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The Bay

By the People: Oakland’s Longtime City Clerk on Participating in Council Meetings

Devin KatayamaEricka Cruz GuevarraKyana MoghadamAlan Montecillo
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LaTonda Simmons is assistant city administrator for the City of Oakland. Before that, she was City Clerk from 2004-2020. (City of Oakland)

If you want to get involved in local politics, your city council meeting can be a good place to start.

But it can also be a lot. It’s where your elected representatives make decisions that directly affect your life. And it’s where anybody can tell their local leaders what they really think about those decisions.

LaTonda Simmons knows all about this. Today, she looks back on 16 years running Oakland City Council meetings and offers some advice for people hoping to participate for the first time.

Guest: LaTonda Simmons, Oakland city clerk from 2004 to 2020, currently assistant city administrator.



Read the transcript here.

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