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Liberal Place: Moraga, CA
These are comments on Moraga, submitted by other Turn Left visitors. They do not necessarily represent the opinion of the webmaster. You may add a comment on Moraga if you want.
On the western side of the town of Moraga (near Oakland and Berkeley), environmentalism is at its best. The Green Party reigns in local politics, fighting off Republican development. West Moraga is even home to Canyon, the very last in-nature area in the entire metropolitan world. The people there are very liberal -- you can even tell by looking at them, and the ecocultural lifestyle induces some people to hail Canyon as "the town of the future". Many west Moragans are hippies who have stayed since the 1960's, and many more moved in from Berkeley during the 1990's. You might even be able to catch a performance of Moraga's countercultural teen band, the Stoned Wheat Crackers, featuring lead singer John Jenkins-Stark and his fellow instrumentalists. The Stoned Wheat Crackers are great - - they have one song against the draft, one against adultism, one against social taboos, etc. Moraga is also home to the SFLU (Students' Far Leftist Union)

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Having lived in Oakland, CA for 15 years and Moraga for 7 years, I can summarize Moraga as an "upscale", rural Oakland (a kind of oxymoron eh?) with excellent public schools (which is the main reason we moved). Of course there are the same pretentious and self-centered people that are everywhere, but, I have never lived with a more tolerant, educated and good-willed populace. The people here (most) are really F'ing nice.

And, we're a stones throw from S.F., Berkeley, and Oakland but can hear coyotes and cows at night roaming the hillsides.

Having been born and raised in the vast industrial wasteland known as New Jersey, I can say that I have truly found my own paradise.

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All right, a few updates. The current mayor, Frank Sperling, isn't a member of the Green party, but at least he's a Democrat. At least two of the other four right now are Democrats and one's an Independent. Don't know about John Connors. The council still reflects Moraga's liberal views, though, and a plan to institute an anti-discrimination law for gays is underway. The SFLU broke up a long time ago, but Moraga's high school (Campolindo) is definitely more liberal and accepting than when the group first started. And the Stoned Wheat Crackers have been broken up a long time, but there are still lots of other great bands (Dyslogistyx, the Red Cilantro and the undying Hairy True-men) around here.

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