The Advocate

I finally finished listening to the season finale of local political and foodie podcast, The Marinade with Lee Thomas . For those who don't know, Lee is a former District 3 City Councilmember here in San Leandro - one of the few Black elected officials in our area - as well as a small business owner and budding entrepreneur.  I was happy to hear District 6 City Council Candidate Dylan Boldt speaking up to dispel the myths surrounding rent stabilization . (Something his opponent, Robert Bulatao, also enthusiastically supports.) Because of inflation and the high cost of living here in the Bay Area, rents are going up as much as 10% year over year. Meanwhile, most people's salaries are stagnant and they're already paying more than 1/3 of their income for rent as is! I think those skeptics, like Lee, should take a look at the broad-based movement from the Big Tent - San Leandro and the work we're doing on housing reform. As for Ed Hernandez , apparently, he's lying aga...

If you live in San Leandro and don't listen to The Marinade with Lee Thomas, I highly recommend you add it to your list and start digging in with gusto! You can listen to them at Apple Podcasts . Thomas offers a unique blend of delicious BBQ and political discourse. In fact, he might be the only media outlet offering anything remotely resembling real talk about politics in San Leandro. So far his guest have included entertaining and informative appearances from Mayor Cutter, Surlene Grant, Peter Oshinski, and the latest with San Leandro Police Officers' Association President, Mike Olivera. *** Unfortunately, instead of hitting a savory-sweet spot, Olivera comes off as bland as if he was reading from a poorly prepared press release. As usual from the police union, we get the classic copaganda of lies and scare tactics coupled with a complete lack of self-reflection or self-awareness. But this isn't surprising. This is the same Mike Olivera who helped cover up the murder of A...