Erica Maskaleris, the 31-year-old woman who founded the tech consulting company Geekosystems, has been missing for one solid week now, as of this writing. The news that the jogger was last seen walking over at 34th and Telegraph has traveled far and wide in Oakland – as has the news that the Oakland Police Department was something like two days slow in investigating the report.
You’d think with all of that, and especially the slam against the Oakland Police Department, that Oakland Mayor Jean Quan would include the news in her newsletter, or show up to an event. But chances are, Mayor Quan’s constant turning of a blind eye to social media, and bloggers like this one, causes her to miss that Erica Maskaleris’ family needs help.
But forget me, Mayor Quan should be briefed on missing persons in Oakland as often as possible. There’s no win for her – if she doesn’t know, she’s out of touch, if she knows, she’s not sensitive to it. The pick here is that Quan doesn’t know what’s going on, and uses her newsletter to do the standard “I’m defending my record; here’s what we’re doing” action.
Case in point from her newsletter:
Over the last five months the City has launched a Ceasefire Program which is seeing increasing results and an unprecedented level of generous collaboration.
On the one hand, we are building stronger joint actions with local law enforcement with increased state and federal support to investigate, arrest, and prosecute the most violent offenders in the city. Standing with partners from the US Attorney General’s Office, federal marshals, and ATF agents, State Attorney General Kamala Harris and her illegal gun task force, the State Highway Patrol, County Sheriff Ahearn and District Attorney O’Malley, and key church/community allies, Chief Howard Jordan announced the successful arrests of over 30 gang members who have been involved in many of the shootings over the last half year, as well as in robberies, drugs, and prostitution. More than a hundred law enforcement officers have been involved in these actions against what the Chief called one of the most violent gangs he has seen in his career.
Ok, great, Mayor Quan, but the lead headline of your newsletter should be “Help us find Erica Maskaleris.”
Mayor Quan has to spend more time making sure Oaklanders are taken care of, and less time promoting herself.
Stay tuned.