Forbes: A's worth $319 million (-$4M)

This year's Forbes valuations are out, and the A's are down 1% from last year, which to me is surprising. I expected a bigger drop due to lower local revenue, but total team revenue actually rose from $154 to $160 million. This season's the big test, as MLB is expected to take a broad hit, including the possibility of lower TV revenues if not redone TV contracts. If a drop in valuation is going to occur, it'll be a year from now.

Bobb for Oakland mayor?

Former Oakland city manager Robert Bobb is doing more than just dipping a toe in city politics. He has expressed interest in the 2010 mayoral race, in which he would be running against Don Perata. It should at least shape up to be an epic race, with both candidates having campaign dollars and established political support at their disposal.

For those who haven't kept up with Bobb's doings since he left Oakland, here's a summary:

• Sept. 2003 - Dec. 2006: City Administrator for the District of Columbia. From all outward appearances, Bobb was brought in mostly to do the DC ballpark deal. Bringing MLB back to the District is no small feat, though it can be argued that the District got ripped off in the process. Regardless, it's a feather in his cap.
• Jan. 2007 - Dec. 2008: DC Board of Education President. I can't comment on his tenure there, read this and this for more details.
• Jan. 2009 - present: Emergency Financial Manager for Detroit Public Schools. Bobb was brought in to make drastic cuts in the school district's budget. This will include closing up to 50 schools.
  
• Bobb's consulting firm has specialized in fixing bad fiscal situations in municipalities. Recently, this included cleaning up the budget mess left by his successor in Oakland, Deborah Edgerly.
  

It's a bit early to predict what could happen ballpark-wise with Bobb, since we still have many steps to go, including the Blue Ribbon committee's report. Should Bobb run and should Oakland elect Bobb, he'd be the guy to get a ballpark deal (site and political wrangling) done.

Previous posts on Robert Bobb:

• Bobb is Back! - Sort of
• This could be from your champion
  

It would be interesting to find out if Bobb's interest in the job would wane if the A's were fated to go to San Jose.