Since the 2006 elections, I have been so closely involved in getting more progressive legislation passed or candidates elected.  There has been much money raised and spent and many grassroots and Netroots activism engaged.  I was elated by the results of the 2012 cycle … and decided to take a few months off.

With the exception of DailyKos (and every nowandagain a peak at HuffPo), I have stopped reading daily political news.  I cut my intake of printed news down to Newsweek magazine (even now that they’ve gone “electric”, I still consider them print.  It really is a good magazine if you haven’t checked it out!).   I even turned off Rachel Maddow.  If you lived in my house, you’d know that she’s a staple!  Even my kids think I’m in love with her!  LOL.

If someone simply proposed that with any gun purchase a mandetory gun safe had to be either bought or provided by the retailer/resaler, then that would remove any doubt that someone (i.e. "governement") is out to take away your guns.

If you already own a gun safe, proof of ownership will suffice.

I wonder how many accidental gun deaths occur each year due to the fact that the owner of the gun failed to store it properly.

A very short diary to highlight a saying I repeat frequently.

During the last election, when obvious voter suppression techniques were being introduced throughout the country (only in states with Republican governors and state houses), I would post on FB, Twitter, and virtually in every conversation I had on the topic, that if you have to cheat to win, your ideas suck.

If you can't win because you have the superior candidate, you have to find another way.

If you can't win because the demographics that support you are deteriorating, you have to find another way.

If you can't win because your ideas are not acceptable, then you have to find another way.

And instead of changing their candidates or their ideas, or trying to reach a larger audience, the Republican strategy is essentially to cheat.

Say it loud and say it often:  If you have to cheat to win, your ideas suck.  Maybe, just maybe, this will become a meme.

Regarding the just beginning (and admittedly premature) debate on will she or won’t she, I only have one thing to say:

I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  I hope she will.  

Enough said.

This afternoon, we were privileged at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills California to host former Senator Russ Feingold.  His topic was billed as “The Citizens United Decision (2010) and the Role of Corporate Money in the American Political Process.”

From my notes:
He began with the comment how we are losing our democracy, our involvement, our sense of belonging as a “casualty of unlimited money.” He spoke about the history of public finance reform throughout time, from the Tillman Act of 1907, signed into law by President Roosevelt, The Taft-Hartley Act, the influence of Watergate on disclosure rules, and of course, McCain/Feingold which banned “soft money”.

Head on, he addressed the fact that Barack Obama being re-elected in this post Citizens United environment does not mean this is no big deal. “These things shift.  We won’t ever have a Barack Obama again.” He of course was referring to the cycles of politics and how the pendulum tends to swing back and forth.  He doesn’t predict the same outcome for next election cycle, but the time to act is now before we know who any of the candidates will be.

Perhaps most startling was his comments on who this impacts the most:  corporate leaders and rich people.  He actually called it extortion.  He gave the example of the CEO of FedEx explaining to him that he has a fiduciary responsibility to put money into elections—he’s obligated.  “How can I not put $200,000 into something that will help my company?” To call it a racket, would be an understatement.  Senator Feingold called it organized crime.

His last point of the day was that the corporation always wins.  They put money (often) into both sides of the aisle.  That’s why you’ll get these huge lopsided votes like 95-3, or 90-8 in controversial spending bills in the Senate.  He singled out the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Most Favored Nations for China and of course, the Glass-Steagall repeal.  Money in politics has consequences. This is what the contributions do.

Through his group, Progressives United, he is advocating to overturn Citizens United.  The main strategy is the nomination of a progressive justice, assuming one of the 5 (from the 5-4 ruling) decides to retire in the next few years.  But more importantly, passing the California Disclose Acst (which is only 1-2 votes away) will be a major step in the right direction.  As the nation’s most populous state, and its richest, the California Disclose Act will be a milestone toward improvement of our political process.

Tomorrow night, at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, author Jeremy Scahill will be giving an interview for about 45 minutes, about 20 minutes of Q&A afterwards, and then signing books.

From the Commenwealth website:

Has the country's effort to dispense international military justice gone extrajudicial? Drone strikes, mercenary missions and the assassination of Bin Laden raise the question: Do the ends justify the means? Going beneath the surface of conventional reporting, investigative journalist Scahill’s newest book, Dirty Wars, explores the gray areas of U.S. military operations to determine whether these policies have been undertaken with congressional oversight and public debate. Hear Scahill’s take on the underbelly of the United States’ international military affairs and decide for yourself if you agree with him: How much are we willing to compromise the democratic process in the name of warfare, and justice?

Location: SF Club Office
Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)

Sometimes, I wish I had writers for my daily life.  I'd always say the right thing.

In the season 2 finale of HBO's "The Newsroom", anchorman Will McAvoy, a self reported Republican is being challenged on air by Taylor Warren, the former media spokeswoman for the Mitt Romney campaign.  It's election night, 2012.  The election had just been called for President Obama.  After a bit of banter, Ms. Warren asks Mr. McAvoy the following question:

Do you call yourself a Republican so you can make a claim to credibility when you attack the GOP?

No, I call myself a Republican because I am one.
I believe in market solutions and common sense realities and the necessity to defend ourselves against a dangerous world and that’s about it.

The problem is now I have to be homophobic.  
I have to count the number to times people go to church.
I have to deny facts and think scientific research is a long con.
I have to think poor people are getting a sweet ride.
And I have to have such a stunning inferiority complex that I fear education and intellect…in the 21st century.
But most of all, the biggest new requirement, really the only requirement is that I have to hate Democrats.
And I have to hate Chris Christie for not spitting on the president when he got off of Air Force One.

The two-party system is crucial to the whole operation.  There is honor in being the loyal opposition. And I’m a Republican for the same reasons you are.

I am a professional investor.  That is, I work for a Wall Street firm and manage other people's money for a living.  I love it when the markets go up.  And as a true blue liberal, I stick out like a sore thumb in my industry. I'm not the only one, but I'm certainly one of the more vocal when I get together with my peers at national or regional meetings.  I just won't let the ignorant comments stand when someone denegrates Obama or one of his policies (or for that matter, any of the policies of the Democratic platform).  And I have this site to thank for the cogent arguments that I am able to submit to win my points.

Which makes today's headlines so incredibly sweet.  I woke up this morning and did what I always do first:  check the markets.  They were up a full percent (note:  that's a "big" day) and still are as I type.  The Dow Jones Industrial Index is up 167 points today!  The S&P 17!   I had a funny feeling when I read about Lawrence Summers withdrawing his nomination from consideration for Chief of the Federal Reserve Bank that this would happen.  I love being right about such things.  Follow me below the fluer-de-kos for 10 headlines I've seen so far describing the event.

House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), the third-ranking House Republican, told immigration advocates on Friday the lower chamber won’t vote on immigration reform this year.

Claiming there are only 13 days left in the year, there isn't time to vote for a written bill that would pass the House if only a free vote was taken.  It would take only 5 minutes if he brought it to the floor.  But he is a coward.  He cries like a coward.  He looks like a coward.  He acts like a coward.

Let's finally call Boehner what he really is.  In a year where not one major piece of legislation has passed the house, not one, this one is being let down the drain.

So pathetically sad.  And so tragically typical of his leadership.

On Monday of this week, I received an invitation from the White House Business Council inviting me to their next briefing and discussion of the President’s economic priorities.  The stated agenda is to seek input and perspective from community business leaders across the United States.  We will be able to ask questions and offer solutions to Administration officials to help improve policymaking.  Past speakers have included Chairman of the National Economic Council Gene Sperling, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Jason Furman, and Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett.

In registering for the event, they asked which issues are most important to me/my community.  Some of the choices included:  Immigration reform, regulatory reform, Healthcare/ACA, Education, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, etc.

It turns out that the CEO of my local Chamber of Commerce (Mountain View) nominated my invitation (he’s gone in the past) as I am the current Chair of its Board of Directors.  Additionally, I chair my City’s Human Relations Commission and am strongly considering a run for City Council in 2014.  He thought this might be a good opportunity for me in terms of my campaign.  But I think it will be a good meeting for me because I’m interested in this topic and feel I have something to contribute.   After considering it for about 3 seconds, I bought a plane ticket, reserved a room, and am so excited I can’t stand it!  I’ve only been to Washington DC once in my life…on the Close Up program when I was in high school.  I think it was in 1983.  And we didn’t go into the White House.  I’m sure with all the holiday decorations, it will be simply beautiful!

If anybody wants to put in the comments serious questions, I’ll cut and paste them into a document and present it at the meeting.  This is about business, not government in general.  So keep them relevant and germane to the audience I will have.

Wish me luck!

In 1989, my senior year of college, I worked as an intern at the headquarters of an international corporation.  That corporation, I found out later, was founded in South Africa, but moved to be more competitive.  As such, all executives of the company were from South Africa.  All white.  All supporting apartheid.  When I learned of this, I was already in my first year as a full time employee.  I remember talking to my manager about it.  It was really straining my conscience to be an employee of an organization whose profits supported a political system and economy for which I didn't believe.  For which I felt was wrong. Unjust.  I felt the only choice I had was to leave.

But then Mandela was released from prison.  And my choice became to fight from within.  If I have an activist bone in my body, it was developed during the next year, when I repetitively challenged the system the executives of my company supported.  When apartheid officially ended, I was ecstatic. I felt victorious.  When Mandela was elected president, I felt the pride of the world.  And now that he is gone, I am extraordinarily sad.  Much more sad than I would have anticipated, given his age and how frail he had become.  

On very very select theaters (I think only 4 in the entire United States...right now) is the film (not a documentary) - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.  U2 wrote the cover song for the movie.  Watch the video.  And when the film comes to your neighborhood...or anywhere near it, see the movie.

"He no longer belongs to us -- he belongs to the ages." -- President Obama

After much urging from various powers that be in my home town of Mountain View, California, and many lengthy conversations with my wife, I have decided to run for City Council.

I have served on the boards of many local organizations and community groups for years.  I am an appointed representative (and current Chair) to the Human Relations Commission, as well as having served on the City’s Downtown Committee for a period.  I know most of those who influence decisions locally and they know me.   The woman who accepted as my campaign manager twice ran for council herself and was a delegate to the Democratic National Conference in Charlotte.

There are three slots available and interestingly, no incumbents are running.  I expect the field to be about 10-12 candidates for the three slots. Having said that, I am optimistic about my chances and frightened as hell about what I just stepped into.  Nonetheless, earlier today I filed the required paperwork to the City and later this afternoon will open my bank account to receive contributions.

If anyone out there is reading this and has words of advice for me as I head into personal unchartered waters, I would certainly appreciate it.   Even links to candidate websites that you thought were well conceived is a great lead.  I’m accepting all ideas right now.  The election in in 11 months!  

Wish me luck.
~Ken

I always get a case of the schadenfreudes when I learn of some right-wing freakout when reality hits them in the face.

This time it's Roger Ailes that's turning my frown upside down.  

MSNBC is has a copy of Gabriel Sherman's biography of Roger Ailes titled The Loudest Voice in the Room. Of the election night fiasco, when Karl Rove famously melted down on camera, there's this:

But as Fox’s exit poll team presented the numbers, Ailes came undone. “They weren’t good for Romney,” a person in the room said. “Roger started arguing about how the sample skewed toward liberals.” Ailes said, “Liberals like to share their feelings, and conservatives work, so they don’t vote until later.” Arnon Mishkin, the head of Fox’s decision desk team, told Ailes that the data accounted for a sample skew. It appeared that Romney was going to be trounced. Worse, so-called late-deciders were breaking for Obama.

Data was no substitute for what his gut told him. “Everyone left the room with the knowledge that Roger didn’t believe the polls” a participant said. His opinion would be channeled on-air later that night, with embarrassing consequences

You can't will your way to your side winning.  

The money quote, however, has to do with his belief that liberals have "feelings" while conservatives work.  You know, at jobs and stuff.  I'm not sure what that really means.  Perhaps he's suggesting that conservative voters don't have feelings.  They're automatons to do what he pleases with them.  Perhaps he believes that liberals don't work.  They sit around and discuss how they feel all day long.

Ironically, the people that worked the hardest to win the last presidential campaign were the liberals.  They kicked conservatives' ass.  How's that feel Roger?

http://www.msnbc.com/...

Nearly 3 weeks ago, I posted a diary here stating that I was going to run for City Council in my hometown of Mountain View.  The response I got, both in the comments and in my personal KosMail was overwhelmingly supportive.  I LOVE this community. :-)

In those three weeks, I've been laying the infrastructure in place.  I've developed a small campaign team:  I have a campaign manager, a bookkeeper, and two "at large" members who will provide editorial advice.  I've developed my website (very v1.0) a Facebook political page, and a Twitter account.  If you can find it, be sure to "like" or "follow" me!  I'm sure I will under utilize these tools.  But I've made terrific progress just learning this stuff so far.  The website and FB page went live today.  I'm terribly excited!

With your indulgence, I'd like to chronicle the campaign process.  I will periodically post a diary to Daily Kos as the the campaign goes on.

I'll include the "About Ken" portion of my website below the orange squiggly thingy.  But you can see my website here.  

Facebook page:  Ken Rosenberg for Mountain View City Council
Twitter:  MountainViewKen
Website: MountainViewKen.com
If you know people who live here, be sure to share this information with them!!!

Thank you Kos community for your help and constructive comments.  I may return for advice from time to time about how to handle specific and individual issues.  The biggest thing facing Mountain View right now is the job/housing imbalance.  With Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, and LinkedIn in our backyard, there is a HUGE supply of new jobs and not enough places (locally) to put the new hires.  You can imagine the implications of such an imbalance.  That will be the big issue this campaign cycle.  

I found it both interesting and reassuring that the President mentioned wage inequality between men and women in his State of the Union speech.  Reassuring because simply mentioning the issue keeps it in people’s mind as an injustice that requires attention and remediation, and interesting because I’ve seen what it looks like in real life.

I watched the SOTU address with a few fellow Kossacks (which in-of-itself is a fun thing to do!) .  When it had concluded, we got into a discussion of some of the points President Obama made as well as the non-substantive response by Congresswoman McMorris.   I relayed the following story to the room and was encouraged to write a diary about it.  Follow me below the fleur-de-kos for more.

On January 3, 2014, I announced my intent to run for Mountain View City Council.  The first month was dedicated to setting up a campaign infrastructure.   I now have a campaign manager, a book keeper, a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and word of mouth.   I spent the last two weeks meeting face to face with the current council members (I already know them, but in this context, it was like starting the relationship from scratch) and other leaders of Mountain View.

The election is 270 days from today.   It’s not an official candidacy (from the City’s perspective) until you file your election papers but the window to do so isn’t until late June.  Given that my city will have 3 open seats (all 3 incumbents are terming out), it is expected that between 8 and 12 people will eventually be the field.  

I am presently, in addition to a myriad of other things I do around town, a Commissioner for the City’s Human Relation Commission.  I was advised to email every commissioner and committee member and ask for their endorsement.  I did.  I received 9 endorsements right out of the gate. That’s astounding because the election is so far away.   I arrived home last night after a series of meetings at 9:30 to receive an email from the District Attorney of Santa Clara County (Jeff Rosen) who said “I endorse you and hope you win.” That was quite a statement and a wonderful thing to say.  

The rest of this month will be dedicated to a few more face-to-face meetings and setting up “meet and greets” at people’s homes. That is, I will ask people who know me to call up their neighbors and host a coffee.  I think the whole campaign concept really hit home when I ordered my remit envelopes (for donations) that I will of course have with me at these events.  To me, that makes it more official than nearly anything else.  

So far, and this is largely because I am not accustomed to it, the hardest part is when people ask you how “you’re going to solve [xyz problem].  The truth is that one council member can’t solve these problems by him/herself. But having a position, an opinion, on so many very very complicated matters is essential.  I was asked yesterday how I would help protect Mountain View from the expected increase of San Francisco Bay waters due to global warming.  I mean, I’ve never thought about that before.  Given we’re on the coast, that is an important issue (turns out the City already has a plan for it).  I was also asked to give my opinion about the state of senior citizens in Mountain View, a topic of which I know very little.  This kind of thing will continue to happen.  My job is to do my research and form an opinion.  

My campaign is off to a great start.  And I have to admit, for my part (and for how much work it truly is) I’m having a wonderful time.  

If you’re interested in learning more or helping me out, please visit my webpage at www.mountainviewken.com.  Contributions welcome!  I’ve already spent over $1500!!  

Thank you fellow Kossacks.

This is the 3rd diary of my campaign.  I will post periodically to record my activities and memorialize the journey.

As I was driving this morning to collect my 15 year old daughter from her friend’s house after last night’s sleep over, and the satellite provided music in my car was blaring, it occurred to me that she will never know music the way I have.   Indeed the way many of us over 40 have.  I felt sad.  I couldn’t tell if I was sad for me or sad for her.  Perhaps it was a little bit of both.

She will never know what it is like to stayed glued to the radio to listen to a newly released song she cannot yet buy or in some other way acquire.  She will never understand that when she buys a single song, she should get something on the other side…a bonus song that she may be familiar with but a different version, one she hadn’t heard before and now she has something wonderfully exciting that she can hold in her hands.  Just being aware of this extra song, this different version of something known separates her from her friends as a “true fan.”

She will never understand walking into a record store.  You know the kind, not the corporate record store that used to have shops across the country, but a mom & pop store where you are confronted with employees who know everything about everything related to music.   The people who live and breathe music and condescend to you if you admit to liking anything related to pop music.  But that store specializes in rare and hard to find albums that were truly rare and hard to find.  And she will never understand going to the bin of her favorite band seeing something she was unaware even existed.  She’ll never hold it in her hands and turn it over to read the notes and wonder if this truly is a different version of the song she already owns three different versions of.  Just to buy it anyway.

I remember going into a store and finding something called “bootlegs” where I got to hear my band playing live music at some club I had never heard of in some country I had never been to.  And the recording was for crap because some guy was holding up his recordable walkman all concert long and half the time you listened to him and those around him singing instead of the band.  But it was special because it was like you were there too.  She will never experience that.  Nor record swap meets, which in a way were the precursor to comic-cons.  A social environment where audiophiles and hardcore fanatics met up and geeked out together.  She’ll never be able to find the first record her favorite band ever pressed but only printed 1000 of them and they were hand numbered by some marketing genius who was just trying to get that band noticed and now that first record is worth thousands to collectors.

And album art.  I suppose there exists some minimalist version of album art these days, especially if a band goes on the road. After all, they do have to market this thing they’re digitally selling.  But album art used to define a band.  Remember Journey’s or Van Halen’s or Led Zeppelin’s album covers?  You knew what you were getting before you opened it up and put it on your turntable.  She will never understand that feeling of putting the record on for the first time while plopping down on her bed and opening up the album lyrics that were so graciously provided – sometimes in the handwriting of the singer of the song!  Listening again and again trying to memorize each song while driving your family crazy for how often you played it.

No, her music life if different from what I knew growing up.  Hers is one of instant gratification and knowing only a few songs from any particular artist.  Hers is being able to see nearly any concert or any appearance on any tv show from across the globe at any time.  Hers is music directly input into her ears and not shared with the community around her in large booming speakers that shake the walls.  She will miss the smells of the store, the dust that has piled up on those unwanted record compilation records that no one really wanted.  And she will never have a collection of records that store on a shelf that bring back memories so intense when years later, she pulls one down and remembers exactly where it was purchased, which friend was with her when she did, and the magic of privately listening to something so fantastic that it is transcends space and time.

I miss music the way it used to be.  I may just have to take my old turn table out of the box it’s been in for the past 2 decades and plug it into my stereo system that has also been in storage for that length of time.  

Rock on.

On January 3rd, 2014, I went into City Hall in my hometown of Mountain View California and filled out my “intent to run” paperwork.  About the only people who took notice was the City Clerk who filed the paperwork, the people in her office and perhaps the mailroom attendant.  It becomes obvious very quickly that the job of a candidate is to make your candidacy known.  

Mountain View has three open seats for its seven person council.  That is, three incumbents are terming out.  Presently the field is four people, two of whom ran in 2012 and lost.  I expect the field to grow to at least eight candidates.  Immediately after filing, I sought out a team of advisors, including a campaign manager.  Not doing this alone is probably the best decision I’ve made.  I certainly require the advice of my team and heed it most always, if for no other reason than I don’t do something hasty that leaves a scar on my candidacy.

For the past six weeks, the campaign has largely been an infrastructure exercise.  However, on Thursday night (Feb 13) our local paper just ran its first article about the election (which is in November) and now it’s inescapable:  the contest is real and I’m in it.  

When our paper goes to print, it also puts the articles online.  And that’s where the community has an opportunity to leave comments.  As any reader of DailyKos is aware, that in of itself can be quite the treat.  One of the biggest issues in Mountain View (indeed, the entire Bay Area) is that the number of jobs is growing faster than the housing stock can keep up.  Consequently the price of rentals and houses has skyrocketed.  Rents go as high as $8,000/month in some cases…for an apartment.  People who’ve lived here for years and years, people valuable to the community on so many levels, are being forced out by rising costs.  Many are choosing to leave California altogether.  It’s very sad.

I am a proponent of development of new housing.  I’m especially interested in developing the area known as the North Bayshore area where most of Mountain View’s high tech companies reside including Microsoft, Intuit and Google.  The newspaper article says as much.  Naturally, one of the more comical (and baseless) comments online stated, “If you want the number of Mountain View apartments to more than double, if you want our population to increase by 55,000 (42%) then vote for Ken Rosenberg.” People making things up about me and my positions.   Very enlightening.

At last week’s City Council meeting, where I was in attendance, someone came up to me afterward and said “You’re the one to beat” which was at once flattering and frightening.  If I am a front runner, then that means I’m everybody’s target.

Now I’ve been told that I am supposed to ask my fellow Kossacks to help contribute to my campaign.  This is the fourth diary I’ve written about my experiences and I have yet to do that.  However, I just completed my budget and recognize that it’s going to cost over $20,000 to run in this 75,000 person town.  I've only raised $200 thus far.  Again, campaigning is all about getting recognized and remembered.  So if any of you are so inclined, here is the link to my contribution page.  I really appreciate your consideration.
Click here to contribute.

website:  www.mountainviewken.com
Twitter: mountainviewken
Facebook: Ken Rosenberg for Mountain View City Council

Thanks folks, for listening, contributing, supporting, praying, and otherwise being here for me to “think out loud.”

Diary #5in an ongoing series of my experiences in running for local office

I have to say, it is an interesting experience being a candidate for city council. With the actual voting in November, it is awfully early to make a big splash.  In fact, it’s rather pointless to do so right now given that most people will forget about it if you do. Therefore, nearly everything I’m doing “behind the scenes” presently is strategically designed to attract supporters.  That is, I’m speaking with a veritable who’s who in Mountain View, that voters may know, and seeking their endorsement. The results thus far have been surprisingly good. In fact, I have been publicly endorsed by twenty six people (with more to come). But because my local paper ran an article about early candidates I have received attention around town from some folks I do not know -- and that’s a good thing.

Diary #6 in an ongoing series of my experiences as a candidate.

My initial thoughts about how to run a campaign were aligned with how a person prepares for a job interview. You know, study the company (city), know a few salient facts (issues) and prepare to talk about them. And all of that happens to be true. The difference, and this is key, is that you’re not trying to impress one, two, or three people. You need a majority (or a plurality) of the voters to like you enough to a) remember who you are, and to b) take action on voting day on your behalf.  That’s the hard part.

My hometown of Mountain View California has approximately 75,000 citizens. In the last election – a presidential cycle – the “last winner”* had approximately 11,000 votes. In the most recent non-presidential election (2010), the “last winner” had approximately 9,300 votes. So my best guess is that the prize this year will be won most likely by gathering about 10,000 votes. I think this is very doable. But there is one significant (at least I fear it’s significant) wild card this election cycle: a slate of candidates put forth by a vocal minority of residents who want all development in Mountain View to halt. Allow me to explain.