Dawn Crawford vs Dirty County Politicians and  Officials

Clinton Remarks About Obama are Troubling

Hardy Brown

After listening to the Clintons, I had a chance to talk to my dear friend Rev. Art Forbes when he came by the office to pray with me. As we reminisced about our days at Kaiser Permanente, the Clintons behavior became crystal clear to me. Art reminded me of something that happened to him, as well as to other African-Americans we worked with at the time who were extremely prepared and experienced, but who were not given certain management positions because of racial politics. When Art returned from a Kaiser sponsored meeting in Washington DC, he found his reporting manager had been changed. He was now being told to train his new boss so that he can become president of Kaiser. The same was true for other Black employees like Sandra Cox, an attorney, who after years with the organization was denied the top legal position. Then there was Richard Webster, a manager, who was constantly sent new assistant administrators to mentor. He never did get the top spot.

In the race between Hillary and Barack, he has more elected years experience than her. He has more popular votes than her. He has more pledged delegates than her. He even has won more states than her. In other words, by every count one would measure who follows the election, he is in the lead. So Hillary and Bill stump in Mississippi and say to the Black voters I know you like Barack and me so you can get a chance to vote for both of us by electing me and I pick Barack as my vice president. Thanks to Barack for saying "no thank you", "I'm running for president win or lose."

Just a week ago Hillary commented that she and John McCain are the only ones left in the race who have the qualifications to be president. Then after she offered the vice presidency to Barack someone asked her how he could be her vice president since one must meet the qualifications to be president. Then her staff said he can qualify by the election in November. When I heard that I thought of the Holiday Inn commercials where people stay overnight and become surgeons, mechanics, airplane pilots, you name it.  In their mind, I guess they will let Barack stay in a Holiday Inn Express one night to qualify him for president.

With Barack winning another primary this week in an overwhelming landslide, I hope both Hillary and former president Bill Clinton, change their campaign rhetoric, or at least acknowledge that Barack is actually the frontrunner in the race for president.

Mr. Jacquet: San Bernardino Loses Another Gentle Giant

I lost another close friend and political mentor this past week in the person of Mr. Joseph Jacquet, also known as the "Godfather of 20th Street" in San Bernardino. It was his son Joe Jr. who introduced me to my wife Cheryl back in 1961 and I later got to know him as a family man and servant of the community. He had many talents, and was an electrician and all around handyman, and loved to teach the youth his trade. Of course I migrated to the political work he did in the community and attended the many political coffees held in his home. If you wanted the support of the 20th Street influencers you had to come to Jacquet, as peoplecalled him. During his prime he cultivated the other political junkies in the neighborhood: Dr. Henry and Belva Holder, Willie Garrett, James Ford, Bill and Barbara Nettles, Robert "Bob" Parker, Jean Mosley, Juanita Scott, John Hobbs, Mr. Hutchinson, Don Hammond, and me (at that time I was considered the kid of the group). Candidates who sought Jacquet's support would make the trek to the Westside and sit in his living room with his neighbors included: Congressman George Brown, Senator Ruben Ayala, Mayor Bob Holcomb, Councilmembers John Hobbs, Dan Frazier, Betty Dean Anderson, City Attorney Jim Penman, Assemblymembers Terry Goggins, John Quimby and countless school board candidates, not to mention his support for me on every campaign in which I sought office. He would then follow-up on election day to see who went to the polls and who did not.

Jacquet also loved his neighborhood. After his disability, he would walk the neighborhood between 3 and 4 in the morning to make sure we were safe. No one told him to do it and most did not know he was doing it. When gangs took over the city park on Muscott Street, it was Jacquet who called a meeting with the men and said let us use the park and take it back. It was the same Jacquet who called a similar meeting and got us to meet with the Hells Angels on 19th Street to teach them how to be good neighbors. His message was clear to them, "you don't have to move just respect us."

Yes, I learned a lot of my local politics from this gentle giant of a man.   I will miss him.