Bird sanctuary erosion, independent expenditures in Alameda elections, and a back to school poem
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Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary quickly being destroyed
To the Editor:
We live adjacent to Alameda’s bird sanctuary and are seeing it being taken down by the large washup of sand from Crown Beach. In spite of control efforts, the sand has quickly been moving over sea grass and pickleweed along the shore. In the last few weeks, we have seen the sand move at a rate of several feet a day and it has piled to a height over two feet.
There were efforts in the last decade to re-grow the seagrass in the sanctuary for the rotating flocks of birds who come to Alameda but the grass looks to be destroyed soon. The sandbar has now become a new trail for walkers, photographers, and dogs who have been flushing birds away from the remaining grasses. Pickleweed, which I am told does not grow back easily, has been trampled down to make new routes off the sandbar.
On July 17, I presented my concern to a meeting of the Alameda Wildlife Reserve group. They and the Golden Gate Bird Alliance have been aware of the situation. I certainly hope the East Bay Parks District and the City of Alameda are also aware of what may soon be the loss of our bird sanctuary.
Lisa Ferguson
Can we reduce the influence of Big Money on Alameda elections?
To the Editor:
The recent revelation [2] that the city’s largest and most politically active employee union had spent $100,000 to support two candidates for Alameda City Council put last year’s election in an entirely new light.
What’s striking is not just the total but that the bulk of the money they invested in the outcome of the election was not given directly to the candidates in the form of monetary and non-monetary contributions, but rather was spent to create the PAC’s own campaign materials endorsing the candidates.
These so-called “independent expenditures” have changed the face of campaign finance in Alameda. In years past, the vast majority of funds were contributed directly to candidates. In fact, the total amount spent on five candidates in the 2020 City Council election was even more than on the same number of candidates in the 2024 election, but almost all of it in direct contributions
That all changed in the last election. With another group making just under $65,000 in independent expenditures in opposition to another City Council candidate, independent expenditures in 2024 were four times higher than in 2022 with the same number of candidates and a whopping 25 times more than 2020 on the same number of candidates.
Independent expenditures give an edge to candidates with ties to special interests. This puts other candidates at a disadvantage and can skew elected leadership toward the well-connected, limiting representation on governing bodies from average citizens.
Because independent expenditures are considered a form of free speech, they cannot be limited as campaign contributions are.
Ultimately, however, it’s difficult to impossible to get big money out of local politics. It’s up to the voters to be aware of where candidates are getting their funding and in what amounts and vote accordingly. One way to make that easier is for the city to require more detailed disclosures on campaign materials.
While the State of California requires candidates and Political Action Committees to file reports of their contributions and expenditures, the forms are not easily digested by the average voter. That’s why the League of Women Voters Alameda (LWVA) converts the dense data into easy-to-read graphics available on our website at www.lwvalameda.org [3] where voters can view charts that break down contributions by location, source and size as well as listing contributions over $1,000 and details about independent expenditures and loans to candidates.
As we’ve seen this election, these reports are only as accurate as the data fed into them by candidates and PACs. Currently no city official is authorized or responsible for monitoring or reporting on their completeness or accuracy. Absent this official accountability, the LVWA will continue to monitor the reports to be sure they accurately reflect the money being contributed and spent to influence the outcome of local elections. It’s up to you, the voters, to access that information. We can’t stop large institutional contributors from trying to influence the outcome of the election with big dollar investments, but we can arm ourselves with the information we need to blunt their impact.
Anna Crane
President, League of Women Voters Alameda
‘Back to School’
To those of you who soon return to school,
At this thick time when so much seems at risk,
With famine, war, and fear three horsemen strong,
And thy essential task to learn quite blurred,
With new technology misunderstood,
May somehow all the wisdom in our books,
And thinkers from the past be still of worth,
May true expression of thy thoughts hold place,
As engine to deep empathy for all.
We need so much for you to carry forth,
As bridge from then to now to times ahead,
This thing you do is vital and sacred.
Gene Kahane
Editorials and Letters to the Editor
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