Press Releases

East Bay state Senate District 9: Sandré Swanson

Becky O'Malley
Saturday October 08, 2016 - 03:14:00 PM

We’re supporting Sandre Swanson because he’s not beholden to the statewide Democratic establishment, reflected in Berkeley as the Bates/Capitelli Moderate Majority on the Berkeley City Council.

My own personal reason for liking Sandré is that he got his start working to support Shirley Chisholm for President in 1972, as did the superb Barbara Lee. I loved working on that campaign myself in Michigan, and am happy that we’ve all lived long enough to see an African-American and probably a woman elected to the presidency, though Ms. Chisholm would have been both at the same time. This district is one of the few in the state that can provide an African American voice at the state level, and we should just do it.  

 

Sandré's been endorsed by State Representative Tony Thurmond (who won himself as an upstart candidate) and the Wellstone Club, among others, as well as Bates’ wife, incumbent State Senator Loni Hancock. This last endorsement is puzzling to some, but insiders say she agreed to endorse Sandré in this race if he withdrew from a previous one against her, and isn’t that politics?