I don't think I'm stretching it when I say things seem to have gotten pretty out hand for an elected official politically when the media, academia and the League of Women Voters are getting together to hold a nice little panel discussion on removing her from office before her term is up, and before the measure has even qualified for the ballot.
But such will be the case tonight in regard to the efforts to recall Oakland Mayor Jean Quan. From the Oakland Tribune:
At least two groups are gathering the necessary signatures to recall Oakland Mayor Jean Quan. If they succeed, Oakland voters will face several important questions. Join us for the live streaming of Recall: A panel discussion on the issues, rules and risks of a mayoral recall, 6 to 8 p.m. tonight...
Panelists include: Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker, Max Neiman, senior research fellow at the Institute for Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley, Oakland Tribune reporter Cecily Burt, Corey Cook, associate professor, Department of Politics, University of San Francisco, and Evelyn Hsu, senior program director, Maynard Institute for Journalism Education...
This event is brought to you by the Oakland Tribune, League of Women Voters of Oakland, the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and the Laney Tower.
Cy Musiker today talked to one of the panelists, USF political scientist Corey Cook.
Cook said that one of the reasons the recall of Gov. Grey Davis succeeded was because a viable alternative emerged -- Arnold Schwarzenneger. But in terms of Oakland, "I don't have any idea who that alternative could be. It's not Don Perata, it's not Ignacio De La Fuente. You look at some of the rumored candidates, and they aren't people who could convince people, I think, to replace Jean Quan.
"That said, recalls do create an opening for somebody to come in with populist backing. But I don't see this happening.