Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates & Council Member Linda Maio Have Some Explaining to Do

…from Mary Pearson, of MoveAmericaForward.org

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Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates joins CODEPINK outside the recruiting station.

Despite efforts by Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and some City Council members to sound conciliatory notes over the recent anti-military resolutions passed by the Council, new evidence has come to light calling into question the sincerity of Council Member Linda Maio and Mayor Tom Bates.

On February 2, 2008, Berkeley City Council Member Linda Maio told the Bay Area News Group’s Doug Oakley:

“I don’t think any of us paid enough attention to it, and people want to rewrite it to more accurately portray our sentiments,” said Maio, who supported the resolutions. “We really do have a great deal of concern for the people in our military, and we don’t want to be critical of the sacrifices they are making.”

That concern does not appear to be very sincere.

The pro-troop organization Move America Forward has obtained an email sent out by Council Member Maio who is actively working with Code Pink to stack the Berkeley City Council meeting with anti-military protestors who want to chase the Marines out of Berkeley:

Hi [name redacted], we have received info that the marines and their supporters are gearing up to come to the Feb 12th council meeting to shame us and attack us, in large numbers. Now that Laurie and Betty have put on a recommendation to rescind what we did (on the agenda of Feb 12th) we expect they will jam the microphone with their diatribes. Press will be there in full force. The regular meeting starts at 7 p.m. People need to get there early enough to get in and grab a seat. Pls help pass on the word. The fire dept will not allow more people in than room can hold. Therefore, I am urging people to come early and occupy a seat, and be prepared to speak too and represent our city’s values next Tuesday.
Linda

Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org) criticized the double-speak by Council Member Maio.

“Clearly Linda Maio wanted the press to believe that she was somehow unaware of the content of the anti-military resolutions she voted for by saying she hadn’t ‘paid enough attention it.’

“However, now we learn that Maio is actively working with Code Pink to mobilize the very same proponents of the anti-military resolutions to come and stack Tuesday’s City Council meeting. It’s very disingenuous and proves that the City Council is not truly apologetic for their actions,” said Move America Forward’s Melanie Morgan.

Similarly, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates has told reporters that he felt the Berkeley City Council had perhaps gone “too far” with the three resolutions they passed on January 29, 2008.

But those words appear, like Councilmember Maio’s, to ring hollow, as Move America Forward has discovered that Mayor Bates himself has participated in Code Pink’s protests outside of the U.S. Marine Recruiting Center – in an effort to harass the Marines and force them to leave town.

As of Saturday, February 9, 2008, a photograph of Mayor Bates participating in the protest at the Marine Recruiting Center is posted on the website of Code Pink:

“Mayor Bates’ actions speak louder than words. While he has been trying to quell the uprising against the Berkeley City Council for their anti-military actions, he has been actively working with Code Pink to harass the Marines and chase them out of town.

“If Mayor Bates and the Berkeley City Council want to put this issue to rest they need to rescind all three anti-military resolutions passed on January 29th and issue a formal, written apology, to the U.S. Marine Corps and all military men and women serving this nation,” said Melanie Morgan.

On Tuesday, February 12th, Move America Forward will lead an all-day pro-troop demonstration and protest against the Berkeley City Council outside the Council Chambers at 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in Berkeley, CA. The protest will begin at 5:00 AM – yes, in the morning – and continue all the way through the Berkeley City Council meeting that night at 7:00 PM.