Berman has sent me five fliers now, FIVE. I got the message the first time. I don't see what good the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th do, except tell me he has no idea how to spend money wisely. Well, he won't be spending the public's if I have anything to say about it.

The reporting here is really incomplete. Berman has received not "thousands" but rather many hundreds of thousands of dollars from PACs. The California Secretary of State website (Web Link shows $616,265 in "late expenditures" on behalf of Berman by outside groups, just between 5/9/16 and 5/20/16. All of this $616,265 comes from just three sources: the California Association of Realtors, something called EdVoice, and the California Dental Association. This is on top of a few more hundreds of thousands that Berman has received from other sources in other time periods.

What do these groups have to gain from spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on Berman? Could the MV Voice/PA Weekly reporters give us some information on this? Could you perhaps even ask Berman exactly what his positions are, that makes these groups eager to spend so much to elect him?

When I received the first mailer from Berman, I read it. Then came FOUR MORE. I think he's getting a great deal more in "contributions" than the Voice is listing here, because these mailings are a very expensive over-kill. I'd suggest Berman should wake up to the negative reaction, but it's too late for that now. If a candidate had this amount to spend on mailers (and does it) it tells me he's for sale to the highest bidder, and he's not the candidate I want.
Another poster said it shows he doesn't spend money wisely, and I totally agree. The multiple mailings only make me suspicious about Berman's backers and what they are buying in return. Berman will NOT get my vote.
Regarding another candidate - the hit piece on Veenker infuriated me. What group is so afraid of her that they stoop to this slimy level? They are getting the opposite reaction they hoped for in this case, because their hate mailer made me curious to see what they feared. I read about her, like her views and respect her backers. Veenker gets my vote.

I received mailers from Veenker, Berman and Chang - but not from Kasperzak or Inks or the others. Then again, when candidates have nothing to say about why they are running, they should just save their money.

After receiving frequent expensive mailers in support of Berman, I began to wonder just how many entrenched interests expected him to do their bidding! Then I received the hit piece on Veenker. Anyone who is sufficiently independent to be the subject of that level of attack will be an outstanding, independent Assembly member. I will vote for Vicki Veenker.

I began keeping track the day I received three mailers promoting Marc Berman. So far I have an even dozen. The days I don't find one in my mailbox I feel neglected.

Makes one wonder what Berman and Chang will be doing for these donors.

Two more Berman mailers in my mailbox today.

Both of them hype Berman's efforts to promote clean energy. One was paid for by the California Association of Realtors, the other by "EdVoice."

Somehow I don't think that clean energy is the Realtors' motivation for spending hundreds of thousands trying to get Berman elected. My best guess is that it has something to do with development and/or rent control. In the candidate interview by the Voice/PA Weekly, Berman refused to provide copies of the questionnaires that he filled out for various interest groups in an effort to get their endorsements. That might have shed a little light on this, but he won't release them.

The other one of today's mailers, also focusing on clean energy, was from "EdVoice." I don't think this group wants him elected for clean energy, either. As nearly as I can tell, this group is interested in promoting charter schools, which generally come at the expense of public schools. Is there a reason that EdVoice would expect Berman to advance their agenda? I'd really like to see those questionnaires.

Have you ever listened to Chang. He is crazy. Veenker is just plain unqualified to run for office. She needs to get some political experience in group decision. Making. Perhaps a commission role.

It's not an accident that Chang can't get endorsements - he is a nightmare to work with - erratic, poor communicator, and a publicity hound. After losing the Assembly race where he lives, he's now "renting" an apartment to run in this one. Having seen him in action for many years, please don't be fooled by his many high-budget mailers.

Incredible. FOUR Berman mailers in yesterday's mail alone. (All the same large format, like 9x12 inches, on slick card paper.)

I complained earlier about getting one to three of them DAILY, but now it's four. One from Berman himself, the other three from PACs who liked whatever Berman won't share publicly in his answers to their questionnaires.

WHY does that candidate evidently not realize:

1. Sending his own mailings is unnecessary (and even annoying), when his shadowy PAC supporters already send many more;

2. This phenomenon of mailbox blizzard is, by itself, alienating people from the candidate.

In case anyone is wondering, no I am not a partisan of some other competitor for the office (which plausibly and even sometimes explicitly explains some anti-Berman posts on these public forums). It's just that his way-way-overdone avalanche of postal advertising is COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE.

Got a mailer today from a new Berman sponsor, "Cooperative of American Physicians Independent Expenditure Committee." Here's an article explaining who they are: Web Link

From the article:

"Cooperative Of American Physicians Independent Expenditure Committee" is the political action committee of the medical malpractice insurer known as Mutual Protection Trust. This committee has spent more than $385,000 in Assembly Districts 20 (in support of candidate Garrett Yee) and 53 (against candidate Betsy Butler and in favor of candidate James Lau).

The article doesn't mention Berman and our Assembly District 24, but it's the same outfit that is funding this mailer. The mailer of course doesn't say a word about a Berman position on malpractice awards, the obvious motivation for this mailer - just a lot of words about what a fine "progressive" Berman is - how he's in favor of motherhood and apple pie.

This article also mentions CAPP, the insurer-funded group that sent out the two hit-piece mailers targeting Vicki Veenker:

"Californians Allied For Patient Protection Independent Expenditure Account" is the political action committee of CAPP, a group largely funded by medical malpractice insurance companies that focuses on the state's malpractice laws. It has spent more than $317,000 in Assembly Districts 20 (in support of candidate Garrett Yee and in opposition to candidate Bob Wieckowski) and 53 (all against candidate Betsy Butler).

This is really a sterling test case of whether massive amounts of outside money can actually buy an election. These groups are betting over $800,000 that it will.

Note - the article is from 2010. I guess these groups have been doing this for a while.

Here's a "follow the money" update:

The California Secretary of State website (Web Link has listings for "late independent expenditures" on behalf of Berman. Just in the period from 5/9/16 - 6/1/16, these include:

EdVoice (pro-charter school, anti-CTA) over $823,000
California Real Estate Association: over $160,000
Cooperative of American Physicians (lobbies for limits on malpractice awards) $30,000
California Dental Association (this is probably about malpractice awards as well): $108,000

Total for just these groups, just for this time period: over $1,100,000 for mailers, polling, online ads, "data," etc.

We also have a couple of new anti-Vicki Veenker mailers, real stinkers. The latest one is from the "California Apartment Association Independent Expenditure Committee." This is the same group that hid $90,000 in dark-money contributions to three pro-developer MV city council candidates in the last election by routing the money through a shell organization, cynically named the "Neighborhood Empowerment Coalition."Check this MV Voice article: Web Link Previous anti-Veenker hit pieces were brought to you by "Californians Allied for Patient Protection," another malpractice insurer's front.

It's actually pretty clear what these groups think they are buying, and what voting positions they are expecting from Berman if he's elected: accelerate development, minimize malpractice awards, promote charter schools at the expense of public schools, preserve the state law that says apartments built after 1995 are exempt from rent control.

Other than making the political connections to get hidden special interest money on his side, what has Berman accomplished as a first-term member of the 9-member Palo Alto City Council or in any other capacity?

Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?

Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?

Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?

Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?

Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?