Alison Cormack, a former Google stalwart and Palo Alto soccer mom, is first-time candidate for public office and, when pressed, a self-described one in ten thousand chance at being the first woman to pot us. She actually said it was more important to her that the Dems win in 2020 and 2024 than a woman win. I had her, before our meeting, our first tete-a-tete, at Ada’s Cafe at Mitchell Library Park, at point-six to win here and then, conditionally, at 2 percent chance to go on from there to Oval Office (likely would have to go thru Anna Eshoo’s current seat). I’m believing in context that there is a woman somewhere who we’ve never heard of, will win something in the fall, 2018 and then contend and win in 2024, if not before. And I’m sort of discounting, for whatever reasons, Kirsten Gillibrand, who was known as Tina Tunic or something at Dartmouth, although I am high on Kamala, who I met at Jim Newton’s book signing.
Oh yeah, Alison (one L, duly noted):
The clincher for me, and I gave, FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME IN PALO ALTO, AND ONLY SECOND TIME IN ENTIRE LIFE*, to her campaign and, if she’d actually take it, my endorsement^, is that she said her campaign chair or treasurer or something is a Mrs. or Ms. Russell, mother of a former Gunn basketball player whose name I somehow recalled Chris Rusell.
Stay tuned for further details — oh, and I did say that our meeting was deep background or two people talking – so maybe I’ve already violated that here — oops, or sorry or check back and I will mark the redacts — but here for now, dear reader — and I mean that literally, I have, like, one reader — I have a portrait of Alison Cormack and a reprint of a picture of young Mr. Russell — I guess he’s a family friend if not a Palo Alto voter — he played for Foothill and is enrolled at and maybe playing for Santa Clara Broncos, like his Gunn predecessor and LEAGUE CHAMPION TK Perricone — in action, in mid-shot, a 3-pointer that, vouchswear went in. I would say Alison Cormack has a better chance to win here than this shot and her odds at the White House are more like me, from that same spot, but going at East (not like here West — 75 footer, not 30) basket blind-folded. Not zero, but slim.
Or as Betty Davis says — and did say last week at 221 Uni — in “All About Alison” hold onto your hats people this will be quite a ride.
Ms. Ally:
Mr. Russell Trey:
Alison, her aim, like that of young Russell here, is true.
bonus tracks:
1. the line, by Bette Davis as Margo Channing is actually “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”
2. Now that I’m married, we can try to update or upgrade this to, endorsed by “Mark Weiss and Terry Acebo Davis” but I warn you, she’s a hard sell. The library at which we met today has artwork picked by Terry when she was Palo Alto Arts Commissioner: Beasley, Oldham and more.
3. Maybe “Her Aim is True” the Elvis Costello reference is a better headline, but I’m also influenced by the book about Leicester City as a 5,000-to-1 chance to win Premiership — nb she said her son is Liverpool or Chelsea. I.e not a neutral. It’s like the expression “bigger than a breadbox”– what is the likelihood of anything, relative to Leicester City championship?
4. I had to look it up, and book by Jim Newton, the former editor of Paly Campanile and publisher of The Dartmouth, Eisenhower the White House Years, 2011, has a respectable 78 Amazon reviews and a 4***1/2 impressive rating. Kamela Harris came to his reading/reception at his parents home, and her bodyguard driver said he used to play high school football, in SF, against O.J. Simpson (as did Jerry Hill, by the way — not that any person especially a woman running for office wants her name linked to Orenthal James, but boys will be boys. I asked, both Jerry and driver guy; they didn’t or wouldn’t volunteer such. Did I mention I played hoops but not football against Jim Harbaugh?
5 or the one with the asterisk above. I gave in 2014 to the same Gillibrand, although, oddly I didn’t recall doing so and almost challenged the gift with my credit card company: I am speculating that when I run for office — and I did so thricelike, here in 2009, 2012 and 2014, you get in such a zone that you literally are out of your mind at times, plus super open to saying “yes” to everyone, plus you notice little things, like helicopters in odd places.
6. Apropos of me discussing Elect Alison Palo Alto in context to the moonshot (mensturialition?) of getting a woman Commander in Chief nationally, Heather Knight of the Chron, who once wrote about my former intern the singer Allette Brooks, had a column last Tuesday about Emerge the political advocacy group based in Sf spearheaded by Andrea Dew Steele.
7. Which in turn had me ringing Brenna Bolger, a Silicon Valley pr honcho (hancha?) and political operative who, in the late 1980s, that is to say a generation ago, Boomer to Millenial, briefly had something called 2020 which was shooting towards twenty percent women in elected officials and corporate leadership by 2020. That and my mother dying, for she worked briefly with Brenna on that. Having met Brenna in 1987 when I worked exactly one year as a Silicon Valley pr guy, for Tom Rigoli, in the Landmark in Mountain View, near, wait for, but well before, Google. In those days it was: Andy Grove, Nolan Bushnell, Bill Campbell and dem. Dig? Feel me?
8. I’m writing about Alison Cormack for Palo Alto City Council 2018 and not Mark Weiss for City Council 2009/2012/2014 I know, I know but as David Shields, in Reality Hunger and variously says, when I write about Alison Cormack I am writing about myself, it’s a namaste kind of thing I guess –the former candidate for council in me salutes the future candidate for President of the United States in you — wow, I almost lost my train of thought, ok, got it– I say above “would she take it” my endorsement is that, not to be paranoid or a humble-brag, but sometimes I think if I offer my endorsement to a local candidate they don’t actually take it, they won’t list me as a backer because they are not sure if my name adds or subtracts votes. The facts are that I got 8,000 votes all in, three tries but I do throw out there, here in Plasty or in public utterances or on the Weekly comment board, some zingers. In contrast, I say sometimes that there were only 20 pro-union and against D in Palo Alto and I know that because they did list me as against the initiative and there were only 20 names as in they could not find more than 20 better or more famous Palo Altans to list (as for the public safety and their contracts as is and against the initiative, which passed, that limited and restricted their right to bargain collectively). I will update and note such if Alison Cormack lists me as a supporter, and I mean in the long list of community supporters and neighbors, not the list of people who are someone. I say that even after 9 years of this, and back to 1976 if you want to start with student rep to Terman SITE Council, I am more dissident than leadership. I won’t mention, if I see her again, like at a coffee, that I am watching for such, other than if she or one of her people read this far into this blog post. I mean, I’ll send them the link and invite them to suggest corrections but otherwise that’s between you and me, dear reader, singular. The pro-union, pro-CBA, pro-police and fire thing was probably done by Alan Davis, the former PAUSD trustee and father of a classmate of mine, who also, kindly, said he voted for me. Once, probably not thricelike. Vote for Alison, whose husband by the way, and the soccer boys or boy and girl, are Kuhnle, pronounced like the boxer, after being roughed up a bit by Ali (the boxer, who nobody except maybe his dear Momma called Cassius, in the way that only other Stanford ’87s or is it ’88s call Ms. Cormack “Ali”.
9. Now this part is totally gratuitous but perfectly Plastic Alto but I was listening on the way over, via an Apple device connected to a Chevrolet — not to go full Manchester United on you — to Alison Miller and her excellent recording Otis As a Polar Bear, Alison the drummer and composer in jazz — and now a mom it seems — who played Cubberley in fall, 2000 as part of Rachel Z trio and plays October 17 at Freight and Salvage in Berkeley and October 19 at Kuumbwa of Santa Cruz and nearly self-serving, if for example there suddenly appeared a Palo Alto performance on that off and in between. I’m just (not) sayin’. Go, this fall, to both Ali’s. Plural of two Alison’s contracted is Alii? Alae? Now I’m going to add to “tags” “alison miller” but not OJS, and “category” ‘words” along with “platos republic” and “sports” and “sf moma”. There are 14 tags, likely a record. Alan Davis the swimming star, as were his girls and maybe one or more grandkiddos. (besides Gunn sports announcer Travis and cheerleader and maybe Flyer TK, who might also swim).
Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss 