There were a couple of other speakers before the ones photographed below, but they processed across the stage so fast I didn't manage to get set up in time to take their pictures. Besides which, I was busy gathering signatures and passing out fliers in the back of the room. The first one that got me to listen was the woman who wrote the biography of Tookie Williams. She pointed out that there was a complete lack of courage among the Democrats on the death penalty. She felt it was up the Greens to be the ones showing courage and working in opposition to the death penalty. She thanked Aimee for standing against it when Tookie was on death row.

The MC (I never did get his name) introduced the speakers and did housekeeping chores. At one point he read a list of names of people he thought were "all the candidates in the room." I wasn't on it, so when he got off the stage I told him he had missed me and gave him one of my fliers. Later he read another laundry list of candidates, but I wasn't on that one either.

Gayle McLaughlin, a member of the City Council in Richmond and the Green incumbent with the district nearest to Oakland gave a great endorsement of Aimee. She said "Aimee is one of those candidates that is so good that if you touch your forhead while you are voting for her you can feel your spirit getting stronger."

Aimee herself sounded good. She talked about how some members of the council that had been bought and paid for by developers had sold a huge parcel of city land to their masters, who had then proceeded to develop it into yuppie housing without paying a dime of taxes. She promised to do better about getting value for the citizens of the city than that. By the time she sat down I wished I could vote for her.

Wilson Riles Jr. did the pitch. Lots of people pulled out their wallets. Me, I had to take an envelope home with me and write a check here. I did it though.

After that there was plenty of time for schmoozing....

That guy on the right with Aimee and his wife is Todd Cretien, who is also running for the Green Party Nomination for the U. S. Senate seat. He gave a nice speech endorsing Aimee before I got my camera out.