Bay Area

Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern Lost Re-Election: But Mailer Falsely Invoking Latino Voice Bears Watching

Traditionally, PACs form to support a candidate with more money than allowed by the conventional political contribution means. It seems the group called United Latinos Vote (ULV) was created with the intention of not only donating thousands of dollars to the Ahern’s re-election but also falsely insinuating that the money came from Latinos.

Published

3 years ago

June 28, 2022

Oakland Post

Since the early 1970s, numerous Oakland Latino groups have been actively involved in supporting campaigns that reflected our concerns and interests. Many times, while volunteering our time to campaign, we were successful in including our issues on candidates’ platforms.

By Mariano Contreras

The results of the June 7 primary election sent a message to Sheriff Gregory Ahern: Alameda County residents wanted change and desired reform. Candidate Yesenia Sanchez, although outspent by Ahern, received 52.05% to his 32.28% of the vote and will now be Alameda County’s new sheriff.

But the contest gave rise to a disingenuous new Political Action Committee (PAC) that worked for the re-election of Ahern. On May 10, a group called United Latinos Vote (ULV) spent $40,000 on a mailer supporting Ahern’s re-election. The Oakland Police Officers Association (OPOA) contributed $25,000, making them the largest donor to this PAC.

Traditionally, PACs form to support a candidate with more money than allowed by the conventional political contribution means. It seems ULV was created with the intention of not only donating thousands of dollars to the Ahern’s re-election but also falsely insinuating that the money came from Latinos.

But investigation shows that the ULV PAC has no record of ever speaking in favor or against police reform in Oakland or supporting any other local and/or Latino campaigns.

Safe neighborhoods, peaceful streets, and accountable police departments have always been priorities for Oakland Latinos. In pursuing public safety, we have also presented a diverse spectrum of sentiments and ideas based on principle and truth.

As a result, we formed advocacy groups made up of longtime activists and initiated candidate forums that spoke to our Latino community. The Latino Task Force began out of this effort, and we have involved ourselves in every election cycle since the 2016 general election. We have a history and connection to Oakland.

What has ULV done in Alameda County? What have they done in Oakland?

Alameda County’s Latino population borders 23% and, by many accounts, was not friendly to an Ahern re-election. It was most opportune and worrisome that a “Latino” PAC accepted money from a group blind to Latino issues when a formidable and qualified Latina candidate decided to run for sheriff.

The OPOA has never shown any interest in addressing issues important to Latino officers such as the lack of high-ranking Latino officers or the disproportionate discipline of Latino officers in the Oakland Police Department.

Now OPOA wanted to conveniently ally itself with a new and suspect Latino group that ignores many years of opposition to the broken, heavy-handed Sheriff’s Department and the brutal mismanagement of the county’s Santa Rita Jail.

We reject this devious and failed attempt at misleading the Latino electorate! Our effort to engage our community should be grounded in trust, involvement, and knowledge of our issues, not opportunistic gamesmanship.

Mariano Contreras is a member of the Latino Task Force.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 3, 2025

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2 hours ago

May 30, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

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May 25, 2025

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Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.