stances. Quarterly: How much do you have to work with the state government? Does Governor Jerry Brown control a lot of money? Newport: Outside of the state bailout monies and sometimes demonstration monies in the areas of mental health or health care, the majority of state money is processed through the counties. You don’t get a hell of a lot from the state. I think you remember when Brown was going to make Oakland his showcase city. (Laughs.) The only thing they’ve gotten is that National Guard program which hasn’t amounted to a pot of beans. I mean, they can’t even get kids to enroll in that program. I haven’t heard about it since the day it was announced, nearly a year ago. There are some monies available in solar development programs, but they’re technical assistance for the most part. No great money. There are 4 percent CETA monies that are set aside for special types of demonstration programs, but the grants are so small that I don’t think they’re really effective. Quarterly: You don’t sound too enthusiastic. How do you like Brown as a presidential candidate? Newport: Not much. Not as long as he’s talking about things like a balanced budget and a constitutional convention. When I look at his record on social service programs in the state, he certainly doesn’t look good from my standpoint. What he’d do as president can be seen right here in California. He’s a fiscal conservative but he goes with the weather. The country moves to the right, Brown moves to the right. We don’t need anyone like that. Quarterly: He’s supposed to be very good on the nuclear issue. - Newport: Well, I don’t say that out of ten issues any president wouldn’t be good on one. But one issue isn’t enough. Certainly not from where I stand. And if he’s reacting to the pressures of conservatism now, why wouldn’t he react to those same pressures from the corporate structure when he became president? Quarterly: There has been talk that his campaign would be an opportunity to bring out the issues. Have you seen signs of this? Newport: Not based on the few trips he’s on now to test the waters. Every once in a while he’ll say something. On Issues and Answers in early October, right after Castro spoke at the UN, Brown made mention that he thought the U.S. should develop relations with Cuba. Of course, Carter said the same thing. Now it’s really interesting because I’m expecting the mayor of Havana in Berkeley in early December and I called Brown’s office and left a message that we might be having a small reception for him and would the governor be interested in When I listen to Kennedy's politics, he doesn ’t sound a great deal different than Jimmy Carter to me. His law and order positions are almost right-wing! attending. There’s been no response. Quarterly: So Brown isn’t nearly as involved in foreign affairs as yourself, for instance? Newport: (Laughs) We’ll find out. I’m going to run this by Tom Hayden and see what he thinks, since he thinks Brown is so far to the left. Tom is still very much in support of Brown’s candidacy, and the Campaign for Economic Democracy (CED) will likely be involved in that effort. I’m a member of CED. It’s a very powerful organization in California. No doubt about it. It’s the only organization in the state that has the bodies to put on the streets. But I’ll have to wait and see on the presidential question. Quarterly: I know that your job with the Department of Labor ended when you were elected Mayor of Berkeley because of a concern that there might be a conflict of interest. Have you found another job yet? Newport: I ’m working with Barney. Quarterly: At the bank? Newport: No, no, not at the bank! (Laughs.) Dammit! Me a fucking banker, can you imagine that? No, no. I’m working with the Minority Business Enterprise office. We work on Small Business Administration loan development packages to help small and minority business get monies for development. I’m doing surveys for neighborhood and community revitalization projects in parts of San Francisco and Palo Alto. I t’s very interesting. It’s an area that I would like to work in more. I’m interested in economic development, but not necessarily traditional economic development. I recognize that there has to be a mixture of traditional and non- traditional development. Especially in black areas because of gentrification; and because the banks are trying to move in and acquire all the land and businesses that are underdeveloped in poor neighborhoods. In most cases, third world communities are the last undeveloped or underdeveloped land available. We have to find traditional ways to develop this land and then find untraditional ways to spread the ownership around. Postscript to Interview: Subsequent to this interview, the Berkeley City Council adopted Mayor Newport's temporary rent and eviction control ordinance effective for three months, beginning Jan. 1. In response to this action, the conservative Berkeley Gazette is campaigning for the mayor's recall. 2001 S.W. 6th • Portland, OR 222-2573 ^ l l n t v ’c'iMlti tU/i«cl j (Oeclncadaq Arentrup m d t l 9:?>0 mom dadjust sittin bitchin &■>aunt phoebe sittin in that uglygreen kitchen uncle charlie sittin withhis hemorrhoids itchin brother bobsittin pickin his zits & sister susie sittin & sobbinall day — send themoutside Witha kite toplay Windplay 212 NW Couch 223-1760 19
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