by Paula Lehman/OAKLAND  Voters in Oakland, where there have been over 100 homicides so far in 2008, on Tuesday turned down a ballot measure that would have put 105 officers and 75 police services technicians on the street over the course of three years. But it wasn’t a lack of campaigning that ruined Measure NN’s chances; instead, many people believe that it was the unfulfilled promise of an earlier crime-fighting measure that killed this year’s initiative.

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by Elise Craig/BERKELEY

The Berkeley mayoral race was such a blowout that Tom Bates gave his acceptance speech with less than 45 percent of precincts reporting his victory over Shirley Dean.
“It’s still early, but you know what, I think the tide is turning in our favor,” he said.
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By Clayton Trosclair/BERKELEY

California voters got the word mere seconds after the polls closed: Barack Obama was elected by sweeping margins as the nation’s 44th president, and the first African American chosen for the office.

The victory was joyous on two fronts for many West Berkeley and West Oakland voters. It marked the end of the George W. Bush presidency, an unpopular Republican administration marked by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the realization of a civil rights dream: that Americans would one day look beyond race in electing the nation’s chief executive.

Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, claimed a wide victory over John McCain, a former prisoner of war and long-time Republican senator from Arizona. In the final days of the race, Obama campaigned hard in traditional GOP territory such as Nevada and Virginia, and the handful of tossup states that had remained too competitive for pollsters to predict: Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Colorado, Indiana and North Carolina. His efforts paid off, with wins in each state.

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By Nick Burns/BERKELEY

Proponents and opponents of Proposition 8 took their get-out-the-vote efforts to the streets — or freeway — today. A dozen volunteers set up camp on a pedestrian overpass near University Avenue in West Berkeley, hanging banners and waving signs as commuters drove along highway 80, a major traffic corridor connecting Sacramento and San Francisco.

Beginning as early as 6:30 in the morning, signs for and against the controversial proposition appeared  across the north and southbound sides of the overpass. But by early afternoon, supporters of an amendment to California’s constitution that would ban gay marriage left the scene, leaving a hopeful group of opponents unhindered by competing efforts.

If passed, Proposition 8 would overturn a recent California Supreme Court decision that gay marriage is a constitutional right, and nullify the thousands of legal gay marriages performed in the last few months.

Here, East Bay West Online caught up with one emotional opponent who spent his lunch hour encouraging commuters to vote no on Prop. 8.

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By Dara Kerr/WEST OAKLAND

Volunteers spread across West Oakland on Tuesday to remind voters to cast ballots on Prop. 4. Recent polls show a close race on this statewide ballot measure, which would require girls under the age of 18 to get parental consent before an abortion.

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By Ali Winston/OAKLAND

As voters flock to the polls in record numbers today, the basement of the Alameda County Courthouse is abuzz with election workers toiling to ensure a smooth and accurate election.

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By Elise Craig/BERKELEY At the Ashby BART station, campaign workers are having a tough time finding people who haven’t already voted.
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By Ali Winston/WEST OAKLAND

The Oakland Police Department will have to look for new sources of funding after Measure NN fell short of the required two-thirds margin.

With 100% of votes tallied, 59,933 votes were in favor of NN, and 49,415 against – or 54.95% for and 45.05% against.

Ballot Measure NN would have allowed the Oakland Police Department to add more officers and buy needed equipment such as police cars and new crime-fighting technology.

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By Elise Craig/BERKELEY

In an election cycle dominated by a message of change, the Berkeley mayor’s race stands out for being a choice between two people who have already held the very office they are running for.
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by Elise Craig/WEST BERKELEY

Former mayor Shirley Dean delivered the zinger of the night at Monday’s mayoral debate, eliciting laughter and applause from the crowd at the West Berkeley Senior Center. Read the full story