Volunteers with the Salvation Army Concord Corps, a group that sends folks to help feed people at disaster scenes and major public events, are headed Friday to Denver, where they will make up part of the emergency preparedness team at the Democratic National Convention.

I’ve written a news story for tomorrow’s front page but I took a time to shoot a short video of Salvation Army Major Clayton Gardner and the two volunteers who will drive their kitchen-on-wheels, also called a canteen, 1200 miles to Denver. (The canteen is in the video behind Gardner and the volunteers.)

Standing in the video, from left to right, is Concord residents Richard Lueck and John Primus, and Gardner.

Who needs the Legislature to raise taxes? We’ll get plenty of chances on our own on Nov. 4 to boost our contributions to government operations.

I’ve compiled a list of all the ballot measures in the East Bay and of the 55 questions, a third proposed new or extended taxes. Voters will decide on $752 million in bonds, which are repaid through property taxes, and a series of parcel taxes. Eight of the measures are for schools, although the biggest bond,at $500 million, is for parks. Public safety is popular, too.

This figure doesn’t account for the $15.85 billion in bonds proposed in statewide ballot measures, including $9.95 billion for high-speed rail.

Read more for a full list of the measures on the state and Alameda and Contra Costa ballots.

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In yet another salvo in Moraga’s escalating land-use war, a new group says it will fight both of the competing initiatives on the town’s Nov. 4 ballot.

Moraga landowner Russell Bruzzone sponsored Measure J, which would largely preserve the town’s existing general plan and mandate $7 million in payments to the town in return for development approvals. Open-space advocates wrote Measure K, which would restrict development to the downtown area and designate most of Bruzzone’s land, as well as other property, as open space.

According to a statement from Citizens for Sensible Land Use (Don’t you just love these names?) former town Planning Commission Steve Woehleke will serve as the group’s chairman, while ex-towncouncilman Dale Wlwark is vice chairman. Bob Reynolds, past president of the Moraga Park and Recreation Foundation and Moraga Citizen of the Year in 2001, will serve as treasurer.

The men call both measures ill-advised and likely to mire the town in court for years.

“A no vote on both J and K is essential to keep control of land use planning in Moraga and out of the hands of lawyers and the courts,” Woehleke said in his release.

“Both of these initiatives are special-interest legislation masquerading as public interest measures” said Walwark.

Reynolds, an economist, said “The cost of almost certain litigation if either of these measures passes could bankrupt the Town. A no vote on both initiatives is essential.”

The men say none of their members is affiliated with either tje J or K campaigns and vowed to put up a web site with “factual information” about the measures.

This is gonna be a fun election season in Moraga.

If you don’t have a ticket to the Democratic National Convention next week, you can still watch Barack Obama’s nomination speech surrounded by like-minded Democrats.

Contra Costa Democrats are hosting “Denver in Danville” party at Crow Canyon Country Club on Aug. 28 at 6 p.m., complete with food, drinks and two big-screen televisions.

It’s also a fundraiser for the United Democratic Campaign of Contra Costa County. Proceeds will be used for the party’s campaign activities.

The event will be held at the Crow Canyon Country Club, 711 Silver Lake Drive, Danville. VIP tickets cost $200 for 2 tickets and 4 drinks; family package, $100 for two adults and children: general admission, $60; and seniors and students, $35 each.

For more details call 925-262-8544 or visit denver-in-danville-v-3.pdf

UPDATE 7:44 AM TUESDAY: Gary Agopian tells me this morning via email that Gary Gilbert is not his campaign manager but his campaign chairman. My apologies. The difference? Campaign managers are usually paid, professional consultants. Campaign chairmen (or women) are typically unpaid volunteers. Some do little more than lend their names to the candidates campaigns while others get right in the trenches and lick envelopes. Agopian says Gilbert, as his campaign chairman, will be “coordinating campaign activities like precinct walking, phone banking and organizing volunteers……..all of which he is particularly good at. He isn’t developing mailers or strategy. I have a team of diverse backgrounds and talents. It will take a team like that to win.” Like the candidates themselves, campaigns range in style. Agopian will certainly bring his own approach to running his race, some of which may or may not track with conventional campaign practices.

Contra Costa Supervisor Federal Glover

Contra Costa supervisor candidate Gary Agopian

No rubber chicken. No wine in plastic cups. He calls it the “unparty,” an event held anytime you choose because you don’t have to go. Instead, you pay his campaign and not to attend an event he is not holding. He asks on his invitation, “How much would I be willing to pay not to have to go? … $10? $100?”

Wow. I guess that cuts down significantly on the catering bill.

Click here to download the invitation.

It’s an interesting little twist.

Agopian recently named Antioch activist Gary Gilbert as his campaign manager chairman, a man who has demonstrated considerable organizing skills around Antioch’s dispute with the county over management of housing subsidies for the poor. But Gilbert has no experience running a political campaign. On the other hand, Agopian lacks money to hire a high-profile campaign manager and, of course, it costs money up front to put on fundraisers.

Agopian is challenging incumbent Supervisor Federal Glover of Pittsburg.

Folks have been telling me the last couple of days that citizens seem downright disinterested in running for local public office.

They cite the lack of a contested Pittburg City Council race — the first one in 60 years — and only one challenger running against the two Concord City Council incumbents. And there are 13 school board races in the East Bay with no challengers.

Local public office is a tough job, no question. Agencies face tight budget times. Running a campaign is expensive and scary. Elected officials are under media and public scrutiny. And God forbid you should actually win; that means you have to govern and perhaps make unpopular decisions.

Statistically, however, the same number of people are running in Contra Costa County this November as did in November 2004, the last presidential election. In 2004, the ballot featured 104 races and 279 candidates. This year, it’s 109 races and 279 candidates. That’s an average of 2.7 candidates per race in 2004 and 2008.

At 52, there is only one fewer contested race this year compared with 2004, too.

But the other component, which is not as quantifiable, centers around the viability of the challengers. In some of the races, these challengers are perennial unsuccessful candidates or are almost completely unknown in the political community. Do these folks have the ability to raise money and run a winning campaign? We’ll see.

Read more for the full list of East Bay candidates. Note that the list does not include uncontested races. To see a full list of all races, both contested and uncontested, click on Contra Costa County or Alameda County.

Note: I’ve been updating this list today as the clerks finalize the names and communicate the details to the county election offices.
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The California Target Book’s August Hot Sheet lists Assembly District 15 as the No. 4 ranked race in a list of seven competitive Assembly seats where Democrats have the potential to pick up a formerly Republican-held post.

Why is seven the magic number?

Democrats need to pick up six seats in order to have a two-thirds majority in the Assembly and have the ability to pass a budget or raise taxes without relying on Republican votes to meet the two-thirds threshold.

In Assembly District 15, Democrat and San Ramon Valley School Board Trustee Joan Buchanan is running against Republican and San Ramon Mayor H. Abram Wilson. The seat is currently occupied by soon-to-be-termed-out Assemblyman Guy Houston of San Ramon, the only Republican holding a partisan seat in the Bay Area.

Democrats have overtaken Republicans, albeit by less than 2 percentage points, in party registration in this district, which stretches across four counties. (Click here to see a map.)

Buchanan holds the fund-raising lead per the most recent campaign finance reports but it’s a misleading figure because she had nominal competition in the June primary election. Wilson, on the other hand, had three strong competitors. And as the Target Book correctly points out, the high stakes on the outcome of this race for the two parties will almost certainly draw significant dollars into both campaigns.

The other top six competitive Assembly districts and their rankings, per the Target Book, are (click on the AD link to see a map of the district):

No. 1: AD30, Democrat Fran Florez vs. Republican Danny Gilmore

No. 2: AD80, Democrat Manuel Perez vs. Republican Gary Jeandron

No. 3: AD78, Democrat Marty Block vs. Republican John McCann

No. 4: AD15, Democrat Joan Buchanan vs. Republican Abram Wilson

No. 5: AD26, Democrat John Eisenhut vs. Republican William Berryhill

No. 6: AD10, Democrat Alyson Huber vs. Republican Jack Sieglock

No. 7: AD37, Democrat Ferial Masry vs. Republican Audra Strickland (incumbent)

Can you believe Contra Costa County still collects campaign finance reports on paper? Geeminy.

But I spent a good part of the day going through them and learned that the candidates for Contra Costa County supervisor in June and the outside groups that sought to influence the outcome spent more than $1 million.

Check out my column on Sunday for the full details of which candidate spent the most and had the most spent to oppose his candidacy. (Hint: It’s the same guy.)

Here’s my video for the today on the subject:

Sue Angeli, one of Pleasant Hill’s most outspoken and high-profile City Council members, says nine years is enough. She will not seek re-election in November, opening the door to a newcomer.

“I’ve decided that I want to deal with puppies instead of people,” said Angeli, an avid dog-lover who formed and led a fund-raising committee to help the city buy police dogs. “I’m thinking about doing doggie daycare.”

Don’t show up at her door with your beloved Fido just yet.

Angeli has also postponed her planned retirement from BART, where she is the leader of the professional chapter of SEIU at the transit agency. The bulk of BART’s union contracts expire June 30, 2009, and veteran bargainer Angeli says she will stay around and participate in the next round of talks.

“I was in the rotation next year to be mayor in Pleasant Hill and I couldn’t do both jobs anyway,” Angeli said. “I need to be here for negotiations.”

And no, Angeli says she’s not the slightest bit fearful of falling into the doldrums after she sheds her mantle of power, turns in her key to City Hall and passes into the ranks of political has-beens.

“The $585 the city pays me isn’t nearly enough for the twice-monthly public floggings,” said Angeli, referring to City Council meetings.

Pleasant Hill politics just won’t be the same without Sue Angeli. She’s woman who doesn’t take herself too seriously and could always be counted on to keep her sense of humor.

Concord Vice Mayor Helen Allen was fired up over conservative KSFO talk show host Barbara Simpson’s Sunday commentary about gangs in Concord.

So, Allen called up the show and prepared to defend her town.

At the time, Simpson was talking on-air about gangs after reading a Contra Costa Times’ front page story on Sunday about the city’s anti-gang task force. (Contrary to Simpson and Allen’s characterization of the story, however, it does not portray Concord as overrun with gangs.)

The two women had a lovely, meandering 17-minute chat where they applauded each other and agreed on nearly everything. At the conclusion, Simpson called Allen a “terrific lady” and said “I wish she would run for mayor in my town!”

This is the stuff of fire-breathing talk radio? Where’s the yelling? Where’s the name-calling? Where’s the angst? Oh well. There’s always tomorrow.

If you want to listen, click here and choose the archived hour between 6-7 p.m. Allen comes on the air about 13 minutes into the program. (It looks like KSFO only posts the last seven days of shows, so it will be gone by Sunday.)