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Taking Risks in a Losing Race, Bock No Chicken

By Josh Harkinson

Photo by Ana Campoy
Audie Bock at her campaign headquarters in Oakland.

OAKLAND - Racing around Oakland in search of undecided voters this morning, Audie Bock's driving style resembled her political philosophy - results-oriented and a little crazy.

"Come on lady! You're blocking me!" the California Assemblywoman yelled at a Volvo. Then she hit commuter-choked Park Avenue and slipped her government Chrysler through two yellow lights-some would say red - before arriving at the I-580 underpass to sweet-talk undecided voters waiting to carpool into San Francisco.

Bock's whirlwind campaign style - employing everything from cold-calling to chicken suits -won her international recognition last year when she became the nation's highest-ranking member of the Green Party in a special election. But since then, her tactics have become even wilder. No matter; early on election day she was still working the lines in a race against popular Democrat Wilma Chan, who polls have predicted will easily win.

After Bock took office to represent Piedmont and parts of North and West Oakland, the former community college professor embarked on a political journey that compelled her to quit the Green Party, part with the majority of her staff, hire a Republican political consulting company, and sell her Toyota - all in the name of winning today's election and building the credibility she says effective politics requires.

Standing on the chipped concrete floor of her Lakeshore Street campaign headquarters with disheveled hair and holding a hand-lettered campaign sign that says "Independent, Effective," Bock can seem as crazy as her actions appear. But talking to her, the whole bizarre melange of her 20 short months in office strangely starts to make sense or, at least, seem less strange.

It all began when the glamour of the worldwide interviews and the speaking invitations wore off and Bock hunkered down into the unenviable job of commuting four hours a day to and from Sacramento, seeking results as a political outsider with no leverage in the Assembly.

She loved it.

Revolution didn't happen overnight, yet five of her bills eventually passed and she saw herself influencing policy. "I think that experience really restored my faith in democracy," she said, "to have this little thing where I move the agenda in some way."

But the work was hard and she says some of her staff were not up to it.

"Doors were closed and you had to be very ingenious with finding ways to get through those closed doors," she said. "You had to work very hard, you had to work your tail off, and a lot of people said, 'It's too hard.'"

Five of Bock's staff quit in May and one was fired. They cited an abusive workplace and conflicts with Bock's top legislative aide, Bob Podesta, who had helped her usher a crop of bills to the Governor's desk.

At this point Bock had already become a political loner after leaving the Green Party. She announced the decision to a group of 25 Greens in a West Oakland living room. Some were angry and others cried.

Prominent Democrats, like state Senator Don Perata, called it a "big mistake," but Bock said she was forced to declare herself an independent over a disagreement with the Green Party's policy on campaign finance, which would have barred her from accepting corporate donations.

She said she wanted to accept donations from "good corporations" like the Working Assets and she needed the money this time to compete with the Democratic buzz being generated nationally. "It's very hard to be heard in the noise of a presidential election," she said.

The money she raised funded a full time campaign manager, mailers, and political signs, which this morning had been torn down on Park Avenue and near her campaign headquarters. Although nearby signs for Libertarian candidate Harry Browne were left standing, Bock blamed the Democrats. "They don't care about Libertarians," she said, "they care about someone who has a chance of winning."

The Democrats, who held Bock's seat for over 30 years before she took it from them last year, have identified Bock's Assembly seat as a priority and heavily promoted their candidate. Holding firmly to the party line, Democratic political consulting companies also refused to work for Bock's campaign, she said, forcing her to hire Republicans.

When it comes to her plans in the likely event of a loss, Bock said, "I have no idea." Her former Chief of Staff has moved to Bali, and she joked about relocating to New Zealand. "I have relatives there," she said this morning, rubbing her brow with fatigue, "and there's still more sheep than people."

While Bock still dreams of adventure, voters seem ready for stability, and they've found it in her Democratic opponent. Wilma Chan, known for her low-profile approach to governing and political experience, was a two-term supervisor and former Oakland School Board member.

Yet despite Bock's probable defeat, she said she doesn't have any regrets about the political path she has taken. "It's worth it to prove yourself," she said, "to prove what you stand for, and just try like crazy to make those things happen, because my experience has been very positive."