When the local Democratic Party held its St. Patrick's Day dinner Thursday night, rumors, whispers and trial balloons wafted as freely as the scent of corned beef and cabbage.
Of greatest interest to San Leandro residents is that City Councilwoman Ursula Reed used the event to solicit support for a possible run for Alameda County's Superintendent of Schools.
Incumbent Sheila Jordan, who has held this county-wide elected position since 1999, is expected to retire and create a vacancy in 2014.
Attendees told Patch Reed was seeking support for what would be an arduous and expensive race, given that she would have to campaign county wide.
Reed, who won a narrow city council reelection victory over former San Leandro School Board President Morgan Mack-Rose, had not yet responded to a query by publication time.
Other San Leandro attendees included Mayor Stephen Cassidy, Vice Mayor Michael Gregory, Councilwoman Pauline Cutter and Councilman Jim Prola.
One notable moment at the event was when former San Leandro mayor and current State Senator Ellen Corbett introduced newly-elected Congressman Eric Swalwell.
Swalwell beat former Congressman Pete Stark in an upset victory in November.
Corbett, who can't seek reelection in 2014 because of term limits, had lined up support for a congressional run in 2014, by which time Stark would have been expected to retire.
But now instead of seeking an open seat, Corbett will have to face Swalwell, who hopes to preserve his incumbency with imaginative tactics such as videoconferencing himself in to a recent city council meeting in Fremont.
Other tea leaf readers noted that State Board of Equalization member Betty Yee and State Treasurer Bill Lockyer both attended.
They are expected to face each other in the next race for State Controller.
Corbett might be eyeing that position as well. She has had plans of running for Stark's vacant seat but out of respect for him , didn't run. Stark's campaign refused to run a serious ground game which is a major reason why he lost. Their campaign people must have figured "it wouldn't be fair," to highlight his wonderful record over the years, especially in the Dublin area. If Reed gets Danny Glover to do robo calls for her again , she might be hard to beat county wide.
I want to here something connected to our real life,not these blah-blah,blah.... how successful she was in the new taxes and fees pushing....at 35% votes election.. Teachers and public unions members vote every time,people who work in real non-public sector can't come to election and don't want spend money on mail. Result is Public sector workers wins and as award receive their fantastic salaries and benefits from taxpayers pockets .You too progressive and expensive with your friends from the SL democratic Web (in my opinion the word MAFIA is better) for taxpayers pocket ,Mr.Williams ,we need new professional real people,who provide real improvement before they will get money for promises they usually forget next day after election, like the recent mayor
only an irresponsible before voters person going this way,changing positions and her promises to citizens as her gloves.
I don't know how you can start to judge Ursula's accomplishments in her job, when you have no idea what her job entails or even where she works.
I can only find very limited information about her in the Internet, very very strange, unlike the mayor and other elected members on the Counsel.......so all I can do is judge the schools today and the schools in San Leandro are not doing well, take a look at the jr high and high schools, these schools are essential on par with some schools in Oakland.
Found some info, she has worked in Hayward and Oakland unified school districts, in Oakland she had a position to increase daily attendance and processed inter and intra district transfers, taught at oakland adult school and in Hayward was VP at Hayward High, doesn't say for how long or when...