Electon Update and Community Forum on Sunday

Novometro has the best update on the City Council election shenanigans. The online news service points toward a Web site that includes court filings that allege District 5 candidate Mario Juarez is a deadbeat dad who beats his wife.

Meanwhile, in District 3, Nancy Nadel has accused Sean Sullivan of being the "developers candidate." In fact, Nadel accepted a few hundred dollars more from developers than Sean. (For more details, please check out the post at A Better Oakland, which is nicely nuanced and has lots of detail.)

Dirt is building up in the at-large race as well. East Bay Express has an article about the legal and financial troubles of Clinton Killian, until recently considered one of the leading at-large candidates.

Here's an excerpt:
"Killian's problems, in fact, were so severe that they raise questions as to whether the Oakland lawyer possesses the financial acumen to serve on the council at a time when the city is facing multimillion dollar deficits this year and next. Public records show that over the past decade, Killian went bankrupt in a case in which claims of more than $825,000 were made against him. Plus, the city of Oakland, the state, and the federal government all placed numerous liens against him and his property for failure to pay more than $133,000 in taxes and fees."

But don't write off Killian just yet. Come to the All Candidates Forum at the First Christian Church at 111 Fairmount on Sunday and ask him about it. All the candidates for the District 3 and At Large seats will be there. The Forum will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. It will be moderated by Pastor Sandhya Jha and consist of intros and copious q&a.

This is your chance to get your own gut check. Oakland desperately needs good people on the city council. Come, ask questions and see who you think are the best candidates.

POSTSCRIPT: At the forum, Killian said the East Bay Express got the story wrong. He said he filed for bankruptcy after he got involved in a tax dispute with the IRS. He said the only way the IRS would negotiate was through a bankruptcy filing. He said the $850,000 figure mentioned in the suit represented his total assets. He said the only disputed amount was from the IRS, and that he came to terms with them.