EAST BAY TIMES: Former Obama staffers say they’re running for office to protect his legacy

As one of Barack Obama’s top political organizers, Buffy Wicks plotted national campaign strategy, mobilized support for the Affordable Care Act and helped marshal the thousands of volunteers who carried Obama to the White House.

Early on Thursday evening, Wicks stood in front of a circle of 14 voters in a sun-drenched living room in the Oakland hills, fielding questions about housing costs, charter schools and bicycle safety. This time, she was working on a very different campaign: her own state Assembly race.