Chip Johnson sharpens up the knives and goes to work on Oakland’s beloved mayor, accusing him of being absentee and ignoring one of the basic features of democratic governance: transparency from its leaders. Yes, it’s all true, and we’ve been grappling with it ever since he announced he was running for mayor, when he surrounded himself with a pack of beefy bodyguards. The mayor’s weaknesses (his secrecy, his determination not to get anything done, his preoccupation with his own legacy at the expense of Oakland’s quality of life) have been apparent from Day One, tempting people to simply accept it and try to wait out his tenure the best they can. So when Johnson rips on him for the flaws he continues to nurture, it’s easy to think, “Yeah, what else is new?” But we run the risk of convincing ourselves that mediocrity is all Oakland deserves. So read it, and get angry all over again.
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