Dan Borenstein
@danborenstein.bsky.social
📤 249
📥 76
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Editor-at-large, columnist and editorial board member for the Mercury News and East Bay Times
The Sheng Thao debacle and the Trump presidency teach us that we should treasure checks on executive power, not undermine them, and strengthen professional, not political, administrative leadership.
@mercurynews.com
@eastbaytimes.com
www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/19/b...
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Borenstein: Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee’s audacious power grab has Trumpian tone
Sheng Thao debacle and current presidency teach us that we should treasure checks on executive power, not undermine them.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/19/borenstein-oakland-mayor-barbara-lee-audacious-power-grab-donald-trump-tone-sheng-thao/
3 days ago
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My latest column in the
@mercurynews.com
and
@eastbaytimes.com
stems from questions friends keep asking me.
www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/05/b...
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Borenstein: California ballots are arriving. What’s a Democratic voter to do?
Timing and strategic voting for governor are the party’s best hope to avoid being shut out in the November general election
https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/05/borenstein-california-ballots-are-arriving-whats-a-democratic-voter-to-do/
17 days ago
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BART is carrying less than half as many passengers as it was before the pandemic while providing more train service. It’s nuts.
www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/02/20/b...
@mercurynews.com
@eastbaytimes.com
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Borenstein: Gov. Newsom just enabled BART’s reckless spending
Bay Area transit bailout deal rushed through the Legislature this week could also endanger funding for San Jose extension.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/02/20/borenstein-newsom-enabled-barts-reckless-spending-transit-bailout-san-jose-extension/
3 months ago
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This is what's wrong with California's ballot measure rules. Even the backers were misled on where new sales tax money would go.
@mercurynews.com
@eastbaytimes.com
@mattmahansj.bsky.social
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Borenstein: DA Rosen, Mayor Mahan, labor leaders were deceived on sales tax increase they endorsed
‘Double-crossed’: Exemplifying California’s broken ballot system, Measure A misled voters and key public safety advocates.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/01/09/sales-tax-measure-a-deception-matt-mahan-jeff-rosen-labor-leaders/
4 months ago
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Rabbi says Richmond leader Eduardo Martinez is trying to shift the blame and make himself the victim
www.mercurynews.com/2025/12/30/o...
@mercurynews.com
@eastbaytimes.com
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Opinion: Bay Area mayor has yet to fully apologize for antisemitic posts
Rabbi says Richmond leader Eduardo Martinez is trying to shift the blame and make himself the victim.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/12/30/opinion-rabbi-bay-area-mayor-yet-to-apologize-antisemitic-posts-eduardo-martinez-richmond/
5 months ago
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In this era of Trump election deceit, Californians deserve better from their leaders.
@mercurynews.com
@eastbaytimes.com
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Borenstein: In California, it’s Democrats trying to undermine election integrity
Like Trump and MAGA, blue state legislators put their thumb on the scale. Shockingly, county registrars back the move.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/07/24/borenstein-california-democrats-undermine-election-integrity-trump-maga/
10 months ago
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Transparency matters.
@mercurynews.com
@eastbaytimes.com
@facoalition.bsky.social
@knightcolumbia.org
@countyofsanmateo.bsky.social
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Editorial: Open up secret Sheriff Corpus removal hearings now
First Amendment Coalition lawsuit threat is right: Fate of elected official should not be determined behind closed doors.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/07/18/editorial-open-up-secret-sheriff-corpus-removal-hearings-now/
10 months ago
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UPDATE 7/2/25: Andrew's MEMORIAL will be held Sept. 7 in Walnut Creek. Please DM me with your email if you'd like to receive the details. Thanks, Dan
11 months ago
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Star chamber. Transparency, due process lacking.
@mercurynews.com
www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/27/e...
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Editorial: Removal of Sheriff Corpus rife with secrecy, lacks due process
San Mateo County supervisors’ star chamber procedures for ousting elected official grossly abuse the power voters gave them.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/27/editorial-removal-sheriff-corpus-secrecy-lacks-due-process-abuse-power-star-chamber/
11 months ago
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Oakland’s huge, hidden pension tax expiring. Get ready for the next one.
@mercurynews.com
@eastbaytimes.com
www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/17/b...
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Borenstein: This Bay Area city’s half-century of pension taxes provides a cautionary tale
Most local governments in California also fail to set aside sufficient money for their workers’ retirements.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/17/borenstein-bay-area-oakland-hidden-pension-tax-calpers/
11 months ago
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Former Contra Costa Times city and copy desk editor Andrew McGall died Saturday night at Kaiser Hospital in Walnut Creek. He was 78. Andrew was a news hound, an excellent and meticulous editor, a voracious reader, a deep thinker and a wonderful, kind friend. Memorial details to follow.
12 months ago
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Former school board members are speaking up.
@mercurynews.com
@eastbaytimes.com
www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/05/16/o...
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Opinion: Eight former Oakland school board members say students are casualties in teacher-union political power grab
Eight former school trustees say current board majority’s incompetence could plunge district back into state receivership.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/05/16/opinion-former-oakland-school-board-members-say-students-are-casualties-in-teacher-union-political-power-grab/
about 1 year ago
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What should be a moment of celebration for the Oakland Unified School District has morphed in the past two months into one of the worst periods of uncertainty in years.
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Borenstein: This Bay Area school board was taken over by the teacher’s union
The ensuing chaos threatens the district’s fiscal stability just as it’s about to emerge from 22 years of receivership.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/05/13/borenstein-bay-area-school-board-oakland-taken-over-teachers-union/
about 1 year ago
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"The Trump administration, under the guise of fighting antisemitism and DEI, is threatening the Bay Area’s world-renowned academic research centers and, in so doing, risks undermining the secret sauce of Silicon Valley."
@mercurynews.com
@eastbaytimes.com
@maxtaves.bsky.social
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Taves: Trump’s higher education attacks endanger Silicon Valley’s secret sauce
Bay Area universities used their academic freedom and federal funding to make America great. Now, that’s all at risk.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/05/02/taves-trumps-higher-education-attacks-endanger-silicon-valleys-secret-sauce/
about 1 year ago
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Oakland Mayor-elect Barbara Lee promised last week to unify warring political factions while addressing the city’s fiscal, public safety, housing and homeless challenges. But when it came to questions about the city’s budget, she punted. That can’t continue.
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Borenstein: Mayor-elect Barbara Lee can’t fix Oakland until she fixes the budget
With crime high, police staffing short, bond rating sliding and a massive structural deficit, layoffs seem inevitable.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/04/30/borenstein-mayor-elect-barbara-lee-cant-fix-oakland-until-she-fixes-budget/
about 1 year ago
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An excellent, smart debut column by Deputy Opinion Editor
@maxtaves.bsky.social
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Taves: Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is paving California’s road to hell
A new state insurance regulation, expanding homeowners’ coverage in the most flammable areas, greases the wheels of California’s suicidal building machine
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/04/25/taves-insurance-commissioner-ricardo-lara-is-paving-californias-road-to-hell/
about 1 year ago
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Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is exactly right on this one.
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Libby Schaaf: Oakland school superintendent firing was ‘rash and confounding,’ last city budget ‘irresponsible.’
Former mayor says school and city leaders need to better consider impact of costly decisions that have long-term effects
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/04/14/schaaf-oakland-school-superintendent-johnson-trammel-firing-rash-city-budget-irresponsible-2/
about 1 year ago
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reposted by
Dan Borenstein
Severin Borenstein
about 1 year ago
Under subpoena from US Equal Employment Opportunity Comm investigating antisemitism, UC will be giving them my name, position, date of hire, personal phone number, personal email, employment status, because I signed Oct 2023 letter decrying attack by Hamas. Really?
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
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Open Letter on Recent Events in Israel and Gaza to the UC Berkeley community.docx
Open Letter on Recent Events in Israel and Gaza to the UC-Berkeley Community To sign the letter, click here. We are Berkeley faculty who are deeply concerned about recent and ongoing events in the Mi...
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L2RmaSrmKztuxK_Gfvca-qnGSDhf3G_C/edit?tab=t.0
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reposted by
Dan Borenstein
Severin Borenstein
about 1 year ago
I'm Jewish, named after my uncle who was executed by the Nazis in a forced labor camp in Poland. My gradfather died in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Trump's use of antisemitism as a smokescreen to underminine free speech and destroy academic research is reprehensible.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/p...
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Trump’s Escalating War With Higher Education
How colleges are responding to pressure from the administration, and what it might mean for the future of America’s university system.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/podcasts/the-daily/trumps-escalating-war-with-higher-education.html
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Here's our take:
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Editorial: As Oakland finances teeter, elect Barbara Lee for mayor, Charlene Wang for council
City leaders must make difficult cuts while simultaneously bolstering the badly understaffed police force.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/03/22/editorial-oakland-elect-barbara-lee-mayor-charlene-wang-council/
about 1 year ago
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The details left out of the voter guide for Oakland's special election
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Editorial: Oakland’s Measure A would duplicate taxes residents already pay
Voters in April 15 special election should reject sales tax increase to 10.75%, the highest level in California.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/03/21/editorial-oaklands-measure-a-duplicate-taxes-california-record-high/
about 1 year ago
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As RFK rails against vaccines, here's why the HPV vaccine is so important.
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The epidemic of throat cancer sweeping the industrialized world
“Hey Doc, I got a lump in my neck:” Why kids and young adults should be vaccinated against HPV
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/02/15/the-epidemic-of-throat-cancer-sweeping-the-industrialized-world/
over 1 year ago
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Right objective, wrong method.
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Editorial: Remove Sheriff Christina Corpus through recall, not through Measure A power grab
Reversing San Mateo County election should be done directly by voters or through legal action with due process
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/01/25/editorial-remove-sheriff-christina-corpus-but-not-through-measure-a/
over 1 year ago
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Independent probe long overdue
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Editorial: Accountability for baby Phoenix fentanyl death still lacking after two years
Santa Clara County should investigate top officials who championed policy placing child with drug-addicted parents.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/01/15/editorial-accountability-for-baby-phoenix-fentanyl-death-still-lacking-after-two-years/
over 1 year ago
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“Two councilmembers run amok”
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Borenstein: Bay Area bicycle safety advocates face troubling intimidation
Danville leaders’ crusade to oust bike hero from commission calls into question community’s concern for riders’ safety.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/01/13/borenstein-does-key-bay-area-cycling-town-care-about-bikers-safety/
over 1 year ago
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Time for state action
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Editorial: Unjustified $2.50 Bay Area bridge toll hike should prompt state audit
Metropolitan Transportation Commission comingles revenue in giant slush fund rather than providing transparent accounting.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/01/10/editorial-unjustified-2-50-bay-area-bridge-toll-hike-state-audit/
over 1 year ago
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This is a very important and thoughtful piece for Oakland residents to read. It's written by former acting City Administrator Steve Falk. The problem is not just the people elected, it's also an unusual government structure that lacks logical lines of authority. The result: No one is in charge.
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Opinion: Broken Oakland needs more than a new mayor — what’s wrong and how to fix it
Insider’s perspective: No matter who is elected, the mayor will be weak, councilmembers frustrated, city administrator torn and city attorney conflicted
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/12/20/opinion-broken-oakland-needs-more-than-a-new-mayor/
over 1 year ago
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reposted by
Dan Borenstein
Paul Rogers
over 1 year ago
Tornado: Why did San Francisco get a warning, but not Scotts Valley?
www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/16/t...
#tornado
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Tornado: Why did San Francisco get a warning, but not Scotts Valley?
Santa Cruz County town cleans up, as National Weather Service evaluates warning system
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/16/tornado-why-did-san-francisco-get-a-warning-but-not-scotts-valley/
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reposted by
Dan Borenstein
over 1 year ago
The public defender's office, after accusing Pamela Price of political extortion in a murder case, is gonna subpoena her phone records. A judge says he will grant it:
www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/11/e...
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Ex-Alameda County DA’s phone records to be subpoenaed over allegations of political shakedown in murder case
A judge has indicated he will grant the subpoena, to include communications by Price, whose former office has already publicized communications referring to a defendant in her county as a motherf&#…
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/11/ex-alameda-county-das-phone-records-to-be-subpoenaed-over-allegations-of-political-shakedown-in-murder-case/?mrfhud=true
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My latest on MTC’s deceptive accounting
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Borenstein: Bay Area transportation slush fund casts doubt on need for $2.50 bridge toll hike
MTC diversion from $4.5 billion ballot measure violates promise to voters, highlights necessity for transparent accounting.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/17/borenstein-bay-area-mtc-transportation-slush-fund-2-50-bridge-toll-hike/
over 1 year ago
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reposted by
Dan Borenstein
Shomik Mukherjee
over 1 year ago
Oakland braces for possible layoffs to clear nearly $130 million deficit City will eliminate police academies, pause fire stations, slash arts funding:
www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/12/06/o...
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Oakland braces for possible layoffs to clear nearly $130 million deficit
If the layoffs come to fruition, they would cement the consequences of a devastating financial turn in Oakland.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/12/06/oakland-layoffs-budget-cuts/
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An accounting mess.
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Borenstein: $73 million of Bay Area toll money for transit diverted to bridges
Metropolitan Transportation Commission accounting a mess because it comingles different portions of the tolls
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/06/borenstein-73-million-bay-area-toll-money-for-transit-diverted-to-bridges/
over 1 year ago
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