Dennis Evanosky

A Channel 5 news crew interviews city council candidate Rob Bonta before the parade on Sunday. Bonta learned he would not be allowed to ride as a candidate after he ordered his sign, which originally read "Rob Bonta for City Council." He doctored the sign to read "Rob Bonta for City." The parade committee had him further edit the sign by covering the word "for" with a red star.

The denial of campaign-themed entries in the Mayor's Fourth of July Parade raised issues concerning free speech and the city's involvement in the annual celebration.

The parade committee's decision to deny such entries from participating comes from a memo from City Attorney Teresa Highsmith to Mayor Beverly Johnson and the city council, all of whom rode in the parade.

In the memo, Highsmith explains that the parade committee has the right to deny participation to any entry that does not "serve the theme or purpose of the parade." The memo concluded that campaign advocacy did not fit the event's purpose, which was to celebrate family and community.

The memo also points out a financial complication. This year, in an unprecedented move to save the parade, Interim City Manager Ann Marie Gallant, who also rode in the parade, spent $10,000 in taxpayer dollars to the parade. According to Highsmith, those public funds by law cannot be used in support of or opposition to a candidate or ballot measure.

City Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Marie Gilmore released a statement last Wednesday saying the denial of campaign entries "soured" the holiday's celebration of free speech and independence. She also told the Alameda Sun that, even without Gallant's donation, the city still supports the parade through in-kind services and city staff time.

In a letter in last week's issue of the Sun, mayoral candidate Tony Daysog wrote that Parade Committee Chair Barbara Price asked him to modify his entry to comply with Highsmith's memo. Daysog changed his listing to reflect his previously held titles of vice mayor and city councilman, although, in an e-mail to the Sun on Monday, Daysog said he still spread his message by shouting "Daysog for Mayor" with his supporters in what he called a "show of small-scale civil disobedience befitting the Fourth of July."

City council candidate Rob Bonta rode in a car with a modified campaign sign that read "Bonta for city" with the word "council" covered. Bonta said the parade's exclusion of political entries was confirmed to him the Thursday before the parade, but because his sign had already been purchased, he chose to self-censor in order to participate. At the request of a parade committee member the day of, Bonta modified his sign again with a large red star to cover up the word "for."

In the parade's program, Bonta was listed as a part of the Alameda Hospital Board of Trustees entry, a listing Price said Bonta approved. Bonta, however, said he had no plans to participate as a trustee.

"My intent was to have a separate entry," he said. "For whatever reason, they ended up placing me right behind the hospital board entry."

Whether or not the parade committee will ban campaigning in future parades is still up in the air. Highsmith said a lot depends on whether the city will make another direct donation.

"As long as there is city money involved, it's always going to be a question of whether it's appropriate for taxpayer dollars to be used to create a platform for advocacy," she said.

Highsmith said pulling all city money from the parade — including in-kind services — is the easiest way to clear up controversy. The Parade Committee could then still deny campaign entries on the basis of the event's purpose if it verifies that the memo's opinion still holds true.

Regardless of what the city and committee decide, Gilmore said it should not wait until next summer.

"It's unfair to put the committee in this gray zone," she said. "Whatever we do, we need to make sure everyone knows what the expectations are."