Dellums' presence as risky as his performance On the East Bay

The shooting deaths of four Oakland police officers have touched Oakland and the entire nation, and have also exposed the growing disconnect Mayor Ron Dellums has with the city he is supposed to lead.

Friday's public memorial service at Oracle Arena for Oakland police Sgts. Mark Dunakin, Ervin Romans and Daniel Sakai and Officer John Hege took on an unintended political tone when at least two families did not approve of Dellums' inclusion on a speakers list that included Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, state Attorney General Jerry Brown, and U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.

Dellums' omission at an event of national interest was both a personal humiliation and the strongest public condemnation yet since taking office more than two years ago.

Friday's decision was made in deference to the officers' last wishes and with the support of their colleagues, but also served as a no-confidence vote from rank-and-file officers.

Those sentiments are shared by many residents and elected officials in Oakland. There is little disagreement among business leaders, residents and Dellums' elected colleagues that he has largely abdicated his duties and responsibilities as the city's leader.

Former state Sen. Don Perata said the events of last week have persuaded him to run for mayor in 2010.

"I wasn't trying to be coy (on a mayoral run), but this just galvanized it for me because you just can't stand there and do nothing," Perata said. "People know what I've done to ban assault weapons and other things I've done, so they ought to know that I'm running for mayor."

Perata, who attended the Friday memorial, said he was stunned by the decision to leave the mayor without a role in the service.

It was an awkward moment, but Dellums' failed performance, even his presence, has become a collective sore point - and an obstacle - for the members of the Oakland City Council and the community at large. "You would expect that when something like this happens, the mayor would show up, but he didn't," one city official said.

Dellums arrived at the police officers' union hall five hours after the shooting. A council member said the mayor - by his own inaction - has become "irrelevant" and of no use.

Even with a week to come up with something - anything - to acknowledge the sense of moral outrage felt by the community - and the nation - Dellums shows no resolve, no gumption to use police resources to confront criminal elements in our city.

Dellums was gracious, eloquent and sincere in his apologies, condolences and sympathies to the officers' families, but he never captured the outrage felt in his city.

"I want to know why the mayor isn't on CNN or a national news show talking about what happened here," said Sgt. Dom Arotzarena, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association. "What the hell are we going to do about these parolees in our town?"

Arotzarena spent the last week attending private and public wakes, hosting thousands of officers from across the nation, and consoling his colleagues.

The police officers too, are searching for answers, and direction and leadership from the city.

"Parolees have been killing people forever in this town. For-ever," he said with emphasis.

Sadly, it isn't only law enforcement issues that Dellums has mishandled, rejected or simply ignored.

Dellums says he will not cast the deciding vote at tonight's meeting of the Oakland City Council to send Measure OO back to voters for modifications. The measure is a costly voter-approved plan that allocates more than $16 million annually to after-school programs.

With Oakland's budget deficit now approaching $50 million to $70 million, the council believes the city cannot pay for the new programs, but the panel is split 4-4 on whether to send the measure back to voters.

Dellums has had at least five chances to break 4-4 council votes. He's never weighed in. Oakland can no longer afford a mayor who spends more time trying to avoid hard decisions instead of making them.

Dellums' lack of focus and attention to details and his inability to adequately address a crisis has left everyone with the impression that our mayor is more of a liability than an asset.

From this point forward, there is no reason to keep the mayor in the loop because it doesn't matter what the issue, he's simply no longer able to respond in a manner that suggests he understands the gravity of events swirling around him or their consequences.

One mayoral aide went so far as to suggest Dellums' office do something to rein in the Police Department for its act of defiance.

"I just walked away," said the city official who heard the suggestion.