This is Contra Costa politics at its finest; for while citizens of Pinole, successfully removed Maria Alegria, and other incompetent (per West County Times) council members in June (one ran off to join the army after recall papers were
filed), this election will see labor and other special interests redouble their efforts to take back the city from voters. Mark your calendar!

How is it that a disgraced former city councilwoman and mayor, and her buddy, currently the chairman of the Democratic Central Committee, can run for office with straight faces, let alone a clear conscience?

“Maria is trying to rehabilitate her badly damaged reputation,” says Jeff Rubin, a leader of the Concerned Citizens of Pinole, which sponsored the recall of three Pinole council members - Maria Alegria, David Cole, and Stephen Tilton.

Cole saw the handwriting on the wall, resigned, and joined the U.S. Army before he could be recalled. Alegria, who had served 15 years on the council and Tilton, barely more than a year into his first term, were swept out of office in a landslide referendum against corrupt government, with nearly 60 percent of the electorate voting to oust them.

“I think Maria desperately wants to remain a player in county Democratic politics, and she thinks that by getting elected to the Democratic Central Committee she can show voters - and party leaders - that she’s electable,” explained Rubin. “The problem with that thinking is that her recall in Pinole will follow her the rest of her life in this region. She’s going to have to move to another part of the state if she ever hopes to be elected again.”

Nagaraja Rao, says Rubin, “represents the very worst in politics. I’m embarrassed for the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County that its members would allow such a reprehensible person to be in a leadership position.

“To intentionally try to affect the outcome of an election - and a non-partisan election at that - by coming to a city’s council meeting and declaring to a packed room and a TV audience that his opponents had made death threats against him is morally repugnant. Any respectable organization would demand that he resign as its leader and spokesperson.”

Alegria is running from District 2, and Rao is running from District 1 (with no opposition!).

Police investigated Rao’s claims - he said he had received nine phone calls threatening his life! - and found no evidence of any death threats against him. In fact, police could verify only one call, made from a Hercules resident, and it wasn’t recall-related. What a surprise!

Now, Rao has exposed to the entire county to what Democratic insiders already know - that the Democratic Central Committee is an impotent group, not to be taken seriously, for not rising up against him when his inflammatory remarks became public knowledge last November. If they had any guts at all, George Miller, Tom Torlakson, and Mark DeSaulnier - the supposed leaders of the party in this county - would demand Rao’s resignation, because he brings shame to the Democratic party’s name.

From the outset, Rao’s actions and the actions of the Democratic Central Committee in railroading through a resolution supporting Maria Alegria and Stephen Tilton in the Pinole recall - while cutting off debate on the issue from his own central committee members - were anything BUT democratic. Then, Rao deposed opposition leader and DCC newsletter editor Rich Verrilli, because he had the courage to stand up for what is right and honorable.

“Rao and his central committee cohorts have no concept whatsoever of what democracy is about,” Rubin says. “Stifling opposition is what tyrants and dictators do, not representatives of a democracy. Alegria did that for years in Pinole, and was successful until a grass-roots effort stopped her. She and Rao are a disgrace to the political process, and they deserve to be drummed out of the party altogether. If the Democratic party in this county can’t find better leaders than them, then it’s in very serious trouble.”

If the Democratic party won’t take care of its own messy business, then voters can on June 3 by not re-electing Nagaraja Rao and not voting for Maria Alegria.

Jeff Rubin
Pinole

Previously, two CCOP members - Patty McGoldrick and John Bender - were appointed to the Planning Commission; they were the only new people the council appointed (two incumbents were re-appointed).

“We are walking our talk,” said CCOP spokesperson, Jeff Rubin. “We made a commitment to get involved in the city after we won the recall, and we are doing just that.” Rubin says several CCOP members have also applied for appointments to the new Community Services Commission.

In particular AFSCME cited the CCCLC’s blockhead support for Irma Anderson’s mayoral campaign for Richmond city council; for Maria Alegria and against the Pinole Recall, and support for an Indian Casino in Richmond.

In the case of Mayor Alegria, the citizens of Pinole formed a grass roots organization to unseat a politician who took advantage of her official position to act in a manner that was detrimental to the best interests of her constituents… Organized labor had no business involving itself in a campaign that will give unions a black eye in Pinole as well as other East Bay Communities. Thanks to the actions of the CCCLC it will be a long time before organized labor will be respected in Pinole.

After chastising the CCCLC for its support for Irma Anderson and its push for Indian gaming in Richmond, Rodriguez concludes:

The proof that Local 444’s views on these issues are consistent with local public opinion can be found in the defeat of both Irma Anderson and Maria Alegria…The members of Local 444 are putting the CCCLC on notice that should the Council continue to pursue such anti-union, anti-citizen, anti-democratic positions we will be forced to withdraw from the Council and will activly encourage other Locals to do so as well.

We do not support the philosophy of “she may be a crook but she’s our crook.” Why should citizens honor Labor if Labor doesn’t honor them.

If, as Tip O’Neill said, “All politics is local,” then the most important election results for Contra Costans last night were the landslide victory of the Pinole Recall and the loss of Prop 93, the cynical attempt by political insiders to dress up an incumbent insurance policy as term limit reform.

The Pinole Recall victory is momentous as it provides a wonderful example for cities like Brentwood, Concord, Disco Bay, and others where ordinary citizens (see video) were able to stand up to unions, the Democratic Party Machine, their curiously silent County Supervisor and neutered Republican Party, redevelopment interests, and an entitled incumbent, seemingly secure in her sinecure, to take back their City from runaway incompetence and pandering to special interests.

The defeat of Prop 93 is promising as it reveals that the electorate was able to see through the vast corrupt deception perpetrated by creeps like Dom Perata, Fabio Nunez, and their toadies in the Assembly, who, more often than not, get to choose their districts, rather than voters select them.

Good evening council, staff, and people in the audience and watching on TV. I’m Jeff Rubin. At the January 10 Candidates’ Forum, Maria Alegria said her Form 460s were available to the public, so I thought I’d have a look.

I see where the International Association of Firefighters, the union representing the Pinole firefighters, has given Maria another $3,200 since January 1. That brings the firefighters union’s investment in Councilwoman Maria Alegria for their upcoming contract negotiations with the city of Pinole to $10,700 over the last four years. That’s roughly 16% of the more than $65,000 Maria has raised since 2004, most of it from special-interest groups, some of which, such as TKG Development, have contracts with the city on which Maria votes. Additionally, Councilman Stephen Tilton has accepted $3,500 from the International Association of Firefighters since 2006, including $1,500 since January 1, a period in which he did not declare any expenses. Stephen, why are you accepting money when you’re not spending it?

By contrast, Mayor Peter Murray and Councilwoman Mary Horton have accepted no money from the firefighters’ union, or any other union, during that time.

The Pinole firefighters’ contract expires in a few months. I have heard they will negotiate for retirement at FULL PAY at age 50. Can the city afford to allow ANY employee to retire at age 50, with the possibility that employee will live another 20 to 40 years, while the City of Pinole pays FULL medical benefits AND retirement pay?

Pinole is already in debt. Are Maria and Stephen willing to bankrupt the city to pay back the firefighters’ union for their massive campaign contributions? The city should pay only what it can afford to its firefighters - and to all of its employees. It’s highly unethical when elected officials accept such huge amounts of money - $10,700 for Maria and $3,500 for Stephen - from an organization whose contract they’re going to negotiate and vote on. Maria Alegria and Stephen Tilton have accepted the money. It appears that their votes have been bought. The purchase of political favors cannot - and will not -be tolerated in Pinole.

Both of them need to be recalled.

The West County Times editorial mentioned in the ad also stated that both Recall Targets, Maria Alegria and Stephen Tilton, were “unprofessional and incompetent,” and confirmed all of the charges brought by the Pinole Recall group.

You can see KPIX-5 coverage about anti-recall (employee of Pear Street Bistro) theft of campaign signs.

Earlier in the campaign, Maria Alegria a Recall target charged with mismanagement and incompetence, had called Recall supporters “thugs” in a hit piece paid for by the firefighters union angling for a big payday in upcoming contract negotiations with Alegria.

Members of Concerned Citizens of Pinole, responding to repeated thefts of Recall signs and signs belonging to those running in the election - especially those of Debbie Long, whose signs have been replaced with Ivette Ricco signs at several locations in the city - decided to form a stakeout to try to catch the thief. Tuesday was the first night of the stakeout.

CCOP members Dave Vida and John Bender had been on duty for only a few minutes when, around midnight, they saw the suspect race out of the bistro, cross the street, and begin removing signs from Parkview Plaza. As it happens, a police cruiser saw the suspect, who fled back into the bistro, out the back door, and threw the signs in the bistro’s Dumpster. A total of three police units responded. After arresting the suspect, police took photos of the signs in the Dumpster, then released the signs into CCOP custody.

Question for Maria Alegria…who are the thugs and hooligans? Shame on you and your supporters, including labor and democratic party deniers that support this sort of ham-fisted illegal campaign of intimidation.