Oakland Mayoral Candidate: Saied Karamooz

Saied Karamooz is a very interesting candidate. He is a nonpartisan candidate who is treating his candidacy less as a campaign and more of a movement.

His website is http://oaklandmayormovement.org, and he has published a manifesto, rather than position statements. At least that's what he calls it; it seems more like a list of really creative ideas than a manifesto. His ideas are focused on services for the homeless, reducing blight, increasing voluntarism, public mourning for all crime-related losses of life and more fruits and vegetables in food desert areas. Also, and I endorse this completely, he thinks we should be doing more to keep our teams in Oakland.

I am serious when I say that there are some good ideas which are low-cost and mainstream in his list. In a sense, however, they seem too simplistic. Oakland is a real city with complex problems that are not solved by more fruit and veggie stands or lowering the flag to half-mast when a kid gets shot.

Mr. Karamooz saves his real idealism for his campaign principles. His donation page refuses to accept donations from anyone. He won't do any canvassing, house parties, or analyze voter demographics. The problem for Mr. Karamooz is, those are not dirty politics; they are the cornerstone of movement politics and organizing. A come-from-behind candidate with fresh ideas and not a lot of money needs to be knocking on doors, talking to people in intimate settings like their friends' homes, and really selling those ideas to everyone he meets.

It's an interesting thought experiment: what if all candidates swore off campaigning, and agreed to limit their exposure to voters to a single webpage or printed brochure. Voters would be expected to review all the positions and candidates but would be basing it on ideas alone. In theory, this would result in a better informed electorate and a cleaner election. But candidates would never be forced to answer questions on issues they didn't know about or didn't like. Voters would never know how candidates might clear up a particular issue of interest to them. Candidates would never be tested by their opponents or forced to answer to their previous actions.

Sorry, Mr. Karamooz. I hope that another candidate gleans some good ideas from your manifesto. Otherwise, I don't think this candidacy is going anywhere.