Information 1.Smart-Mart Revolution http://www.bkconnection.com/static/small-mart-pr.pdf

You are 100% correct. Voting agaist a big chain should not be a yes vote in support of stupidty or yes to continue funding Mandela. It just means stop looking to non-locals to solve local problems. Just becuase Mandela, with Nancy's support screwed up, doesn't mean that People's Grocery will too, or that other West Oakland resdents with small businness asiprations will fail. Don't punish everyone for the shortcomings (large as they may be) of one group of people. If you let one big chain in more will come. Look at Jack London, Lakeshore Ave, Emeryville. When they leave, and they almost always do, only another big retailer can afford to move into their spaces,unless the owner of the building is going to remodel it to allow a bunch of small business to move in. No doubt that a big retailer initally always stops the hemorraghing, but it s always short term. I urge you to really understand the negative impacts, short and long term of allowing a big chain in -- they will outweigh any short term postive gains. Many studies in many communites have proven this over and over again.

Do we seriously think it is more secure, more affordable and will lead to a better grocery selection to have shoveled $300k to a group of people who are still learning about the food business? Oh, they're local, how silly of me! I'm local too - but you don't see me demanding special treatment over someone who actually has experience selling groceries. I'm guessing if and when they do open (2012?) they'll insist on price controls for all their competitors so they can do us the huge favor by staying in business no matter how much it costs. Remember, you don't know what's best for your neighborhood - only someone who has access to hundreds of thousands in grant money does.

I too read Brahm's post and applaud People's Groceries’ optimistic view and I will do what ever I can to support them. I agree with you about Mandela Foods, why wasn't money given to People’s Grocery too? It's not just about Mandela and People's Grocery. Once any good grocery store open’s in West Oakland it is going to attract more businesses and people. Do you want the new businesses to be multi national chains or locally owned? What's wrong with ONLY fully supporting People's Grocery and maybe Mandela and other local entrapanurs that want to start business (that are not liquor stores) in the West Oakland? Why must we first let a chain retailer in? We don't need them. We need to support residents of the residents of West Oakland by giving them money and tools to open up their own shops, restaurants, etc…. Ownership is the primary vehicle that moves people from poverty to middle class.

Just wanted to point out two things. 1. Brahm of the People's Grocery wrote a whole blog post about how he would welcome the competition Fresh & Easy would provide and feels confident in his ability to compete with, as he puts it "the big guys." 2. Sean is endorsed by the East Bay Small Business Council, so at least that group thinks he would be more helpful to small, local businesses. And this is speaking only for myself, but I personally find it very disturbing that we're giving all this money to Mandela Foods, a group of people who have no experience providing food or running a grocery store, instead of supporting the People's Grocery, a group of people who have taken a long, thoughtful approach to opening their store and have experience selling food in this neighborhood. I think it reflects very poorly on the priorities of the current Councilmember.

Yes, I did read it, that is why I pointed out that Safeway is a multi-national. Nancy is not right about wanting the other chains in there, but she is closer to the best solution, which for me is support and protect locally owned stores. Also, Mandela Co-op is not the only one locally business trying to open in West Oakland. What about People's Grocery, they are trying to open up a store, and from what I have read they know what they are doing and moving faster than Mandela. Will Sean protect People's Grocery over Fresh & Easy? If so, I will be happy to vote for him. I don't think Nancy is, by any means, doing as much as she should to support Peoples Grocery and I don't understand what is taking so long with Mandela -- but again big chains are never the right solution. I haven't gone to the polls yet, so if you believe and know that Sean will oppose big chains more so than Nancy than please point me in the right direction. Again, I say check out the book: Big Box Swindle. I have no connection to it, so I am not getting paid to keep bringing it up. It is however filled with information about how city officials meaning to do the right thing are misled or lack information; they let a big chain in to help with growth in poor neighborhoods only to find that the big chain has sucked the life out of the community – and then the supposed community loving Muti-national retailer shuts it’s doors quickly during bad times and the neighborhood is stuck starting over again or worse off than before.

What is Nancy right about? She clearly doesn't agree with you about chains. She says in her response that she wants Fresh & Easy, Safeway, and Trader Joe's in West Oakland. The problem is that she is too incompetent to get them there. Mandela Foods isn't putting any money back into the community because they, like their mentor, are inept. They're sucking away taxpayer funds.

I am headed out to the polls now, and I just changed my vote after reading Sean's op-ed. It's too bad that Sean has gotten so many other points right, but not this one. I hate to say it, but Nancy is right. While it is unacceptable that the Mandela Food Co-op has taken 3 years to open, letting in any multinational chain, including Fresh and Easy (owned by Tesco, in Europe) is not the answer. Big chains refused to come to West Oakland for years, but now that People's Grocery and other advocates have shown that there is buying power in West Oakland, a big chain wants to "support the community and create jobs." Within 1-5 years, chains take away as many jobs as they create. Don't be fooled! All multinational chains (Safeway is a multinational too,) stomp out the growth of locally owned small businesses. They will set their prices low enough to make us all believe that we are saving money by shopping there. Once there is no sign of any competition, they will hike up the prices while still paying their employees a non-livable wage. They all do this, not just Wal-Mart. For every $100 you spend at a locally owned store, like People's Grocery or Mandela coop (if they can get it together!) an average of $13-$47 is put back into the same community by that business. All locally owned business’s rely upon and use the services of other locals, farmers, artists, web designers, accountants, dry cleaners, self employed cleaning people, locally owned bakeries, and food wholesalers etc... A locally owned business is highly likely to do whatever it takes to stay open in the community. Chain stores leave as soon as there is any trouble downturn. Do you think Fresh & Easy will stick it out and re-build when there is a big earthquake, or other disaster? No, they won’t; they will go. Chain store profits depend upon their ability to open new stores; chain stores do not stay in the same place for 50 years, our even 10 years in many cases. Do you know of any chain store that has been in the same location for 50 years? If so please tell us which one and where? My attempt at presenting some facts are based on data and information presented in these books: Big Box Swindle: The true cost of mega retailers and the fight for independent businesses and Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Nancy and Sean please, please, please read these books. Everyone in local office should read these books.

I am headed out to the polls now, and I just changed my vote after reading Sean's op-ed. It's too bad that Sean has gotten so many other points right, but not this one. I hate to say it, but Nancy is right. While it is unacceptable that the Mandela Food Co-op has taken 3 years to open, letting in any multinational chain, including Fresh and Easy (owned by Tesco, in Europe) is not the answer. Big chains refused to come to West Oakland for years, but now that People's Grocery and other advocates have shown that there is buying power in West Oakland, a big chain wants to "support the community and create jobs." Withing 1-5 years, chains take away as many jobs as the create. Don't be fooled! All multinational chains (safeway is a multinational too,) stomp out the growth of locally owned small businesses. They will set their prices low enough to make us all believe that we are saving money by shopping there. Once there is no sign of any competition, they will hike up the prices while still paying thier employees a non-livable wage. They all do this, not just Walmart. For every $100 you spend at a locally owned store, like People's Grocery or Mandela coop (if they can get it together!) an average of $13-$47 is put back into the same community by that bussiness. All locally owned business’s rely upon and use the services of other locals, farmers, artists, web designers, accountants, dry cleaners, self emplyoed cleaning people, locally owned bakeris, and food wholesalers etc... A locally owned business is highly likely to do whatever it takes to stay open in the community. Chain stores leave as soon as there is any trouble downturn. Do you think Fresh & Easy will stick out and re-build when there is a big earthquake, or other disatster. No, they won’t; they will be gone. Chain store profits depend upon their ability to open new stores, not by staying in the same place for 50 years. Do you know of any chain store that has been in same locaton for 50 years? If so please tell us which one. My attempt at presenting some facts are based on data, and information presented in these books: Big Box Swindle: The true cost of mega retailers and the fight for independent businesses and Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Nancy and Sean please, pleaase, please read these books. Everyone in local office should read these books.

Twelve years without meaningful change is long enough. If we want change it is time to vote for somebody new to represent the district.

No time to address them all, but for starters - there is no requirement, as Nadel asserts, that tenants in the Jack London Gateway shopping center pay a "living wage." I personally checked the entry pay for the majority of the tenants (couldn't talk to the ones where the operators didn't speak English well), and every single tenant told me they start at $8/hour. Minimum wage. Fresh & Easy's starting pay is $10/hour. Why should a grocery store be held to a different standard than every other tenant in the development?

I just wanted to say that I am lucky that Nancy Nadel represents West Oakland and not North Oakland where I live. I sincerely hope that Sean Sullivan is victorious. Nancy Nadel, along with other incumbents, have exacerbated the longstanding problems we have in Oakland. It is time for change and a for some new faces, new energy and new ideas to lead Oakland.

All OPOA cares about is upping their members' ridiculous salary and benefit packages. The only way to avoid 'jackings is don't drive in south, west and east Oakland. Neither candidate will do a thing about crime. It will take care of itself if and when Oakland gentrifies.

Sean Sullivan is endorsed by the Oakland Police Officers Association. They made their endorsement because the think he's a good partner for progress. And because they don't think Nancy Nadel is a partner at all. Read for yourself at www.opoa.org/city_council_endorsement.htm

Ok. I obviously support the general idea here, as I’m a huge proponent of 99 cents only in W.Oakland and an opponent of Mandela Foods Moneywaster. That said, “food security”? What about actual security? I’m about to write a blog post about Oakland’s ridiculously high carjacking rate. I guess the two are sort of interconnected, since if you have to drive to Emeryville for produce, you might get ‘jacked on the way, so the closer the food, the less the ‘jacking. But seriously. This is the whole problem with liberals. Always fiddling as the town burns. Oh, and as this is the closest I've ever (virtually) been to Nancy Nadel, let me extend to you, Nancy, the hopes and wishes of so many of us that tomorrow will mark the beginning of your retirement. Seriously. Corporate food-providers? Lady, dead people don't eat. You've got blood on your do-nothing hands. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

Nanny Nadel's comments open with "This Op-Ed piece is so full of inaccuracies..." She then fails to directly point out a SINGLE inaccuracy. Way to back up your point, Nancy.

District 5 (Fruitvale, Glenview) is on a similar income level as District 3. West Oakland and parts of Fruitvale have a good number of underprivileged residents. They both have their share of crime and poverty. Why is it then, that there are multiple neighborhood greengrocers in Fruitvale, and none in West Oakland? Why does Fruitvale have multiple supermarkets while West Oakland has none? Also, Ms. Nadel says that the Oaklanders forming the food co-op are working with folks with "experience". In the next sentence, she says "It is taking longer than we'd hoped as happens when you are learning." Well? Are they experienced or are they learning? And why would the city grant $300,000 to somebody who was going to use it for a learning process?

This op-ed piece is so full of inaccuracies, it cried out for a response. When I got elected 11.5 years ago, West Oakland had no grocery store and no bank. After I was elected and we transformed one third of Acorn Housing into first time homebuyer homes, we were able to attract a grocery story to the Jack London Gateway (formerly Acorn) shopping center. We worked as a community to start a coop bank with great assistance from Maeve Elise Brown. The new operator of the grocery store did pretty well but missed his southern CA family so he moved back and sold the store to Eugene, a Korean grocer who had another store in Oakland. Unfortunately Eugene borrowed money from a dangerous source and about a year after being in business in West Oakland, if not longer, he vanished overnight, leaving the store vacant. The store is in a shopping center that was subsidized by the city redevelopment area. There are certain requirements as a result of that subsidy - there must be local jobs and they must be at living wage. Recently Fresh and Easy was exploring some sites in Oakland. The Jack London Gateway shopping center was one location they looked at. Their negotiations were with the owner of the site, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation. I met with Fresh and Easy and expressed support for their coming to West Oakland. However, it is my understanding that their company policy doesn't allow them to commit to hiring at the city's living wage. They are looking at another West Oakland site as a possible alternative. East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation is looking for another grocery operator. I also contacted Safeway and Trader Joe's to see if they would be interested in either the Jack London Gateway site or the Market and West Grand site since Fresh and Easy made their announcement. Trader Joe's said that they just opened 2 stores and they would have to wait 2 more years before opening another. I met with a representative from Safeway just last week. They want to be in the center of traffic, daytime and evening customers. Their first choice is somewhere downtown and we are working with them on finding a location. While all these chains from other cities, states or countries look for a way to move into Oakland, I thought it was prudent for us to grow our own grocery store. There is a core group of Oakland residents and others who have taught themselves about the grocery business, joined with folks with some experience and are forming a worker owned cooperative market that will be on 7th St. near Mandela. It is taking longer than we'd hoped as happens when you are learning. However, if we are talking about true security, the most secure place to be is to have a store that is not beholden to corporate headquarters' whims from some remote location that won't really care at all about Oakland's food security. Once we get OUR store, it will always be OUR store with all the financial benefits of staying within Oakland. That's security! It is ironic to have to respond to a candidate who just moved to Oakland and has never even sat down to talk to me about food security and its history in West Oakland. I have worked with Willow Rosenthal, probably the person who has been most active in the Oakland food security movement. I responded to her interest in larger growing sites, larger than the backyards they were utilizing, by working with my neighbors to consider a commmunity food garden in a small park that was becoming a hangout for illegal behavior and lots of trash. We are in the process of raising money for that garden. I was proud to see, as I rode my bike to give a green rating award for the Zephyr Gate housing project on Sunday, that Willow has a Councilwoman Nancy Nadel sign on her garden, Working Together for Change. Anyone interested in helping raise money for the West Clawson garden, please contact my office at 238-7303.