Bay Blogger Thursday
Here at SFist, we like to highlight local bloggers who are at the top of their game. But sometimes we also like to use this column to show our support to kids who are new to the neighborhood. So even though this guy has only written one post (though it has gotten 46 comments so far), we want to encourage him to keep cranking away at his site.
Who's the man in question? Why, it's none other than Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown! That's right, Pat's son has taken to the world of blogging like an algae bloom to Lake Merritt. The blog, announced on his homepage, is basically just one post -- a broadside fired at Critical Resistance, an Oakland organization that lobbies for alternatives to incarceration. He points to a police bulletin [PDF] announcing a drop in Oakland's violent crime, and suggests that activist engergies would be better spent trying to help parolees in Oakland go straight through grassroots organizations. Sort of like how then-Governor Moonbeam's friends George Moscone and Jim Jones helped nearly three hundred San Francisco foster children find a good home in Guyana with the People's Church in Jonestown.
Of course, our first question about the blog was, "Why now?" Seeing as how he's about to be termed out as Mayor, unless the rumors of desire to campaign for State Attorney General are true, he's got little or nothing to gain politically from the blog. In fact, being so open with his media message could haunt him. We're looking for "Browned" to be the analog for "Dooced," but for politicians who lose an election because of their blog.
Update: Jerry just posted his second post in three days! And he changed his picture (looking very distinguished there, Mayor Moonbeam). He says, among other things, that "I’m glad to see all the lively responses to my entry into the blogosphere. I welcome the robust debate." We welcome you, too, Jerry!
The folks at SixApart will be happy to see that Jerry's a TypePad user! Other TypePad users can add him to their TypePad People List. Candid photo of Jerry laughing and looking down-to-earth from his site.