of democratic institutions,” according to the letter.

David Loy, legal director at the FAC, told California Black Media (CBM) he is concerned SB 544 would allow more online meetings and it would diminish elected officials’ face-to-face contact with their constituents.

He added that the governor’s executive orders about online meetings were established during the COVID pandemic — and that the health crisis is over.

According to Loy, elected officials decide public policy in these meetings. And he feels that needs to be done in-person.

“Public officials should be meeting face-to-face with the people they serve,” he said.

Sedalia Sanders, former mayor of El Centro who is currently active with her city’s local agency on aging and is active with the California Commission on Aging, disagrees with Loy.

Sanders told CBM since many of the Commission’s meetings are held in Sacramento, she participates through video conferencing.

“I don’t think anything is lost,” she said.

Sanders says participants can still see and interact with their representatives through video cameras.

“For an elected official to participate in a meeting online, the majority of the board members still have to meet in person to form a quorum,” she added.

Although born during World War II, Sanders has embraced modern technology. She has a cell phone and navigates the internet. However, she said that not all senior citizens are as tech savvy as she is.

Many of them don’t know you have to pay for the internet. And this can be a problem, especially if you’re on a fixed income.

Brown says that the bill’s opponents are conflating the issues. Boards and commissions are different than elected leaders voting on public policy matters, and seniors and disabled communities support this bill because it’s about inclusion, not exclusion.

“Seniors don’t want to sit back and just play pickleball,” she said. “They want to have a say in the decisions that affect their lives and remote access allows them to do that.”