How to Hire a Mayor

While a swimsuit competition would provide a little levity, and perhaps some attention to the race, it would not forward the voter's responsibility. It is time that voters really started doing their job and that is to approach each candidate as a potential employee. Maybe it is a foreign concept to many, especially if one has never had to hire anyone before, but what if each voter really tried it? Employers know that it takes more than a resume to make a decision about an employee. Folks who get hired for just their looks or how smooth they talk are not very valuable employees unless they are being hired to do commercials or talk radio.

We voters need to hire someone who will manage this city with integrity and honesty. We need an employee who we do not think will ignore city ordinances and policies for his/her pals. We need an employee who can intelligently analyze the issues and concerns and actually solicit the employers' (ie voters') viewpoints. We need an employee who is well versed in the ins and outs of this big conglomeration that is Oakland. Oakland does not have one face or one race or one income level or even one political stance.

In my opinion as an employer and voter, Nancy Nadel makes the best employee/mayor. Her ability to stand for the residents of West Oakland during these many years of change in that district while considering the needs of the rest of Oakland is commendable. She actually reads and evaluates proposals brought before Council. She is not beholding to any political group or monetary source. This allows her the flexibility one would want in an employee/mayor. She has good work experience in the field that is Oakland. She is willing to work the hours that it will take to do the mayor's job. I also think Oakland needs to consider the perspective that a woman can bring to this job. But we don't need a swimsuit contest to prove it.

M. Dorsey