Mr. Dellums

This evening I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a reception for Oakland business people hosted by new Oakland mayor Ron Dellums. As a disclaimer - it was in my office building lobby which I have to pass through on my way out and there was free wine and food. Dellums has a pretty impressive resume, serving many years in the US House of Representatives including a stint as chair of the Armed Services Committee. But what kind of a guy is this Dellums? I like him. It was a nice setting, no press, no teleprompter just a mayor talking to his constituents. Dellums wants Oakland to be a model city, it's diversity creates wonderful opportunity to show the world how people can work together. He was optimistic buy straightforward, not shying away from noting that one of Oakland's biggest problems is people need to stop shooting each other. And for that to happen there needs to be more respect and a sense of community. We'll miss the eccentric Jerry Brown but I think Dellums will do well in Oakland, he kind of has to since there's already a building named after him.