SLCAN Endorsements and Recommendation for June 3rd City Council Election

Ursula Reed—Endorsed
SLCAN endorses District 2 candidate Ursula Reed. We find Reed to be passionate on the issues and willing to bring new, innovative and successful solutions to old problems. Reed shares our progressive ideals which she exemplifies in her career. As an educator, former principal, and mother she brings a needed, cohesive focus on our youth and schools. As an African American 35-year-old woman, she reflects San Leandro demographic groups under-represented on our city council.

We feel her real world experience, passion for solutions, and fresh ideas outweigh her inexperience in elected office. Looking forward, her biggest challenge will be name recognition as she campaigns against two well known, life-long political insiders.

We expect her to be a leader in bringing our city and schools closer together, to give better support to an increasingly diverse community, and to be an independent progressive voice.

Jim Prola—Endorsed
SLCAN endorses District 6 candidate Jim Prola. We supported Prola's appointment last year based on his long record of activism for progressive causes. Since then, we've found him to be receptive, responsive, committed, and ethical in his decision making. In addition to being a key force behind the living wage ordinance passed this year, Prola has a strong environmental agenda and has been a leading voice for affordable housing.

As he goes from being an appointed to being an elected official, we hope to see stronger leadership on key issues, more agenda setting, and more aggressive pursuit of his broader progressive objectives and goals.

Joyce Starosciak—Recommended
SLCAN does not endorse District 4 candidate Joyce Starosciak; however we do recommend you cast your vote for her. Starosciak is a candidate who communicates well and is open to public input.

That said, we have concerns on some recent issues such as her questionable judgement regarding the East Bay Regional Communications System and her seemingly uninformed comments regarding Measure B, the school bond passed in November 2006. Finally, Starosciak is a player in the political "machine," which can be an advantage, but which leaves open the question about her making the hard decisions when they may impact her future political aspirations.

In the future, we hope that Starosciak will champion progressive issues and focus on issues of smart growth and equity.

Decide for yourself! We developed a candidate questionnaire which was submitted to all ten candidates. You can read the statements of the nine candidates who responded by clicking their names below.