Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums owes $239,000 in back taxes, according to press reports. He follows in the footsteps of other local mayors, who variously killed a guy with a car; were convicted of theft; and boned an aide's wife.

The Dellums situation, in which he has acknowledged underpaying at least some taxes, is especially sad. While Dellums has been, on balance, tragically ineffective as mayor of Oakland, he had a distinguished, 28-year career in Congress that included passing anti-apartheid legislation over Ronald Reagan's veto. Now he's part of the "disgusting" backdrop of local deviance and depravity that techies love to hate, until the day they (read: some!) up and leave.

[East Bay Express, SF Chronicle]

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