Nicely done Monith. A very informative straightforward article.

"While the U.S. is the richest country in the world, and Alameda County is one of the richest counties in America our incarceration rates are magnitudes higher than countries with similar levels of resources. The majority first world countries have incarceration rates well below 100 per 100,000. "

So I just took a drive down San Leandro Street from High St. all the way down to and through San Leandro. With all of Alameda County's "wealth," I am left wondering why for the entirety of its length, San Leandro St looks like a third world country? The building adjacent to the one where I was doing business burned to the ground over a year ago, and yet the debris from the fire, which totally destroyed it, is still on-site. Plus I watched "local neighbors" unloading their personal trash from their pickup truck onto the site. So my question is, since we read here Alameda County is "rich," why isn't all of this cleaned up? I can tell you that the "transition" from East Oakland to San Leandro is dramatic. The filth stops at the border between the two cities.

Thanks to the Pleasanton Weekly (PW) for reminding everyone of the importance of voting in the current Primary Election. I would encourage every reader to vote immediately and drop off your ballot at approved locations. I would recommend the PW publish an article with the locations of the ballot drop-off locations. I would also encourage every voter to read the Voter Information Guide published by Alameda County and sent to all voters. If you have not yet received it or your ballot, you may want to register to vote immediately. Website to register: Web Link Finally, I draw your attention to the Candidate Statements in the Voter Guide right after the Sample Ballot. Only two candidates published a Candidate Statement. These statements cost the candidate over $13k to submit. None of the other candidates chose to publish a statement and let you know a bit about themselves. Even the incumbent, whose salary we are paying and who has hundreds of thousands of $ in his campaign fund, did not publish a statement. I believe we should all view this as a sign of his disrespect to the voters in our district. Without making this a campaign speech for any specific candidate or mentioning any candidate by name, I would recommend only considering one of the two candidates who chose to publish a statement for us, the voters, in the Alameda County Voter Information Guide.

The title: Why This District Attorney Race Matters, is a curious piece of thought collection, history, and personal view. I'll go straight for the jugular, so to speak.

On March 23, 2022, Russia's parliament adopted amendments effectively expanding the ban on criticizing the armed forces to ban criticism of all Russian government actions abroad. Peaceful protesters were thrown in jail.

On November 7, 2021, Daniel Ortega, the country's incumbent president and winner, took some alarming and authoritarian measures. He detained credible challengers who planned to run against him, shut down opposition parties, banned large campaign events and closed voting stations en masse."

As far as Honduras goes, ask yourself why so many Hondurans are leaving their country for the United States. The gang problems facing Hondurans down there are horrific.

But here is the fatal flaw in your pitch, Monith. You stated the following:

“Our current methods of policing and prosecution have led us to aggressively throw people in prison regardless of the severity of their transgression."

Really? If that's the case, then why are you such a proponent to vote in favor of your favorite flavor�"regarding your choice of district attorney candidates, that is?

BTW, A new poll released this year shows a majority of San Francisco voters plan to vote to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin next month. The big number in this poll: 57% of registered voters plan to recall Boudin. Less than a quarter, 22%, plan to reject the recall, and 21% are undecided.

About 46% of offenders released in California are re-convicted within three years of release, and even more are rearrested. Furthermore, many of those inmates have been incarcerated for violence along with drug possession. I suggest you remember one thing: criminals are opportunists.

The “defund the police" movement appears to have fizzled. The pendulum is beginning to swing back in favor of enforcing the law.