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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 2:42 p.m. Friday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland mayoral candidate \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/loren-taylor\">Loren Taylor\u003c/a> distanced himself on Thursday from recent campaign ads that appeared to show fake news headlines from Bay Area news organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/Chrisjonesmom17/status/1903085400211722291\">recent video ad\u003c/a> shows a woman in her kitchen contemplating similarities between former East Bay Rep. Barbara Lee, who is running for mayor of Oakland, and former Mayor Sheng Thao, who was indicted on bribery charges after being recalled last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point in the video, a news article appears with a \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2025/03/21/misleading-ads-fake-oaklandside-headline-oakland-mayor-race/\">design nearly identical\u003c/a> to \u003cem>The Oaklandside’s\u003c/em> website, featuring the headline: “Barbara Lee accused of hiding rental income for taxes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The story isn’t real.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An independent expenditure committee called Oakland Neighbors, Businesses & Public Safety Advocates for Loren Taylor for Mayor 2025 and against Barbara Lee paid for the ad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I do agree that it’s misleading,” Taylor said about the ad. “I have been consistent relative to my campaign and those that I am directly engaged with, that we will run an honest, fact-based campaign. It’s important that we draw the contrast, we identify what the stakes are for Oaklanders, but doing that in a fact-based, data-driven way, and I encourage others to do the same.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taylor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101909352/oakland-mayoral-hopeful-loren-taylor-on-why-local-experience-matters\">made the comments on KQED’s \u003cem>Forum\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on Thursday. He and Lee are the expected frontrunners in the April 15 special election to replace Thao. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032042/oakland-special-election-candidate-guide-and-how-to-vote\">Voting is already underway\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027698\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027698\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Representative Barbara Lee addresses the room, as Loren Taylor (center) and Renia Webb observe, at a public forum hosted by Greenbelt Alliance, Housing Action Coalition and East Bay for Everyone, in downtown Oakland, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. All are running for mayor. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Taylor also commented on Google Ads that his campaign purchased that linked to news articles and featured text that resembled headlines but didn’t match the headlines in the stories themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One version of an ad the campaign purchased read, “Lee’s Ties to Corruption — Lee’s Dirty Money Problem” and “Barbara Lee accepted $66k from a bribery-linked family — what else is she hiding?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Users who clicked on the ad were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025747/barbara-lee-return-5000-donations-from-family-linked-oakland-bribery-scandal\">taken to a KQED story\u003c/a> with the headline, “Barbara Lee to Return $5,000 in Donations From Family Linked to Oakland Bribery Scandal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The advertisement is intended to direct people towards the actual source, not replace the headline,” Taylor said on \u003cem>Forum\u003c/em> when asked about the Google Ad. “We want to direct people towards that versus replacing, and so the actual article that’s there is what KQED produced and developed.”[aside postID=news_12021907 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/250106-BarbaraLeeExitInterview-09-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ad appeared in Google search results for users in Oakland for 37 days in February and March, \u003ca href=\"https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR10257854853292228609/creative/CR12444605085177085953?region=US&topic=political\">according to Google’s Ads Transparency Center\u003c/a>, which discloses it was shown 9-10,000 times at a cost of $2,000-$2,500 to Taylor’s campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By Friday, the \u003ca href=\"https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR10257854853292228609/creative/CR12444605085177085953?region=US&topic=political\">ad’s text had changed\u003c/a> to reflect the original KQED headline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We got the response and we corrected — we no longer put that there,” Taylor said on \u003cem>Forum\u003c/em>. “But that was not the intent. Our intent was to direct people towards KQED’s article, and that’s what the ads now sort of focus on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another Taylor campaign ad that linked to \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/16/barbara-lee-ron-dellums-oakland-mayor-00232049?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw7pO_BhAlEiwA4pMQvNUC6GPRiuFSdDKBcI_R-Bovu3hiDwGogRjvMTR6M_otjmPRBQ1TZxoCBPgQAvD_BwE\">a \u003cem>Politico\u003c/em> story\u003c/a> ran for at least five days in March. One version of the ad read, “\u003ca href=\"https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR10257854853292228609/creative/CR11515748725867675649?region=US&topic=political\">Barbara Lee is a Risky Gamble – Barbara Lee = Dellums 2.0?\u003c/a>,” referring to the late East Bay Rep. Ron Dellums, who also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021907/can-barbara-lee-avoid-mentors-missteps-run-oakland-mayor\">served as mayor of Oakland\u003c/a> after serving in Congress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/lorenmtaylor/status/1903561920239874227/photo/2\">March 22 statement posted on the social media platform X\u003c/a>, Taylor said his campaign’s Google Ad linking to the KQED story did not replace its headline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every political campaign uses Google Ads to advertise. And Google Ads do not replace headlines but instead allow for captions similar to social media posts. Our caption is not meant to replace KQED’s headline — and there is no intention to misrepresent that to voters,” Taylor wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The statement went on: “If the design of Google’s advertising platform is causing confusion with KQED’s original headline, that should be taken up with Google,” he added. “Our campaign will continue to monitor to confirm if there’s actual confusion versus an overblown issue by supporters of Lee and adjust accordingly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033384\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033384\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Loren Taylor takes notes ahead of a public forum hosted by Greenbelt Alliance, Housing Action Coalition and East Bay for Everyone in downtown Oakland, California, on Feb. 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Taylor’s campaign isn’t the only one purchasing Google ads and linking them to news sites to influence voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A group called Supporters of Barbara Lee for Oakland Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR00300604778226909185/creative/CR06927962791693254657?region=US&topic=political\">began running an ad on Thursday\u003c/a> that read, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5uvWdo6uMAxVjkcMCHRoBDbUQ0Qx6BAgAEAE\">EB Times: No on Loren Taylor” and “\u003c/a>We found that Loren Taylor is surprisingly unprepared in his campaign for Oakland Mayor.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR00300604778226909185/creative/CR01537716987684192257?region=US&topic=political\">Another ad\u003c/a> included the text, “Loren Taylor has failed to build a coalition to govern effectively. No to Loren Taylor.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both ads linked to an \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/03/22/editorial-oakland-elect-barbara-lee-mayor-charlene-wang-council/\">\u003cem>East Bay Times\u003c/em> editorial\u003c/a> endorsing Lee for mayor and Charlene Wang for Oakland City Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A separate ad that appeared in Google search results for “Loren Taylor” on Friday displayed the text, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwi_2q7ZhK2MAxUVz8IEHa1oOUYYABABGgJwdg&co=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkZm_BhDrARIsAAEbX1GkaGvJ49uPfXsuzg4LYxfYoh9vzbe8HnMXZbbS6WRkTlJWpQPsQrAaAryTEALw_wcB&sig=AOD64_1xCmPoq60bu1Y0OIhZracvGnHnLA&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwizrqrZhK2MAxVBFjQIHa4iCQkQ0Qx6BAgWEAE&nis=7\">Loren Taylor Isn’t Change” and “\u003c/a>Vote No on Loren Taylor — Loren Taylor & Sheng Thao got us into this mess in the first place.”[aside postID=news_12032042 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/14772659073_f7e7f00d0a_k_qed-1020x765.jpg']The ad \u003ca href=\"https://notthechangeoaklandneeds.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkZm_BhDrARIsAAEbX1GbjLREGIl57dV5RW7Wxa4sq02liUnuHIY-JGAOdrZjRGogXpcxAYUaAjajEALw_wcB\">linked to a website\u003c/a> describing Taylor as an “ineffective city hall insider who got us into this mess in the first place.” The website disclosed it was paid for by an independent expenditure group, Supporters of Barbara Lee for Oakland Mayor 2025, A Coalition of Business, Labor and Public Safety Organizations for a Better Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mailers with similar messaging paid for by the same committee were recently sent out to Oakland voters. KQED contacted a law firm whose phone number is listed on the committee’s campaign finance filings but did not receive a response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Google spokesperson said that it’s common for advertisers to link to external websites, including news sites, in the text of their ad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The ads in question are explicitly labeled as ‘Sponsored’ so that they’re easily distinguishable from Search results and they also include ‘paid for by’ disclosures so it’s clear to users who paid for them,” Michael Aciman, a company spokesperson, said in an email. “For this type of ad format, the advertiser provides the text in their ad and the ad also links to the original news article in full.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ads may have markers indicating that a campaign paid for them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not misleading, said Subramaniam Vincent, director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/journalism-and-media-ethics/\">Journalism and Media Ethics program\u003c/a> at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Google user seeing the ad, he said, “may or may not notice that the headline on the KQED story and the framing and the thrust of the story and the findings in the story and the scope of the story are actually different from the conclusion in the campaign headline.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Vincent said, misrepresentative ads are a reality of political campaigning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Misrepresentation is kind of the name of the game,” he said. “Politicians are engaged in making claims against their opponents because their speech is protected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Independent expenditure groups and the campaign of Oakland mayoral candidate Loren Taylor have funded recent ads. Taylor also appeared on KQED’s Forum on Thursday.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 2:42 p.m. Friday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland mayoral candidate \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/loren-taylor\">Loren Taylor\u003c/a> distanced himself on Thursday from recent campaign ads that appeared to show fake news headlines from Bay Area news organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/Chrisjonesmom17/status/1903085400211722291\">recent video ad\u003c/a> shows a woman in her kitchen contemplating similarities between former East Bay Rep. Barbara Lee, who is running for mayor of Oakland, and former Mayor Sheng Thao, who was indicted on bribery charges after being recalled last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point in the video, a news article appears with a \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2025/03/21/misleading-ads-fake-oaklandside-headline-oakland-mayor-race/\">design nearly identical\u003c/a> to \u003cem>The Oaklandside’s\u003c/em> website, featuring the headline: “Barbara Lee accused of hiding rental income for taxes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The story isn’t real.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An independent expenditure committee called Oakland Neighbors, Businesses & Public Safety Advocates for Loren Taylor for Mayor 2025 and against Barbara Lee paid for the ad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I do agree that it’s misleading,” Taylor said about the ad. “I have been consistent relative to my campaign and those that I am directly engaged with, that we will run an honest, fact-based campaign. It’s important that we draw the contrast, we identify what the stakes are for Oaklanders, but doing that in a fact-based, data-driven way, and I encourage others to do the same.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taylor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101909352/oakland-mayoral-hopeful-loren-taylor-on-why-local-experience-matters\">made the comments on KQED’s \u003cem>Forum\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on Thursday. He and Lee are the expected frontrunners in the April 15 special election to replace Thao. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032042/oakland-special-election-candidate-guide-and-how-to-vote\">Voting is already underway\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027698\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027698\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Representative Barbara Lee addresses the room, as Loren Taylor (center) and Renia Webb observe, at a public forum hosted by Greenbelt Alliance, Housing Action Coalition and East Bay for Everyone, in downtown Oakland, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. All are running for mayor. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Taylor also commented on Google Ads that his campaign purchased that linked to news articles and featured text that resembled headlines but didn’t match the headlines in the stories themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One version of an ad the campaign purchased read, “Lee’s Ties to Corruption — Lee’s Dirty Money Problem” and “Barbara Lee accepted $66k from a bribery-linked family — what else is she hiding?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Users who clicked on the ad were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025747/barbara-lee-return-5000-donations-from-family-linked-oakland-bribery-scandal\">taken to a KQED story\u003c/a> with the headline, “Barbara Lee to Return $5,000 in Donations From Family Linked to Oakland Bribery Scandal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The advertisement is intended to direct people towards the actual source, not replace the headline,” Taylor said on \u003cem>Forum\u003c/em> when asked about the Google Ad. “We want to direct people towards that versus replacing, and so the actual article that’s there is what KQED produced and developed.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ad appeared in Google search results for users in Oakland for 37 days in February and March, \u003ca href=\"https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR10257854853292228609/creative/CR12444605085177085953?region=US&topic=political\">according to Google’s Ads Transparency Center\u003c/a>, which discloses it was shown 9-10,000 times at a cost of $2,000-$2,500 to Taylor’s campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By Friday, the \u003ca href=\"https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR10257854853292228609/creative/CR12444605085177085953?region=US&topic=political\">ad’s text had changed\u003c/a> to reflect the original KQED headline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We got the response and we corrected — we no longer put that there,” Taylor said on \u003cem>Forum\u003c/em>. “But that was not the intent. Our intent was to direct people towards KQED’s article, and that’s what the ads now sort of focus on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another Taylor campaign ad that linked to \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/16/barbara-lee-ron-dellums-oakland-mayor-00232049?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw7pO_BhAlEiwA4pMQvNUC6GPRiuFSdDKBcI_R-Bovu3hiDwGogRjvMTR6M_otjmPRBQ1TZxoCBPgQAvD_BwE\">a \u003cem>Politico\u003c/em> story\u003c/a> ran for at least five days in March. One version of the ad read, “\u003ca href=\"https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR10257854853292228609/creative/CR11515748725867675649?region=US&topic=political\">Barbara Lee is a Risky Gamble – Barbara Lee = Dellums 2.0?\u003c/a>,” referring to the late East Bay Rep. Ron Dellums, who also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021907/can-barbara-lee-avoid-mentors-missteps-run-oakland-mayor\">served as mayor of Oakland\u003c/a> after serving in Congress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/lorenmtaylor/status/1903561920239874227/photo/2\">March 22 statement posted on the social media platform X\u003c/a>, Taylor said his campaign’s Google Ad linking to the KQED story did not replace its headline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every political campaign uses Google Ads to advertise. And Google Ads do not replace headlines but instead allow for captions similar to social media posts. Our caption is not meant to replace KQED’s headline — and there is no intention to misrepresent that to voters,” Taylor wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The statement went on: “If the design of Google’s advertising platform is causing confusion with KQED’s original headline, that should be taken up with Google,” he added. “Our campaign will continue to monitor to confirm if there’s actual confusion versus an overblown issue by supporters of Lee and adjust accordingly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033384\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033384\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00603_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Loren Taylor takes notes ahead of a public forum hosted by Greenbelt Alliance, Housing Action Coalition and East Bay for Everyone in downtown Oakland, California, on Feb. 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Taylor’s campaign isn’t the only one purchasing Google ads and linking them to news sites to influence voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A group called Supporters of Barbara Lee for Oakland Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR00300604778226909185/creative/CR06927962791693254657?region=US&topic=political\">began running an ad on Thursday\u003c/a> that read, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5uvWdo6uMAxVjkcMCHRoBDbUQ0Qx6BAgAEAE\">EB Times: No on Loren Taylor” and “\u003c/a>We found that Loren Taylor is surprisingly unprepared in his campaign for Oakland Mayor.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR00300604778226909185/creative/CR01537716987684192257?region=US&topic=political\">Another ad\u003c/a> included the text, “Loren Taylor has failed to build a coalition to govern effectively. No to Loren Taylor.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both ads linked to an \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/03/22/editorial-oakland-elect-barbara-lee-mayor-charlene-wang-council/\">\u003cem>East Bay Times\u003c/em> editorial\u003c/a> endorsing Lee for mayor and Charlene Wang for Oakland City Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A separate ad that appeared in Google search results for “Loren Taylor” on Friday displayed the text, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwi_2q7ZhK2MAxUVz8IEHa1oOUYYABABGgJwdg&co=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkZm_BhDrARIsAAEbX1GkaGvJ49uPfXsuzg4LYxfYoh9vzbe8HnMXZbbS6WRkTlJWpQPsQrAaAryTEALw_wcB&sig=AOD64_1xCmPoq60bu1Y0OIhZracvGnHnLA&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwizrqrZhK2MAxVBFjQIHa4iCQkQ0Qx6BAgWEAE&nis=7\">Loren Taylor Isn’t Change” and “\u003c/a>Vote No on Loren Taylor — Loren Taylor & Sheng Thao got us into this mess in the first place.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The ad \u003ca href=\"https://notthechangeoaklandneeds.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkZm_BhDrARIsAAEbX1GbjLREGIl57dV5RW7Wxa4sq02liUnuHIY-JGAOdrZjRGogXpcxAYUaAjajEALw_wcB\">linked to a website\u003c/a> describing Taylor as an “ineffective city hall insider who got us into this mess in the first place.” The website disclosed it was paid for by an independent expenditure group, Supporters of Barbara Lee for Oakland Mayor 2025, A Coalition of Business, Labor and Public Safety Organizations for a Better Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mailers with similar messaging paid for by the same committee were recently sent out to Oakland voters. KQED contacted a law firm whose phone number is listed on the committee’s campaign finance filings but did not receive a response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Google spokesperson said that it’s common for advertisers to link to external websites, including news sites, in the text of their ad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The ads in question are explicitly labeled as ‘Sponsored’ so that they’re easily distinguishable from Search results and they also include ‘paid for by’ disclosures so it’s clear to users who paid for them,” Michael Aciman, a company spokesperson, said in an email. “For this type of ad format, the advertiser provides the text in their ad and the ad also links to the original news article in full.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ads may have markers indicating that a campaign paid for them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not misleading, said Subramaniam Vincent, director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/journalism-and-media-ethics/\">Journalism and Media Ethics program\u003c/a> at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Google user seeing the ad, he said, “may or may not notice that the headline on the KQED story and the framing and the thrust of the story and the findings in the story and the scope of the story are actually different from the conclusion in the campaign headline.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Vincent said, misrepresentative ads are a reality of political campaigning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Misrepresentation is kind of the name of the game,” he said. “Politicians are engaged in making claims against their opponents because their speech is protected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "oakland-voters-want-to-know-how-next-mayor-would-fix-citys-finances",
"title": "Oakland Voters Want to Know How the Next Mayor Would Fix the City’s Finances",
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"headTitle": "Oakland Voters Want to Know How the Next Mayor Would Fix the City’s Finances | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>On a recent Tuesday night, at least 80 people crowded into a small room in the basement of Oakland’s main library for a workshop about the city’s biennial budget process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prompted by a facilitator, they scanned a QR code with their phones and typed in questions about the city’s budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One by one, they appeared on a projector screen: Who makes the decisions? Who really takes responsibility? How bad is it? Why are we always in crisis? Why are we paying taxes and not getting services?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland’s financial future is bleak. The city is working to close an $87 million shortfall in this year’s budget while also putting together another budget by June 30 that eliminates a $265 million deficit projected over the next two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voters, concerned about the city’s finances, are searching for answers about how Oakland got here and — as they prepare to choose their next mayor in an April 15 special election following the recall of former mayor Sheng Thao — what the city’s next mayor plans to do about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to know what’s going on,” said Jana Good, who sat in the second row next to her husband, Bruce Goldberg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031573\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031573\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carina Lieu, Inclusive Community Engagement Officer for the city of Oakland, addresses the audience at an educational workshop about Oakland’s biennial budget process at the Main Library on March 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The budget doesn’t look great,” Goldberg said. “We have some real tough choices to make. And I don’t know enough, so I’m here to learn more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to mayor, voters are choosing a new city council member to fill a seat left vacant by former council member Nikki Fortunato Bas, who was elected to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city, which usually holds public workshops after the budget is complete in May, opted to hold two additional ones early this year because of the deficit, according to the League of Women Voters, which co-sponsored the workshops alongside the city, its Budget Advisory Commission and the nonprofit SPUR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12030157 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/20240818_LastBoB_GC-53_qed-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Understanding the budget process, Good said, would likely help the couple decide how they’ll vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t understand our budget well enough,” Good said. “I don’t even know personally how much control the mayor has versus the City Council. Like, who actually is making these decisions?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anna Matthai, a retired Oakland resident and League of Women Voters member, said she is tuned in to what candidates are saying about their plans for the budget and priorities for the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>I think we need to understand what their ideas are right now,” Matthai said. “They should be thinking about the budget right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the campaign trail, the two likely frontrunners in Oakland’s race for mayor — former East Bay Rep. Barbara Lee and former Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor — have presented contrasting approaches to fixing the deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031576\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031576\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland residents attend an educational workshop about Oakland’s biennial budget process at the Main Library on March 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lee’s campaign, focused on a message of unity, has emphasized her track record of bringing federal funding to Oakland while in Congress. Lee has said she would use her connections to bring more investment to the city with the establishment of a new office of public-private partnerships.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She has also said her priorities would include collecting city revenue from fines and parking tickets and making sure Oakland receives its share of funds from Measure W, an Alameda County sales tax approved by voters in 2020 intended for homelessness programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need a forensic audit,” Lee said at a mayoral debate held several blocks from the library on the same night as the workshop. “We need an audit that’s going to tell the taxpayers in this city where the waste, fraud and abuse is in our city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee, who has the endorsement and financial support of some of the city’s major unions, has also said cutting more jobs would be a last resort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031661\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031661\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayoral candidate Barbara Lee greets voters after a public forum organized by the League of Women Voters of Oakland at Oakland City Hall on March 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Taylor has marketed himself as a “professional problem solver” who, as a former engineer, would be best equipped to fix a “broken” Oakland. Taylor has said Oakland’s next mayor needs to be willing to make hard decisions, including cutting jobs if necessary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to understand that we did not get to this budget deficit overnight. It was a series of decisions that were made, decisions that were influenced in the process,” Taylor said at the same debate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The root cause of our financial struggles — corruption, mismanagement, self-dealing, not centering Oaklanders at the center of decisions that are being made — we have kicked the can down the road so long that there is no road left to kick it down,” Taylor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taylor has advocated for the city to adopt zero-based budgeting, where all expenses must be justified, rather than making adjustments to an existing budget. He also argues that the city would benefit from refinancing its pension debt to reduce interest payments and getting companies that do business with the city to reduce their pricing by 10%–15%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031580\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12031580 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Loren Taylor is interviewed by the media at a public forum hosted by Greenbelt Alliance, Housing Action Coalition and East Bay for Everyone in downtown Oakland, on Feb. 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“These decisions have such an outsized impact on us and all the services like the library that we use from the city. So that’s definitely a consideration in deciding who to vote for for mayor,” said Erin Burns as she buckled her son into his seat on the back of her bicycle outside the library after the workshop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Burns said she is leaning towards voting for Lee, 78. Her husband is more of a fan of Taylor, 47, because he thinks someone younger should be mayor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I consider budget to be upstream of all the other issues in the city,” said Burns’ husband, Prasenjit Mukherjee, who is a legal permanent resident and can’t vote. “The public safety, the businesses coming back and all of that is kind of downstream of the city having the money to spend to fix all these issues. So that’s probably issue number one going into the special election.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Various factors have contributed to Oakland’s current financial picture. Among them, the lingering effects of the pandemic, an overreliance on one-time COVID-19-era funds, a drop in real estate transfer tax revenue from slower property sales, high pension and retiree medical costs, and under-budgeting of overtime pay to the police and fire departments, according to \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/View-Powerpoint-Presentation-1.pdf\">the city’s finance department (PDF)\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.spur.org/news/2025-01-24/what-it-will-take-close-oaklands-structural-deficit-part-1-how-we-got-here\">SPUR\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031577\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031577\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Larisa Casillas, with the budget advisory commission, addresses Oakland residents at an educational workshop on March 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>City officials have already made a series of cuts, including browning out two fire stations, eliminating police academies, cutting contracts with nonprofits, restricting police overtime and laying off dozens of employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those cuts have already made a $42 million dent in the current deficit, according to the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, more cost-saving measures are on the horizon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You got a lot of people feeling uneasy because their jobs are at stake, a lot of services are being cut,” said Troy Dotson, a city employee who works on capital improvement projects in the city’s libraries and attended the workshop to hear how city officials are handling the deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It affects people in the community, as well as myself, working in this city,” Dotson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031692\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12031692 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Anna Mathai, vice president and co-chair of Voter Services at the League of Women Voters, leads a discussion on Oakland’s biennial budget process during an educational workshop on March 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The city is also banking on voters approving a sales tax measure that will be on the ballot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Measure A would increase the city’s sales tax by 0.5%, bringing it in line with nearby cities like Alameda, Hayward, Albany and San Leandro. If it passes, it would generate an estimated $21 million in city revenue in the first year and \u003ca href=\"https://cao-94612.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/documents/April2025-Ballot-Measure-A-General-Sales-Tax_2025-02-21-005439_lhyb.pdf\">$30 million in (PDF) \u003c/a>subsequent years, according to the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins has said the city is building the budget on the assumption that the measure passes. A spokesperson for the city administrator’s office said the city is building two drafts of the budget — one that assumes the measure passes and another that assumes it does not pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/View-Budget-Resident-Survey-MAIN.pdf\">survey by the city’s Budget Advisory Commission (PDF)\u003c/a> found 44% of residents polled opposed the tax increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031055\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12031055 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An Oakland resident reviews a pamphlet detailing the city’s budget basics on March 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“City Council needs to make sure that taxes are collected and that departments that function to collect revenue and taxes are actually doing that before asking residents for more money,” said one unnamed resident who responded to the survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would like to see council members EFFECTIVELY manage a budget from a city that has significant wealth,” said another. “There is no reason Oakland should be bankrupt while no improvements to quality of life are being made. Where is the money going?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland isn’t the only city facing a budget deficit. \u003ca href=\"https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13923442&GUID=A89BE21A-9AE4-45D9-9903-324C77B96999\">San José\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://sfethics.org/commission/budget\">San Francisco\u003c/a> are also projecting budget shortfalls over the next two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, questions around whether mismanagement has played a role in Oakland have loomed in recent months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland paid over $1.6 million in excess overtime to employees in the Department of Transportation and Public Works Department over a six-year period, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandauditor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/20250202_FLSA-Investigation-Report_FINAL.pdf\">a city auditor report released on Feb. 20 (PDF)\u003c/a>. The investigation found the city’s payroll division used an unauthorized formula to calculate overtime that resulted in higher payments than what federal law requires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031060\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031060\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland residents speak to each other during an educational workshop about Oakland’s biennial budget process. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Auditor Michael Houston said he had no reason to believe the formula wasn’t used to pay employees in other departments and has called for a city-wide review. In a March 10 email to KQED, Houston said his office hadn’t heard anything from the city administration about the investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/View-Supplemental-Report-4172024-2.pdf\">Oakland’s finance department reported (PDF)\u003c/a> that thousands of businesses had not paid taxes since 2021, potentially costing the city as much as $34 million in lost revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Lee and Taylor have said they would conduct an audit of the city’s finances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>This may be a turning point, where people are fed up and say enough is enough. We are just not getting the return on our money,” Matthai said. “I don’t know about mismanagement. I don’t know. I’m trying to understand more as to where this is, but it just feels like this could be a turning point, and we are really in trouble.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Due to the timing of the election and the budget process, it’s unclear exactly how much direct input the new mayor will have on the new budget.[aside postID=news_12025747 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00457-1020x680.jpg']Voting in the mayoral election ends April 15, but the registrar has thirty days to certify the results. Meanwhile, the mayor has until May 1 to present a budget to the city council, which has until June 30 to make alternative proposals and approve the final budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new mayor may be able to have an impact on the process in other ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a charter that’s all about influence, not about power,” said former Oakland City Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney. “So you’re going to want to make sure you have good relationships with council members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would think that the top two contenders for this seat will be leveraging their existing relationships to influence this process,” McElhaney said. “I think that they’ll be weighing in on those reports and speaking to council members and trying to earn the support of the council.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would think that they and their staff are going to be attending the public budget meetings, the budget hearings, that they would be asking critical questions, that they are forming allies on this council,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, all Oakland City Council members have endorsed Lee for mayor, with the exception of Councilmember Noel Gallo, who has said he does not plan to endorse a candidate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With election day just weeks away, the window that candidates have to make their case to voters is quickly closing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Good said she’ll be looking to hear from candidates what specific plans they have to solve the budget deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is it all sunshine and roses?” Good said. “Or is somebody really going to go at it and say — we have a real problem here and here’s what I think we should do?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "As the city faces a major budget deficit, candidates are making their pitch about what they would do to improve the city's financial health.",
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"title": "Oakland Voters Want to Know How the Next Mayor Would Fix the City’s Finances | KQED",
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"headline": "Oakland Voters Want to Know How the Next Mayor Would Fix the City’s Finances",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On a recent Tuesday night, at least 80 people crowded into a small room in the basement of Oakland’s main library for a workshop about the city’s biennial budget process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prompted by a facilitator, they scanned a QR code with their phones and typed in questions about the city’s budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One by one, they appeared on a projector screen: Who makes the decisions? Who really takes responsibility? How bad is it? Why are we always in crisis? Why are we paying taxes and not getting services?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland’s financial future is bleak. The city is working to close an $87 million shortfall in this year’s budget while also putting together another budget by June 30 that eliminates a $265 million deficit projected over the next two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voters, concerned about the city’s finances, are searching for answers about how Oakland got here and — as they prepare to choose their next mayor in an April 15 special election following the recall of former mayor Sheng Thao — what the city’s next mayor plans to do about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to know what’s going on,” said Jana Good, who sat in the second row next to her husband, Bruce Goldberg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031573\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031573\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00018-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carina Lieu, Inclusive Community Engagement Officer for the city of Oakland, addresses the audience at an educational workshop about Oakland’s biennial budget process at the Main Library on March 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The budget doesn’t look great,” Goldberg said. “We have some real tough choices to make. And I don’t know enough, so I’m here to learn more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to mayor, voters are choosing a new city council member to fill a seat left vacant by former council member Nikki Fortunato Bas, who was elected to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city, which usually holds public workshops after the budget is complete in May, opted to hold two additional ones early this year because of the deficit, according to the League of Women Voters, which co-sponsored the workshops alongside the city, its Budget Advisory Commission and the nonprofit SPUR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Understanding the budget process, Good said, would likely help the couple decide how they’ll vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t understand our budget well enough,” Good said. “I don’t even know personally how much control the mayor has versus the City Council. Like, who actually is making these decisions?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anna Matthai, a retired Oakland resident and League of Women Voters member, said she is tuned in to what candidates are saying about their plans for the budget and priorities for the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>I think we need to understand what their ideas are right now,” Matthai said. “They should be thinking about the budget right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the campaign trail, the two likely frontrunners in Oakland’s race for mayor — former East Bay Rep. Barbara Lee and former Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor — have presented contrasting approaches to fixing the deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031576\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031576\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00044-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland residents attend an educational workshop about Oakland’s biennial budget process at the Main Library on March 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lee’s campaign, focused on a message of unity, has emphasized her track record of bringing federal funding to Oakland while in Congress. Lee has said she would use her connections to bring more investment to the city with the establishment of a new office of public-private partnerships.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She has also said her priorities would include collecting city revenue from fines and parking tickets and making sure Oakland receives its share of funds from Measure W, an Alameda County sales tax approved by voters in 2020 intended for homelessness programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need a forensic audit,” Lee said at a mayoral debate held several blocks from the library on the same night as the workshop. “We need an audit that’s going to tell the taxpayers in this city where the waste, fraud and abuse is in our city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee, who has the endorsement and financial support of some of the city’s major unions, has also said cutting more jobs would be a last resort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031661\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031661\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250315_Oakland-Mayor_DB_00121-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayoral candidate Barbara Lee greets voters after a public forum organized by the League of Women Voters of Oakland at Oakland City Hall on March 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Taylor has marketed himself as a “professional problem solver” who, as a former engineer, would be best equipped to fix a “broken” Oakland. Taylor has said Oakland’s next mayor needs to be willing to make hard decisions, including cutting jobs if necessary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to understand that we did not get to this budget deficit overnight. It was a series of decisions that were made, decisions that were influenced in the process,” Taylor said at the same debate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The root cause of our financial struggles — corruption, mismanagement, self-dealing, not centering Oaklanders at the center of decisions that are being made — we have kicked the can down the road so long that there is no road left to kick it down,” Taylor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taylor has advocated for the city to adopt zero-based budgeting, where all expenses must be justified, rather than making adjustments to an existing budget. He also argues that the city would benefit from refinancing its pension debt to reduce interest payments and getting companies that do business with the city to reduce their pricing by 10%–15%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031580\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12031580 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00159-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Loren Taylor is interviewed by the media at a public forum hosted by Greenbelt Alliance, Housing Action Coalition and East Bay for Everyone in downtown Oakland, on Feb. 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“These decisions have such an outsized impact on us and all the services like the library that we use from the city. So that’s definitely a consideration in deciding who to vote for for mayor,” said Erin Burns as she buckled her son into his seat on the back of her bicycle outside the library after the workshop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Burns said she is leaning towards voting for Lee, 78. Her husband is more of a fan of Taylor, 47, because he thinks someone younger should be mayor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I consider budget to be upstream of all the other issues in the city,” said Burns’ husband, Prasenjit Mukherjee, who is a legal permanent resident and can’t vote. “The public safety, the businesses coming back and all of that is kind of downstream of the city having the money to spend to fix all these issues. So that’s probably issue number one going into the special election.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Various factors have contributed to Oakland’s current financial picture. Among them, the lingering effects of the pandemic, an overreliance on one-time COVID-19-era funds, a drop in real estate transfer tax revenue from slower property sales, high pension and retiree medical costs, and under-budgeting of overtime pay to the police and fire departments, according to \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/View-Powerpoint-Presentation-1.pdf\">the city’s finance department (PDF)\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.spur.org/news/2025-01-24/what-it-will-take-close-oaklands-structural-deficit-part-1-how-we-got-here\">SPUR\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031577\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031577\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00034-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Larisa Casillas, with the budget advisory commission, addresses Oakland residents at an educational workshop on March 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>City officials have already made a series of cuts, including browning out two fire stations, eliminating police academies, cutting contracts with nonprofits, restricting police overtime and laying off dozens of employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those cuts have already made a $42 million dent in the current deficit, according to the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, more cost-saving measures are on the horizon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You got a lot of people feeling uneasy because their jobs are at stake, a lot of services are being cut,” said Troy Dotson, a city employee who works on capital improvement projects in the city’s libraries and attended the workshop to hear how city officials are handling the deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It affects people in the community, as well as myself, working in this city,” Dotson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031692\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12031692 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_Oakland-Budget_DMB_00041-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Anna Mathai, vice president and co-chair of Voter Services at the League of Women Voters, leads a discussion on Oakland’s biennial budget process during an educational workshop on March 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The city is also banking on voters approving a sales tax measure that will be on the ballot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Measure A would increase the city’s sales tax by 0.5%, bringing it in line with nearby cities like Alameda, Hayward, Albany and San Leandro. If it passes, it would generate an estimated $21 million in city revenue in the first year and \u003ca href=\"https://cao-94612.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/documents/April2025-Ballot-Measure-A-General-Sales-Tax_2025-02-21-005439_lhyb.pdf\">$30 million in (PDF) \u003c/a>subsequent years, according to the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins has said the city is building the budget on the assumption that the measure passes. A spokesperson for the city administrator’s office said the city is building two drafts of the budget — one that assumes the measure passes and another that assumes it does not pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/View-Budget-Resident-Survey-MAIN.pdf\">survey by the city’s Budget Advisory Commission (PDF)\u003c/a> found 44% of residents polled opposed the tax increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031055\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12031055 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00002-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An Oakland resident reviews a pamphlet detailing the city’s budget basics on March 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“City Council needs to make sure that taxes are collected and that departments that function to collect revenue and taxes are actually doing that before asking residents for more money,” said one unnamed resident who responded to the survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would like to see council members EFFECTIVELY manage a budget from a city that has significant wealth,” said another. “There is no reason Oakland should be bankrupt while no improvements to quality of life are being made. Where is the money going?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland isn’t the only city facing a budget deficit. \u003ca href=\"https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13923442&GUID=A89BE21A-9AE4-45D9-9903-324C77B96999\">San José\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://sfethics.org/commission/budget\">San Francisco\u003c/a> are also projecting budget shortfalls over the next two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, questions around whether mismanagement has played a role in Oakland have loomed in recent months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland paid over $1.6 million in excess overtime to employees in the Department of Transportation and Public Works Department over a six-year period, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandauditor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/20250202_FLSA-Investigation-Report_FINAL.pdf\">a city auditor report released on Feb. 20 (PDF)\u003c/a>. The investigation found the city’s payroll division used an unauthorized formula to calculate overtime that resulted in higher payments than what federal law requires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031060\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031060\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_OAKLAND-BUDGET_DMB_00043-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland residents speak to each other during an educational workshop about Oakland’s biennial budget process. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Auditor Michael Houston said he had no reason to believe the formula wasn’t used to pay employees in other departments and has called for a city-wide review. In a March 10 email to KQED, Houston said his office hadn’t heard anything from the city administration about the investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/View-Supplemental-Report-4172024-2.pdf\">Oakland’s finance department reported (PDF)\u003c/a> that thousands of businesses had not paid taxes since 2021, potentially costing the city as much as $34 million in lost revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Lee and Taylor have said they would conduct an audit of the city’s finances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>This may be a turning point, where people are fed up and say enough is enough. We are just not getting the return on our money,” Matthai said. “I don’t know about mismanagement. I don’t know. I’m trying to understand more as to where this is, but it just feels like this could be a turning point, and we are really in trouble.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Due to the timing of the election and the budget process, it’s unclear exactly how much direct input the new mayor will have on the new budget.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Voting in the mayoral election ends April 15, but the registrar has thirty days to certify the results. Meanwhile, the mayor has until May 1 to present a budget to the city council, which has until June 30 to make alternative proposals and approve the final budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new mayor may be able to have an impact on the process in other ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a charter that’s all about influence, not about power,” said former Oakland City Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney. “So you’re going to want to make sure you have good relationships with council members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would think that the top two contenders for this seat will be leveraging their existing relationships to influence this process,” McElhaney said. “I think that they’ll be weighing in on those reports and speaking to council members and trying to earn the support of the council.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would think that they and their staff are going to be attending the public budget meetings, the budget hearings, that they would be asking critical questions, that they are forming allies on this council,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, all Oakland City Council members have endorsed Lee for mayor, with the exception of Councilmember Noel Gallo, who has said he does not plan to endorse a candidate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With election day just weeks away, the window that candidates have to make their case to voters is quickly closing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Good said she’ll be looking to hear from candidates what specific plans they have to solve the budget deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is it all sunshine and roses?” Good said. “Or is somebody really going to go at it and say — we have a real problem here and here’s what I think we should do?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Voters in Oakland will face a big decision in April. A special election will determine who will be the city’s mayor following the recall of Sheng Thao last year. The candidates include former Congresswoman Barbara Lee and former City Councilmember Loren Taylor, who almost beat Sheng Thao three years ago. They participated alongside several other candidates in a forum Wednesday night. Scott, Marisa, Guy and KQED’s Alex Hall discuss the issues facing the next mayor and what’s at stake for Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Voters in Oakland will face a big decision in April. A special election will determine who will be the city’s mayor following the recall of Sheng Thao last year. The candidates include former Congresswoman Barbara Lee and former City Councilmember Loren Taylor, who almost beat Sheng Thao three years ago. They participated alongside several other candidates in a forum Wednesday night. Scott, Marisa, Guy and KQED’s Alex Hall discuss the issues facing the next mayor and what’s at stake for Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Candidates for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland’s\u003c/a> next mayor and an open City Council seat shared their visions for the city’s future at a forum in downtown Oakland on Tuesday night. The discussion focused on housing development, transit and public safety, with some sparring among mayoral candidates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The special election, set for April 15, became necessary after voters recalled former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a> and elected former District 2 Oakland City Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors last November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the mayoral portion of the forum, three of the seven candidates — former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/barbara-lee\">Rep. Barbara Lee\u003c/a>, former Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor and former city staffer Renia Webb — gave their perspectives on the state of the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked about her plan for combatting homelessness and drug addiction, Lee said she would favor looking into piloting a universal basic income program for unsheltered residents needing jobs. She also expressed an interest in reviewing Oakland’s city charter, which outlines a hybrid government that critics say \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/20/opinion-broken-oakland-needs-more-than-a-new-mayor/\">strips the mayor\u003c/a> of the ability to enact any real agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The structural issues here in Oakland didn’t just start as it relates to the budget,” Lee said. “I believe we need to have a charter review. Oakland’s not a strong mayor form of government, nor a strong city administrator; we need the citizens, the residents, the voters of Oakland to decide — do they want a strong mayor or do they want another form of government?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027698\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12027698 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Rep. Barbara Lee addresses the room, as Loren Taylor (center) and Renia Webb observe, at a public forum hosted by Greenbelt Alliance, Housing Action Coalition and East Bay for Everyone, in downtown Oakland, California, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. All are running for mayor.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lee has previously said she would bring experience and unity to the city following more than 25 years in Congress. She reiterated that message to reporters ahead of the mayoral candidate panel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oakland needs somebody who can bring the city together, and I have been able to form coalitions and alliances and really have the ability to bring public and private partnerships to Oakland because that’s what we need,” Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his opening remarks, Taylor said unity without action doesn’t deliver the results Oakland needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oakland is broken,” Taylor, who narrowly lost to Thao in the 2022 mayoral election, said. “We have a lot of challenges here. A lot of complex challenges that have been around for decades. Doing the same old, same old, and expecting different results is the definition of insanity, and it is not going to get us where we need to go.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12025747 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00457-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In January, Thao was indicted on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022612/ex-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-3-others-charged-with-bribery-sprawling-corruption-probe\">federal bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges\u003c/a> in what federal prosecutors have described as an alleged corruption scheme involving her longtime boyfriend, Andre Jones; the CEO of Oakland’s curbside recycling provider, David Duong; and his son, Andy Duong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Webb, who was Thao’s chief of staff while she was on the city council and continued working for her during her transition to the mayor’s office in late 2022, has alleged she witnessed unethical behavior on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to have a complete overhaul,” Webb said. “We’ve been wasting millions, hundreds of millions of dollars these last couple of years. Faking. Putting bandaids. Time’s up on that game.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point, Webb seized an opportunity to criticize Taylor’s involvement in a task force launched in 2020 that intended to reconstruct the city’s public safety system and brainstorm alternative responses to calls for service. A goal of the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force, which Taylor co-led with then-councilmember Bas, was to \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/news/oakland-launches-new-task-force-to-reimagine-public-safety-first-meeting-convenes-tonight-at-630-pm\">slash Oakland Police Department funding\u003c/a> by 50%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027695\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12027695 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Loren Taylor is interviewed by the media at a public forum hosted by Greenbelt Alliance, Housing Action Coalition and East Bay for Everyone, in downtown Oakland, California, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You see the impacts that crime has on our city,” Webb said. “And it’s interesting that Mr. Loren Taylor would bring up Reimagining because part of that that he authored was to cut our police force by 50%. That’s not acceptable or OK. Public safety is on our mind, and we’re not going to play with it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taylor did not address the criticism during the forum. In a follow-up interview, he called the allegation that he wanted to defund the police “completely false.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I did agree to co-chair a committee with Councilmember Bas. She was pushing for the 50%, and I agreed to it because I was able to insert the fact that we would protect public safety above all else,” Taylor said. “That’s why we didn’t actually get to a reduction goal, because of my fight to ensure that safety of residents was No. 1.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never agreed to that budget reduction. I agreed to allowing it to be a goal, among others,” Taylor added. “That was the compromise that we needed in order to move the entire city and dialogue forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027694\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027694\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Left to right) Kara Murray-Badal, Charlene Wang and Kanitha Matoury discuss issues facing voters as they run for a vacant City Council seat at a public forum hosted by Greenbelt Alliance, Housing Action Coalition and East Bay for Everyone, in downtown Oakland, California, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Three of the candidates vying for Bas’ former seat, including downtown business owner Kanitha Matoury, EPA civil rights advisor Charlene Wang and housing policy director Kara Murray-Badal, answered questions about bike lanes, the possibility of a new BART station in the district and what they would do to ensure housing availability and make streets in Oakland feel safer. District 2 includes the Chinatown, Lakeshore and San Antonio neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I almost don’t recognize Oakland’s Chinatown today,” said Wang, who ran unsuccessfully for the at-large city council seat in last year’s election. “It is so different. There is not that sense of safety. It’s a ghost town. The businesses are boarded up at 3 p.m. And so that is a lot of what drives me is just how much Oakland and the whole district has changed in many ways.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12027749 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-06-KQED-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Murray-Badal, the director of Housing Venture Lab, an accelerator that supports entrepreneurs with ideas for how to make housing more equitable, said the possibility of making San Antonio another transit hub was promising.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think, obviously, we have the Brooklyn Basin area, which is amazing, and building more housing there has been really exciting, but there is no good transit in and out of it, and so, we’ve lost the transit-oriented part of that,” Murray-Badal said. “And so I think there are so many opportunities across the district to do housing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matoury, who owns Howden Market, an artisan grocery shop in downtown Oakland, said she thinks the city is at a critical point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need adults in the house,” Matoury said. “We don’t want a bunch of children with credit cards running around, charging things up. You want someone with a little life experience. The next couple years, I’m not going to lie, it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be tough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three additional candidates for the seat — property manager Paula F.L. Thomas, Rev. Kenneth Anderson and Harold Lowe, a financial planner and consultant who ran for the seat in 2022 — did not attend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A representative of Greenbelt Alliance told KQED the group reached out to every candidate who had filed a statement of organization, known as Form 410, by Jan. 31 and had contact information on their website.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A special election, prompted by the recall of former Mayor Sheng Thao and the election of former District 2 Oakland City Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, is scheduled for April.",
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"title": "Oakland Candidates for Mayor, City Council Speak at Forum Ahead of April Special Election | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Candidates for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland’s\u003c/a> next mayor and an open City Council seat shared their visions for the city’s future at a forum in downtown Oakland on Tuesday night. The discussion focused on housing development, transit and public safety, with some sparring among mayoral candidates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The special election, set for April 15, became necessary after voters recalled former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a> and elected former District 2 Oakland City Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors last November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the mayoral portion of the forum, three of the seven candidates — former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/barbara-lee\">Rep. Barbara Lee\u003c/a>, former Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor and former city staffer Renia Webb — gave their perspectives on the state of the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked about her plan for combatting homelessness and drug addiction, Lee said she would favor looking into piloting a universal basic income program for unsheltered residents needing jobs. She also expressed an interest in reviewing Oakland’s city charter, which outlines a hybrid government that critics say \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/20/opinion-broken-oakland-needs-more-than-a-new-mayor/\">strips the mayor\u003c/a> of the ability to enact any real agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The structural issues here in Oakland didn’t just start as it relates to the budget,” Lee said. “I believe we need to have a charter review. Oakland’s not a strong mayor form of government, nor a strong city administrator; we need the citizens, the residents, the voters of Oakland to decide — do they want a strong mayor or do they want another form of government?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027698\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12027698 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_02196-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Rep. Barbara Lee addresses the room, as Loren Taylor (center) and Renia Webb observe, at a public forum hosted by Greenbelt Alliance, Housing Action Coalition and East Bay for Everyone, in downtown Oakland, California, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. All are running for mayor.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lee has previously said she would bring experience and unity to the city following more than 25 years in Congress. She reiterated that message to reporters ahead of the mayoral candidate panel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oakland needs somebody who can bring the city together, and I have been able to form coalitions and alliances and really have the ability to bring public and private partnerships to Oakland because that’s what we need,” Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his opening remarks, Taylor said unity without action doesn’t deliver the results Oakland needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oakland is broken,” Taylor, who narrowly lost to Thao in the 2022 mayoral election, said. “We have a lot of challenges here. A lot of complex challenges that have been around for decades. Doing the same old, same old, and expecting different results is the definition of insanity, and it is not going to get us where we need to go.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In January, Thao was indicted on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022612/ex-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-3-others-charged-with-bribery-sprawling-corruption-probe\">federal bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges\u003c/a> in what federal prosecutors have described as an alleged corruption scheme involving her longtime boyfriend, Andre Jones; the CEO of Oakland’s curbside recycling provider, David Duong; and his son, Andy Duong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Webb, who was Thao’s chief of staff while she was on the city council and continued working for her during her transition to the mayor’s office in late 2022, has alleged she witnessed unethical behavior on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to have a complete overhaul,” Webb said. “We’ve been wasting millions, hundreds of millions of dollars these last couple of years. Faking. Putting bandaids. Time’s up on that game.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point, Webb seized an opportunity to criticize Taylor’s involvement in a task force launched in 2020 that intended to reconstruct the city’s public safety system and brainstorm alternative responses to calls for service. A goal of the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force, which Taylor co-led with then-councilmember Bas, was to \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/news/oakland-launches-new-task-force-to-reimagine-public-safety-first-meeting-convenes-tonight-at-630-pm\">slash Oakland Police Department funding\u003c/a> by 50%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027695\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12027695 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00156-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Loren Taylor is interviewed by the media at a public forum hosted by Greenbelt Alliance, Housing Action Coalition and East Bay for Everyone, in downtown Oakland, California, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You see the impacts that crime has on our city,” Webb said. “And it’s interesting that Mr. Loren Taylor would bring up Reimagining because part of that that he authored was to cut our police force by 50%. That’s not acceptable or OK. Public safety is on our mind, and we’re not going to play with it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taylor did not address the criticism during the forum. In a follow-up interview, he called the allegation that he wanted to defund the police “completely false.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I did agree to co-chair a committee with Councilmember Bas. She was pushing for the 50%, and I agreed to it because I was able to insert the fact that we would protect public safety above all else,” Taylor said. “That’s why we didn’t actually get to a reduction goal, because of my fight to ensure that safety of residents was No. 1.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never agreed to that budget reduction. I agreed to allowing it to be a goal, among others,” Taylor added. “That was the compromise that we needed in order to move the entire city and dialogue forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027694\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027694\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250218_Oak-Mayoral_DMB_00029-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Left to right) Kara Murray-Badal, Charlene Wang and Kanitha Matoury discuss issues facing voters as they run for a vacant City Council seat at a public forum hosted by Greenbelt Alliance, Housing Action Coalition and East Bay for Everyone, in downtown Oakland, California, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Three of the candidates vying for Bas’ former seat, including downtown business owner Kanitha Matoury, EPA civil rights advisor Charlene Wang and housing policy director Kara Murray-Badal, answered questions about bike lanes, the possibility of a new BART station in the district and what they would do to ensure housing availability and make streets in Oakland feel safer. District 2 includes the Chinatown, Lakeshore and San Antonio neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I almost don’t recognize Oakland’s Chinatown today,” said Wang, who ran unsuccessfully for the at-large city council seat in last year’s election. “It is so different. There is not that sense of safety. It’s a ghost town. The businesses are boarded up at 3 p.m. And so that is a lot of what drives me is just how much Oakland and the whole district has changed in many ways.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Murray-Badal, the director of Housing Venture Lab, an accelerator that supports entrepreneurs with ideas for how to make housing more equitable, said the possibility of making San Antonio another transit hub was promising.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think, obviously, we have the Brooklyn Basin area, which is amazing, and building more housing there has been really exciting, but there is no good transit in and out of it, and so, we’ve lost the transit-oriented part of that,” Murray-Badal said. “And so I think there are so many opportunities across the district to do housing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matoury, who owns Howden Market, an artisan grocery shop in downtown Oakland, said she thinks the city is at a critical point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need adults in the house,” Matoury said. “We don’t want a bunch of children with credit cards running around, charging things up. You want someone with a little life experience. The next couple years, I’m not going to lie, it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be tough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three additional candidates for the seat — property manager Paula F.L. Thomas, Rev. Kenneth Anderson and Harold Lowe, a financial planner and consultant who ran for the seat in 2022 — did not attend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A representative of Greenbelt Alliance told KQED the group reached out to every candidate who had filed a statement of organization, known as Form 410, by Jan. 31 and had contact information on their website.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Campaign finance records show former East Bay Rep. and Oakland mayoral candidate \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/barbara-lee\">Barbara Lee\u003c/a> received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations during her years in Congress from a family whose members stand accused in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022612/ex-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-3-others-charged-with-bribery-sprawling-corruption-probe\">federal indictment of bribing Oakland’s former mayor\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David Duong and his son, Andy Duong, were charged on Jan. 9 in \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/media/1385311/dl?inline\">an eight-count indictment\u003c/a> with bribery, conspiracy and honest services mail and wire fraud in an alleged pay-to-play scheme between the Duongs, former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a>, who was recalled in last year’s election, and her boyfriend, Andre Jones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David Duong is the CEO of California Waste Solutions, Oakland’s curbside recycling provider. The company has a contract with the city of Oakland through 2035.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee, who is running to be mayor of Oakland in an April 15 special election, served in Congress for more than 25 years before retiring and announcing her candidacy last month. A spokesperson for Lee, who opened her campaign headquarters in downtown Oakland on Saturday, said she planned to donate the most recent contributions from David Duong to Meals on Wheels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Barbara Lee has zero tolerance for any pay to play or special interest influence, has denounced these disturbing allegations, and has never been involved in any City vendor selection or contract issuance — and she fully supports strengthening City ethics practices,” Bilen Mesfin, a spokesperson for Lee’s mayoral campaign, told KQED Feb. 6. “As her final congressional term has reached its natural conclusion, her previous congressional accounts are now closed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12026401\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12026401 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Repr. Barbara Lee speaks to the crowd as Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, right, addresses the room at the grand opening of her campaign headquarters on Broadway in downtown Oakland, California, on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Over the past two decades, the Duongs have been prolific donors to political campaigns and elected officials at the local, state and federal levels. Some politicians have returned those donations as an FBI investigation involving the Duongs has come into focus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal campaign finance data show that since 1998, David Duong, Andy Duong and other members of the Duong family have contributed at least $66,250 to Lee. Most recently, David Duong contributed $5,000 to Lee’s unsuccessful run for Senate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As for the $5000 donated to her senate campaign in 2023, Barbara Lee is donating that to Meals on Wheels,” Mesfin said in a follow-up email on Feb. 7, hours before Lee’s campaign launch in downtown Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a room full of supporters at her new campaign headquarters on Saturday, Lee spoke of regaining public trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve got to make sure that all of the issues around ethics and transparency, the gaps are closed in this city. Because we have to restore trust and confidence with our residents,” Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991432\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11991432\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. postal inspectors check documents at a home tied to David Duong, one of the multiple properties searched by law enforcement that included residences to members of a politically connected family who run the citys contracted recycling company, California Waste Solutions, in Oakland on June 20, 2024. \u003ccite>(Ray Chavez/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Campaign finance records released so far do not show Lee has received donations from the Duongs during her run for mayor, and the past donations themselves are not an indication of wrongdoing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would say that the Duongs are long-standing donors to Lee, often giving at the maximum allowed,” said Brendan Glavin, director of insights at OpenSecrets, which tracks money in politics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Glavin reviewed campaign finance data for Barbara Lee’s political campaigns since 1998 at KQED’s request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal election finance documents show that Lee’s congressional campaign committee was \u003ca href=\"https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/389/202411050300227389/202411050300227389.pdf\">terminated as of November\u003c/a>. However, a committee for Lee’s Senate run, which remains open, had $48,791.98 cash on hand and $91,035.13 in debts as of Dec. 31, according to the most recent data available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors allege that David and Andy Duong financed negative political mailers targeting Thao’s opponents in the 2022 mayoral election and that following the election, the Duongs and a person identified as “co-conspirator 1” paid $95,000 to Jones for a no-show job. The unnamed co-conspirator appears to be local businessman and political operative Mario Juarez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022840\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022840\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andre Jones, longtime partner of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, leaves the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In exchange, Thao allegedly promised to extend the Duongs’ recycling company’s contract with the city, give the Duongs and the co-conspirator influence over city appointments and use public money to purchase housing units from another company owned by the Duongs and the co-conspirator, according to the indictment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/lorenmtaylor/status/1887565988570513462\">post on social media platform X on Thursday\u003c/a>, former Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor, one of Lee’s opponents in the mayor’s race, said the scandal had caused the public to lose trust in Oakland city government and pressed Lee to return the donations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m calling on all East Bay officials — including my opponent in the upcoming special election, Former Congresswoman Barbara Lee — who have received money from the Duong family to donate those funds to charity,” Taylor said. “We must demonstrate to residents that we have learned from these events and that the public can trust us to lead Oakland during the difficult time that lies ahead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to campaign finance records, the Duongs have donated to politicians at almost every level of government for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State campaign finance data show members of the family have contributed often to big-name Democrats like Rob and Mia Bonta, Jerry Brown and Kamala Harris, while David Duong has donated to both Democrats and Republicans at the federal level, including $250,000 to a committee called Trump Victory in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12026374\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12026374\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Rep. Barbara Lee, center right, receives a welcome hug from Oakland District 4 Councilmember Janani Ramachandran at the grand opening of the Barbara Lee Campaign Headquarters on Broadway in downtown Oakland, California, on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 2021, California’s Fair Political Practices Commission produced a report in support of a finding of probable cause alleging that Andy Duong, between at least 2016 and 2018, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991426/oakland-fbi-raids-also-targeted-this-powerful-family-heres-what-we-know\">orchestrated an elaborate campaign contribution laundering scheme\u003c/a> for the benefit of California Waste Solutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report describes how Duong allegedly sought out people to write campaign contribution checks and then reimbursed them with cash to bypass campaign donation limits while CWS had ongoing business with Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the report, Duong allegedly provided committees and candidates with checks at campaign fundraisers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While Duong and CWS concealed the true source of the contributions, Duong ensured the targeted candidates were aware of his commitment to raise money for their campaign by attending candidate fundraisers, bringing individuals to campaign fundraisers, and at times hosting campaign fundraisers,” the report reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The case is still open and under investigation, a spokesperson for FPPC said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12026396\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12026396\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Campaign door hangers are on display at the grand opening of the headquarters for the Barbara Lee campaign headquarters on Broadway in downtown Oakland, California, on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was opened as a joint investigation with the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, which the FBI credited at a January press conference for the initial information that led to the agency’s multiyear investigation of Thao, Jones and the Duongs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, after the FBI raided Thao’s home and three addresses associated with the Duongs and their business, several elected officials returned donations they received from the Duongs, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta returned $155,100 “out of an abundance of caution,” according to then-spokesperson Nathan Click.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>South Bay Congressman Ro Khanna donated $5,800 in contributions from the Duongs to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, Maitri and Community Seva, a spokesperson for the congressman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12022900 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001-1020x681.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for then-Senate candidate Adam Schiff’s campaign \u003ca href=\"https://sanjosespotlight.com/silicon-valley-san-jose-politicians-give-back-donations-following-fbi-raids-david-duong-california-waste-solutions/\">told the \u003cem>San José Spotlight\u003c/em>\u003c/a> last year that “following public news reports, the campaign will be giving $26,000 — the total contributions received from Mr. Duong and his family — to a local nonprofit helping address housing and homelessness.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED’s review of campaign finance records at the city, state and federal level did not uncover documentation of other candidates in the current Oakland mayors’ race receiving donations from the Duongs in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would say that almost anyone else in local politics who wants to reassure their constituents that they are clean and above board should consider doing the same thing,” said Dan Schnur, professor of political communication at USC and UC Berkeley and the former chair of California’s Fair Political Practices Commission. “It sounds like the Lee campaign decided that avoiding unnecessary bad publicity is more valuable than the $5,000. That is a wise decision.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Numerous photos posted to Andy Duong’s Instagram account show him posing with major Democratic politicians at the state and federal level, including Hillary Clinton, Rob Bonta, Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Taylor and Lee also appear in photos posted to the account. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/BsXKPmcAvGN/?img_index=3\">Jan. 7, 2019 post\u003c/a>, Thao, Taylor and former Oakland City Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas, now an Alameda County supervisor, appear in selfies with Andy Duong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was when the three of us — Nikki Bas, myself and Sheng Thao — were inaugurated. That was when we were first sworn into office as new council members,” Taylor said. “So there was a lot of photos being taken with a lot of people that I didn’t know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taylor said that after Bonta returned donations from the Duongs, his staff reviewed their campaign financial records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As far as I know, I have never received any financial contributions from the Duong family,” Taylor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Lee’s campaign did not respond to questions about the extent and nature of her relationship with members of the Duong family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/BVvmt3Zgf3f/?hl=en\">June 24, 2017\u003c/a> photo, Andy Duong appears next to Lee at her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Six days later, campaign finance records show, he contributed $2,700 to Lee’s reelection campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Lee, who represented the East Bay in Congress for 25 years, opened her mayoral campaign headquarters in downtown Oakland on Saturday. ",
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"title": "Barbara Lee to Return $5,000 in Donations From Family Linked to Oakland Bribery Scandal | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Campaign finance records show former East Bay Rep. and Oakland mayoral candidate \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/barbara-lee\">Barbara Lee\u003c/a> received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations during her years in Congress from a family whose members stand accused in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022612/ex-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-3-others-charged-with-bribery-sprawling-corruption-probe\">federal indictment of bribing Oakland’s former mayor\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David Duong and his son, Andy Duong, were charged on Jan. 9 in \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/media/1385311/dl?inline\">an eight-count indictment\u003c/a> with bribery, conspiracy and honest services mail and wire fraud in an alleged pay-to-play scheme between the Duongs, former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a>, who was recalled in last year’s election, and her boyfriend, Andre Jones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David Duong is the CEO of California Waste Solutions, Oakland’s curbside recycling provider. The company has a contract with the city of Oakland through 2035.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee, who is running to be mayor of Oakland in an April 15 special election, served in Congress for more than 25 years before retiring and announcing her candidacy last month. A spokesperson for Lee, who opened her campaign headquarters in downtown Oakland on Saturday, said she planned to donate the most recent contributions from David Duong to Meals on Wheels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Barbara Lee has zero tolerance for any pay to play or special interest influence, has denounced these disturbing allegations, and has never been involved in any City vendor selection or contract issuance — and she fully supports strengthening City ethics practices,” Bilen Mesfin, a spokesperson for Lee’s mayoral campaign, told KQED Feb. 6. “As her final congressional term has reached its natural conclusion, her previous congressional accounts are now closed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12026401\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12026401 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00494-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Repr. Barbara Lee speaks to the crowd as Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, right, addresses the room at the grand opening of her campaign headquarters on Broadway in downtown Oakland, California, on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Over the past two decades, the Duongs have been prolific donors to political campaigns and elected officials at the local, state and federal levels. Some politicians have returned those donations as an FBI investigation involving the Duongs has come into focus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal campaign finance data show that since 1998, David Duong, Andy Duong and other members of the Duong family have contributed at least $66,250 to Lee. Most recently, David Duong contributed $5,000 to Lee’s unsuccessful run for Senate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As for the $5000 donated to her senate campaign in 2023, Barbara Lee is donating that to Meals on Wheels,” Mesfin said in a follow-up email on Feb. 7, hours before Lee’s campaign launch in downtown Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a room full of supporters at her new campaign headquarters on Saturday, Lee spoke of regaining public trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve got to make sure that all of the issues around ethics and transparency, the gaps are closed in this city. Because we have to restore trust and confidence with our residents,” Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991432\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11991432\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. postal inspectors check documents at a home tied to David Duong, one of the multiple properties searched by law enforcement that included residences to members of a politically connected family who run the citys contracted recycling company, California Waste Solutions, in Oakland on June 20, 2024. \u003ccite>(Ray Chavez/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Campaign finance records released so far do not show Lee has received donations from the Duongs during her run for mayor, and the past donations themselves are not an indication of wrongdoing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would say that the Duongs are long-standing donors to Lee, often giving at the maximum allowed,” said Brendan Glavin, director of insights at OpenSecrets, which tracks money in politics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Glavin reviewed campaign finance data for Barbara Lee’s political campaigns since 1998 at KQED’s request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal election finance documents show that Lee’s congressional campaign committee was \u003ca href=\"https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/389/202411050300227389/202411050300227389.pdf\">terminated as of November\u003c/a>. However, a committee for Lee’s Senate run, which remains open, had $48,791.98 cash on hand and $91,035.13 in debts as of Dec. 31, according to the most recent data available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors allege that David and Andy Duong financed negative political mailers targeting Thao’s opponents in the 2022 mayoral election and that following the election, the Duongs and a person identified as “co-conspirator 1” paid $95,000 to Jones for a no-show job. The unnamed co-conspirator appears to be local businessman and political operative Mario Juarez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022840\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022840\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00009-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andre Jones, longtime partner of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, leaves the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In exchange, Thao allegedly promised to extend the Duongs’ recycling company’s contract with the city, give the Duongs and the co-conspirator influence over city appointments and use public money to purchase housing units from another company owned by the Duongs and the co-conspirator, according to the indictment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/lorenmtaylor/status/1887565988570513462\">post on social media platform X on Thursday\u003c/a>, former Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor, one of Lee’s opponents in the mayor’s race, said the scandal had caused the public to lose trust in Oakland city government and pressed Lee to return the donations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m calling on all East Bay officials — including my opponent in the upcoming special election, Former Congresswoman Barbara Lee — who have received money from the Duong family to donate those funds to charity,” Taylor said. “We must demonstrate to residents that we have learned from these events and that the public can trust us to lead Oakland during the difficult time that lies ahead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to campaign finance records, the Duongs have donated to politicians at almost every level of government for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State campaign finance data show members of the family have contributed often to big-name Democrats like Rob and Mia Bonta, Jerry Brown and Kamala Harris, while David Duong has donated to both Democrats and Republicans at the federal level, including $250,000 to a committee called Trump Victory in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12026374\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12026374\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00434-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Rep. Barbara Lee, center right, receives a welcome hug from Oakland District 4 Councilmember Janani Ramachandran at the grand opening of the Barbara Lee Campaign Headquarters on Broadway in downtown Oakland, California, on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 2021, California’s Fair Political Practices Commission produced a report in support of a finding of probable cause alleging that Andy Duong, between at least 2016 and 2018, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991426/oakland-fbi-raids-also-targeted-this-powerful-family-heres-what-we-know\">orchestrated an elaborate campaign contribution laundering scheme\u003c/a> for the benefit of California Waste Solutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report describes how Duong allegedly sought out people to write campaign contribution checks and then reimbursed them with cash to bypass campaign donation limits while CWS had ongoing business with Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the report, Duong allegedly provided committees and candidates with checks at campaign fundraisers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While Duong and CWS concealed the true source of the contributions, Duong ensured the targeted candidates were aware of his commitment to raise money for their campaign by attending candidate fundraisers, bringing individuals to campaign fundraisers, and at times hosting campaign fundraisers,” the report reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The case is still open and under investigation, a spokesperson for FPPC said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12026396\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12026396\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250208_Barbara-Lee_DMB_00076-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Campaign door hangers are on display at the grand opening of the headquarters for the Barbara Lee campaign headquarters on Broadway in downtown Oakland, California, on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was opened as a joint investigation with the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, which the FBI credited at a January press conference for the initial information that led to the agency’s multiyear investigation of Thao, Jones and the Duongs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, after the FBI raided Thao’s home and three addresses associated with the Duongs and their business, several elected officials returned donations they received from the Duongs, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta returned $155,100 “out of an abundance of caution,” according to then-spokesperson Nathan Click.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>South Bay Congressman Ro Khanna donated $5,800 in contributions from the Duongs to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, Maitri and Community Seva, a spokesperson for the congressman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for then-Senate candidate Adam Schiff’s campaign \u003ca href=\"https://sanjosespotlight.com/silicon-valley-san-jose-politicians-give-back-donations-following-fbi-raids-david-duong-california-waste-solutions/\">told the \u003cem>San José Spotlight\u003c/em>\u003c/a> last year that “following public news reports, the campaign will be giving $26,000 — the total contributions received from Mr. Duong and his family — to a local nonprofit helping address housing and homelessness.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED’s review of campaign finance records at the city, state and federal level did not uncover documentation of other candidates in the current Oakland mayors’ race receiving donations from the Duongs in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would say that almost anyone else in local politics who wants to reassure their constituents that they are clean and above board should consider doing the same thing,” said Dan Schnur, professor of political communication at USC and UC Berkeley and the former chair of California’s Fair Political Practices Commission. “It sounds like the Lee campaign decided that avoiding unnecessary bad publicity is more valuable than the $5,000. That is a wise decision.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Numerous photos posted to Andy Duong’s Instagram account show him posing with major Democratic politicians at the state and federal level, including Hillary Clinton, Rob Bonta, Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Taylor and Lee also appear in photos posted to the account. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/BsXKPmcAvGN/?img_index=3\">Jan. 7, 2019 post\u003c/a>, Thao, Taylor and former Oakland City Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas, now an Alameda County supervisor, appear in selfies with Andy Duong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was when the three of us — Nikki Bas, myself and Sheng Thao — were inaugurated. That was when we were first sworn into office as new council members,” Taylor said. “So there was a lot of photos being taken with a lot of people that I didn’t know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taylor said that after Bonta returned donations from the Duongs, his staff reviewed their campaign financial records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As far as I know, I have never received any financial contributions from the Duong family,” Taylor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Lee’s campaign did not respond to questions about the extent and nature of her relationship with members of the Duong family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/BVvmt3Zgf3f/?hl=en\">June 24, 2017\u003c/a> photo, Andy Duong appears next to Lee at her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Six days later, campaign finance records show, he contributed $2,700 to Lee’s reelection campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Oakland Officials React to Indictment of Former Mayor Thao in Corruption Case",
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"content": "\u003cp>Former and current Oakland officials expressed a combination of shock, hope and cynicism at the announcement Friday that the city’s recently recalled mayor was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022612/ex-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-3-others-charged-with-bribery-sprawling-corruption-probe\">indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges\u003c/a>, with four who are campaigning to replace her promising a brighter future for the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The news that we got this morning was absolutely a blow to public trust at a time where trust is already so marginally slim,” said Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, adding that she was disappointed but not completely surprised.\u003cbr>\n“Unfortunately, this is probably not the first time we’ve seen corruption at city hall and pay-to-play politics really define some of our leadership here in the city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a>, her longtime romantic partner Andre Jones, and David and Andy Duong, the father and son of a politically-connected East Bay family that owns the city’s recycling provider, California Waste Solutions, were charged Jan. 9 in an eight-count indictment that federal authorities announced publicly Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors allege Thao and Jones were engaged in a corruption scandal with the Duongs that involved promises of extending the city’s contract with California Waste Solutions; committing the city of Oakland to purchase housing units from the Duongs’ company; and appointing city officials selected by the Duongs, in exchange for monetary compensation and paying for negative mailers targeting Thao’s opponents in the 2022 mayoral election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors charged Thao and Jones each with six counts of conspiracy, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud and honest services wire fraud, honest services mail fraud and honest services wire fraud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David and Andy Duong were each charged with five counts of conspiracy, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud and honest services wire fraud, honest services mail fraud and honest services wire fraud. Andy Duong was charged with giving a false statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials with the FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation announced the charges in a Friday press conference in San Francisco.[aside postID=news_12022612 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00005.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao and the other defendants appeared for arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandice A. Westmoore at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown Oakland. All four pleaded not guilty and were released on bond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao’s attorney, Jeffrey Tsai, speaking to reporters outside the courthouse afterwards, said the indictment did not serve the ends of justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The indictment itself is chock-full of allegations, but it is not chock-full of evidence and that is what we are going to prove in the course of our defense in this case,” Tsai said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jones appeared in court alongside attorney Walter Riley, who said Jones plans to request an attorney be appointed for him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attorneys for David and Andy Duong denied the allegations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have kept quiet despite the media frenzy of the past months in the hope that the government would correctly come to see through objective investigation that the allegations are baseless, and being fanned by nothing more than gossip and supposition stitched together by the fabrications and delusions of those who lack all fundamental credibility,” said Winston Chan, Doug Sprague and Erik Babcock, lawyers representing Andy Duong, in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ed Swanson and August Gugelmann, said their client, David Duong, will vigorously defend the allegations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He looks forward to prevailing in this case and continuing his decades of service, philanthropy and devotion to our community and the Bay Area,” they said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Renia Webb, Thao’s former chief of staff while she was on the Oakland City Council and who worked for her during her transition to mayor, told KQED she testified before the federal grand jury in early December.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m just extremely proud of Oakland,” Webb said. “We as a city said enough is enough. We voted for the recall, and today is confirmation that we did the right thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We said we wanted different. Change. We want a different tomorrow for Oakland,” Webb, who is running for Oakland mayor, continued. “This is what today means. It’s like a rebirth and a reset for our city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022808\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022808\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Loren Taylor, a former District 6 Councilmember and current candidate for Oakland mayor, hugs a supporter outside of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland on Jan. 17, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While the indictment brought to light a months-long FBI investigation of public corruption in Oakland, some said it confirmed why many Oakland residents have become distrustful and disillusioned with the city’s leadership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to take a lot to restore the trust so that we can start to rebuild, come together and get on top of these challenges,” said Loren Taylor, a former city council member and current candidate for mayor, standing outside the courthouse following Thao’s arraignment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oakland’s progress has been undermined by having leaders in place that are not focused on the priorities that Oaklanders have on improving quality of life here. And instead have been pursuing personal gain or supporting those who have backed them, either financially or politically.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an emailed statement, former East Bay Congresswoman Barbara Lee called the allegations “devastating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There should be no tolerance whatsoever for secret pay-to-play schemes that erode the public trust,” said Lee, who recently announced she is running for mayor. “We need a fresh start in Oakland. Our local governance and political system must be beyond reproach. Every Oaklander deserves no less.”[aside postID=news_12015215 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241015-OAKLANDCHINATOWNTHAORECALL-24-BL-KQED-1.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayoral candidate Mindy Pechenuk was also at the courthouse Friday with campaign flyers. She said she was glad Thao was indicted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s about time we clean up the corruption that’s been decades in this city and actually get new leadership, which is why I’m running for mayor of Oakland,” Pechenuk said. “I was part of the recall effort right from the very beginning, from day one. Because I knew the corruption that existed. I knew her leadership was failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This city is suffering, it’s being destroyed because of pay-to-play, because of the leadership that has gone along with all these dirty deals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a Friday press conference, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who in the past received political donations from the Duongs, said Oakland was “obviously under some difficult times and challenges,” pointing to public safety and homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe that everyone should be following the law and that our elected officials certainly should be held to the highest standard,” Bonta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/rob-bonta-viridis-oakland-19789139.php\">returned\u003c/a> some of those donations last year after the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991426/oakland-fbi-raids-also-targeted-this-powerful-family-heres-what-we-know\">FBI raided the Duong family’s homes and business\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, her longtime partner and two members of a family that owns California Waste Solutions, were indicted on bribery, conspiracy charges. ",
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"title": "Oakland Officials React to Indictment of Former Mayor Thao in Corruption Case | KQED",
"description": "Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, her longtime partner and two members of a family that owns California Waste Solutions, were indicted on bribery, conspiracy charges. ",
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"headline": "Oakland Officials React to Indictment of Former Mayor Thao in Corruption Case",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Former and current Oakland officials expressed a combination of shock, hope and cynicism at the announcement Friday that the city’s recently recalled mayor was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022612/ex-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-3-others-charged-with-bribery-sprawling-corruption-probe\">indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges\u003c/a>, with four who are campaigning to replace her promising a brighter future for the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The news that we got this morning was absolutely a blow to public trust at a time where trust is already so marginally slim,” said Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, adding that she was disappointed but not completely surprised.\u003cbr>\n“Unfortunately, this is probably not the first time we’ve seen corruption at city hall and pay-to-play politics really define some of our leadership here in the city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a>, her longtime romantic partner Andre Jones, and David and Andy Duong, the father and son of a politically-connected East Bay family that owns the city’s recycling provider, California Waste Solutions, were charged Jan. 9 in an eight-count indictment that federal authorities announced publicly Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors allege Thao and Jones were engaged in a corruption scandal with the Duongs that involved promises of extending the city’s contract with California Waste Solutions; committing the city of Oakland to purchase housing units from the Duongs’ company; and appointing city officials selected by the Duongs, in exchange for monetary compensation and paying for negative mailers targeting Thao’s opponents in the 2022 mayoral election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors charged Thao and Jones each with six counts of conspiracy, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud and honest services wire fraud, honest services mail fraud and honest services wire fraud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David and Andy Duong were each charged with five counts of conspiracy, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud and honest services wire fraud, honest services mail fraud and honest services wire fraud. Andy Duong was charged with giving a false statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials with the FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation announced the charges in a Friday press conference in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao and the other defendants appeared for arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandice A. Westmoore at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown Oakland. All four pleaded not guilty and were released on bond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao’s attorney, Jeffrey Tsai, speaking to reporters outside the courthouse afterwards, said the indictment did not serve the ends of justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The indictment itself is chock-full of allegations, but it is not chock-full of evidence and that is what we are going to prove in the course of our defense in this case,” Tsai said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jones appeared in court alongside attorney Walter Riley, who said Jones plans to request an attorney be appointed for him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attorneys for David and Andy Duong denied the allegations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have kept quiet despite the media frenzy of the past months in the hope that the government would correctly come to see through objective investigation that the allegations are baseless, and being fanned by nothing more than gossip and supposition stitched together by the fabrications and delusions of those who lack all fundamental credibility,” said Winston Chan, Doug Sprague and Erik Babcock, lawyers representing Andy Duong, in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ed Swanson and August Gugelmann, said their client, David Duong, will vigorously defend the allegations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He looks forward to prevailing in this case and continuing his decades of service, philanthropy and devotion to our community and the Bay Area,” they said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Renia Webb, Thao’s former chief of staff while she was on the Oakland City Council and who worked for her during her transition to mayor, told KQED she testified before the federal grand jury in early December.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m just extremely proud of Oakland,” Webb said. “We as a city said enough is enough. We voted for the recall, and today is confirmation that we did the right thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We said we wanted different. Change. We want a different tomorrow for Oakland,” Webb, who is running for Oakland mayor, continued. “This is what today means. It’s like a rebirth and a reset for our city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022808\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022808\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00006-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Loren Taylor, a former District 6 Councilmember and current candidate for Oakland mayor, hugs a supporter outside of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland on Jan. 17, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While the indictment brought to light a months-long FBI investigation of public corruption in Oakland, some said it confirmed why many Oakland residents have become distrustful and disillusioned with the city’s leadership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to take a lot to restore the trust so that we can start to rebuild, come together and get on top of these challenges,” said Loren Taylor, a former city council member and current candidate for mayor, standing outside the courthouse following Thao’s arraignment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oakland’s progress has been undermined by having leaders in place that are not focused on the priorities that Oaklanders have on improving quality of life here. And instead have been pursuing personal gain or supporting those who have backed them, either financially or politically.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an emailed statement, former East Bay Congresswoman Barbara Lee called the allegations “devastating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There should be no tolerance whatsoever for secret pay-to-play schemes that erode the public trust,” said Lee, who recently announced she is running for mayor. “We need a fresh start in Oakland. Our local governance and political system must be beyond reproach. Every Oaklander deserves no less.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayoral candidate Mindy Pechenuk was also at the courthouse Friday with campaign flyers. She said she was glad Thao was indicted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s about time we clean up the corruption that’s been decades in this city and actually get new leadership, which is why I’m running for mayor of Oakland,” Pechenuk said. “I was part of the recall effort right from the very beginning, from day one. Because I knew the corruption that existed. I knew her leadership was failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This city is suffering, it’s being destroyed because of pay-to-play, because of the leadership that has gone along with all these dirty deals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a Friday press conference, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who in the past received political donations from the Duongs, said Oakland was “obviously under some difficult times and challenges,” pointing to public safety and homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe that everyone should be following the law and that our elected officials certainly should be held to the highest standard,” Bonta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/rob-bonta-viridis-oakland-19789139.php\">returned\u003c/a> some of those donations last year after the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991426/oakland-fbi-raids-also-targeted-this-powerful-family-heres-what-we-know\">FBI raided the Duong family’s homes and business\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "ex-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-3-others-charged-with-bribery-sprawling-corruption-probe",
"title": "Ex-Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, 3 Others Charged With Bribery in Sprawling Corruption Probe",
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"headTitle": "Ex-Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, 3 Others Charged With Bribery in Sprawling Corruption Probe | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 3:01 p.m. Friday \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Oakland Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Sheng Thao\u003c/a> and three others were charged with eight counts of conspiracy and bribery in a federal courthouse in Oakland on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The arraignment followed the release of a bombshell federal indictment alleging a “pay-to-play” corruption scheme involving Thao, longtime romantic partner Andre Jones and two prominent businessmen affiliated with the city’s recycling contractor, Oakland-based company California Waste Solutions: David and his son Andy Duong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The indictment returned by the grand jury describes a corrupt scheme in which the defendants used bribes, mail fraud, wire fraud and other illegal practices to manipulate and corruptly influence the levers of local government,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins said at a Friday morning press conference, where officials provided more details about their probe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All four defendants pleaded not guilty and were released on bond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fielding questions from the press and some jeering from Thao’s critics on the courthouse steps, Thao’s attorney criticized the role of an unnamed conspirator in the case, who he said provided the evidence central to the FBI’s case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The mayor looks forward to defending herself against these charges, showing that there is, in fact, no evidence to support these charges,” said Jeff Tsai, Thao’s counsel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022841\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022841\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andre Jones, longtime partner of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, leaves the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/indictment-PDF.pdf\">indictment (PDF)\u003c/a> alleges that Thao promised to take official actions as mayor to benefit the Duong family in exchange for benefits for her and Jones. This included a promise of a commitment by the city of Oakland to purchase housing units from the Duong family’s housing company, Evolutionary Homes, to extend contracts with the Duong family’s recycling company, and to appoint senior city officials selected by the Duongs and the unnamed co-conspirator, identified as “a local businessman.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In exchange, the Duongs promised to pay $75,000 to fund negative mailers targeting Thao’s opponents in the mayoral election and to make $300,000 in direct payments for no-show jobs to Jones, according to the indictment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It became clear that the FBI was investigating this network of relationships since the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991242/fbi-agents-raid-home-of-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao\"> FBI raid of Thao’s home\u003c/a> in June, along with properties owned by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991426/oakland-fbi-raids-also-targeted-this-powerful-family-heres-what-we-know\">Duong family\u003c/a>. The Duongs have been the focus of a separate investigation by the Oakland Public Ethics Commission and California Fair Political Practices Commission into an alleged straw donor scheme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Financial records indicate that after Jones began receiving payments from the one unnamed conspirator, he began contributing to his and Thao’s monthly rent payments. Previously, Thao had paid these bills, the indictment said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991432\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11991432 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. postal inspectors check documents at a home tied to David Duong, one of the multiple properties searched by law enforcement that included residences to members of a politically connected family who run the city-contracted recycling company, California Waste Solutions, in Oakland on June 20, 2024. \u003ccite>(Ray Chavez/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Attorneys for both David and Andy Duong said the father and son were innocent of all charges. Andy Duong’s attorney called the allegations “baseless” and stitched together by “gossip and supposition.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Disappointingly, Andy instead is today the most recent in a long line of Asian Americans who unfairly are singled out and forced to pay a price for daring to be active in the political sphere,” Winston Chan, Andy Duong’s counsel, told KQED in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao and Jones will make their next appearance in U.S. District Court on Feb. 6. Jones will return on Jan. 22 to resolve the question of whether he qualifies for appointed counsel after stating that he cannot afford a private attorney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao, Jones and the Duongs face six counts, each carrying a maximum sentence of five to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Andy Duong also faces an additional charge of making a false statement to a government agency, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022786\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022786\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sheng Thao stands outside of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Thao has repeatedly asserted her innocence and said that federal officials had told her attorney she was not \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991658/oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-to-make-first-public-comments-since-fbi-raids\">the focus of their investigation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao’s short tenure as Oakland mayor ended with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12012357/sheng-thao-accepts-defeat-in-contentious-oakland-mayoral-recall\">a recall in November\u003c/a>, decided by 65.3% of Oakland voters. Recall organizers blamed the city’s challenges — including crime, shuttering businesses and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12009486/oaklands-finances-significant-risk-report-warns-coliseum-sale-raises-questions\">multimillion-dollar budget deficit\u003c/a> — on what they described as Thao’s incompetence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In August 2023, Thao led a 50-person delegation of Port of Oakland officials and East Bay political players, including the Duongs and San Leandro Councilmember Bryan Azevedo, to Vietnam. The trip was co-sponsored by the Vietnamese American Business Association, an organization founded by David Duong and headquartered in Oakland. The FBI raided Azevedo’s home on Wednesday, but he was not named as a defendant in the indictment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao said their goal was to invest in the city’s trade relationship with Vietnam and reported meeting with the mayors of major port cities, Ho Chi Minh and Haiphong, along with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. In a press conference shortly after the trip, she reported that the port had signed a new memorandum of understanding with the Long An International Port.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11991412 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/OaklandMayorRaid01-1020x765.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I advocated for Oakland, for the benefits of partnering with our port and for the opportunities at our airport,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the trip was also met with scrutiny after reporting revealed it had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991426/oakland-fbi-raids-also-targeted-this-powerful-family-heres-what-we-know\">cost about $12,000 per attendee\u003c/a> — including business class flights, five-star hotel stays and meals and transportation. The Duongs’ financial involvement is also questionable, considering their lucrative city contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As far back as 2014, the Duongs have been accused of using political power to leverage business deals with the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Texas-based Waste Management sued the city of Oakland, alleging that the Duongs’ “long-term personal and political connections” with the City Council swayed its decision to award Cal Waste a $1 billion contract against city staff’s recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The council ultimately opted to give Waste Management the compost and trash contracts, while Cal Waste got the recycling deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The interim mayor’s office declined to provide a statement about the indictments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A special election to replace Thao will be held in Oakland in April. Leading candidates, including former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, responded to the indictment on social media platform \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/BarbaraLee_CA/status/1880317722627830198\">X\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The allegations contained in the criminal indictment are devastating,” Lee wrote. “There should be no tolerance whatsoever for secret pay-to-play schemes that erode the public trust.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022810\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022810\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Loren Taylor, former District 6 Councilmember, makes remarks to the media outside of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Loren Taylor, who announced his candidacy in November and lost to Thao by a narrow margin in 2022, said it was unfortunate that the city of Oakland was back in the news because of a corruption scandal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to make sure that our elected officials are focused on the things that matter most to everyday Oaklanders’ lives,” Taylor said, “and are not distracted by things like political scandals or returning favors for others who have supported them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Renia Webb, Thao’s former chief of staff and another candidate in the special election, told KQED on Thursday when news of the indictment broke: “Today, I feel like Oakland is going to be able to move forward. We’re walking into a brighter future, and I feel that way, like we’re taking a turn.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The winner of the special election will complete Thao’s unfinished term in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/ahall\">\u003cem>Alex Hall\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Federal authorities on Friday charged Thao; her boyfriend, Andre Jones; and local business owners David and Andy Duong with conspiracy and bribery.",
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"title": "Ex-Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, 3 Others Charged With Bribery in Sprawling Corruption Probe | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 3:01 p.m. Friday \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Oakland Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Sheng Thao\u003c/a> and three others were charged with eight counts of conspiracy and bribery in a federal courthouse in Oakland on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The arraignment followed the release of a bombshell federal indictment alleging a “pay-to-play” corruption scheme involving Thao, longtime romantic partner Andre Jones and two prominent businessmen affiliated with the city’s recycling contractor, Oakland-based company California Waste Solutions: David and his son Andy Duong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The indictment returned by the grand jury describes a corrupt scheme in which the defendants used bribes, mail fraud, wire fraud and other illegal practices to manipulate and corruptly influence the levers of local government,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins said at a Friday morning press conference, where officials provided more details about their probe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All four defendants pleaded not guilty and were released on bond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fielding questions from the press and some jeering from Thao’s critics on the courthouse steps, Thao’s attorney criticized the role of an unnamed conspirator in the case, who he said provided the evidence central to the FBI’s case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The mayor looks forward to defending herself against these charges, showing that there is, in fact, no evidence to support these charges,” said Jeff Tsai, Thao’s counsel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022841\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022841\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00010-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andre Jones, longtime partner of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, leaves the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/indictment-PDF.pdf\">indictment (PDF)\u003c/a> alleges that Thao promised to take official actions as mayor to benefit the Duong family in exchange for benefits for her and Jones. This included a promise of a commitment by the city of Oakland to purchase housing units from the Duong family’s housing company, Evolutionary Homes, to extend contracts with the Duong family’s recycling company, and to appoint senior city officials selected by the Duongs and the unnamed co-conspirator, identified as “a local businessman.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In exchange, the Duongs promised to pay $75,000 to fund negative mailers targeting Thao’s opponents in the mayoral election and to make $300,000 in direct payments for no-show jobs to Jones, according to the indictment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It became clear that the FBI was investigating this network of relationships since the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991242/fbi-agents-raid-home-of-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao\"> FBI raid of Thao’s home\u003c/a> in June, along with properties owned by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991426/oakland-fbi-raids-also-targeted-this-powerful-family-heres-what-we-know\">Duong family\u003c/a>. The Duongs have been the focus of a separate investigation by the Oakland Public Ethics Commission and California Fair Political Practices Commission into an alleged straw donor scheme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Financial records indicate that after Jones began receiving payments from the one unnamed conspirator, he began contributing to his and Thao’s monthly rent payments. Previously, Thao had paid these bills, the indictment said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991432\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11991432 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GETTYIMAGES-2158502017-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. postal inspectors check documents at a home tied to David Duong, one of the multiple properties searched by law enforcement that included residences to members of a politically connected family who run the city-contracted recycling company, California Waste Solutions, in Oakland on June 20, 2024. \u003ccite>(Ray Chavez/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Attorneys for both David and Andy Duong said the father and son were innocent of all charges. Andy Duong’s attorney called the allegations “baseless” and stitched together by “gossip and supposition.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Disappointingly, Andy instead is today the most recent in a long line of Asian Americans who unfairly are singled out and forced to pay a price for daring to be active in the political sphere,” Winston Chan, Andy Duong’s counsel, told KQED in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao and Jones will make their next appearance in U.S. District Court on Feb. 6. Jones will return on Jan. 22 to resolve the question of whether he qualifies for appointed counsel after stating that he cannot afford a private attorney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao, Jones and the Duongs face six counts, each carrying a maximum sentence of five to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Andy Duong also faces an additional charge of making a false statement to a government agency, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022786\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022786\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00001-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sheng Thao stands outside of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Thao has repeatedly asserted her innocence and said that federal officials had told her attorney she was not \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991658/oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-to-make-first-public-comments-since-fbi-raids\">the focus of their investigation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao’s short tenure as Oakland mayor ended with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12012357/sheng-thao-accepts-defeat-in-contentious-oakland-mayoral-recall\">a recall in November\u003c/a>, decided by 65.3% of Oakland voters. Recall organizers blamed the city’s challenges — including crime, shuttering businesses and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12009486/oaklands-finances-significant-risk-report-warns-coliseum-sale-raises-questions\">multimillion-dollar budget deficit\u003c/a> — on what they described as Thao’s incompetence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In August 2023, Thao led a 50-person delegation of Port of Oakland officials and East Bay political players, including the Duongs and San Leandro Councilmember Bryan Azevedo, to Vietnam. The trip was co-sponsored by the Vietnamese American Business Association, an organization founded by David Duong and headquartered in Oakland. The FBI raided Azevedo’s home on Wednesday, but he was not named as a defendant in the indictment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao said their goal was to invest in the city’s trade relationship with Vietnam and reported meeting with the mayors of major port cities, Ho Chi Minh and Haiphong, along with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. In a press conference shortly after the trip, she reported that the port had signed a new memorandum of understanding with the Long An International Port.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I advocated for Oakland, for the benefits of partnering with our port and for the opportunities at our airport,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the trip was also met with scrutiny after reporting revealed it had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991426/oakland-fbi-raids-also-targeted-this-powerful-family-heres-what-we-know\">cost about $12,000 per attendee\u003c/a> — including business class flights, five-star hotel stays and meals and transportation. The Duongs’ financial involvement is also questionable, considering their lucrative city contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As far back as 2014, the Duongs have been accused of using political power to leverage business deals with the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Texas-based Waste Management sued the city of Oakland, alleging that the Duongs’ “long-term personal and political connections” with the City Council swayed its decision to award Cal Waste a $1 billion contract against city staff’s recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The council ultimately opted to give Waste Management the compost and trash contracts, while Cal Waste got the recycling deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The interim mayor’s office declined to provide a statement about the indictments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A special election to replace Thao will be held in Oakland in April. Leading candidates, including former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, responded to the indictment on social media platform \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/BarbaraLee_CA/status/1880317722627830198\">X\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The allegations contained in the criminal indictment are devastating,” Lee wrote. “There should be no tolerance whatsoever for secret pay-to-play schemes that erode the public trust.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022810\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022810\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Thao-Recall_BL_00008-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Loren Taylor, former District 6 Councilmember, makes remarks to the media outside of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Loren Taylor, who announced his candidacy in November and lost to Thao by a narrow margin in 2022, said it was unfortunate that the city of Oakland was back in the news because of a corruption scandal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to make sure that our elected officials are focused on the things that matter most to everyday Oaklanders’ lives,” Taylor said, “and are not distracted by things like political scandals or returning favors for others who have supported them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Renia Webb, Thao’s former chief of staff and another candidate in the special election, told KQED on Thursday when news of the indictment broke: “Today, I feel like Oakland is going to be able to move forward. We’re walking into a brighter future, and I feel that way, like we’re taking a turn.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The winner of the special election will complete Thao’s unfinished term in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/ahall\">\u003cem>Alex Hall\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "alameda-county-moves-closer-to-oakland-coliseum-sale-final-vote-expected-in-30-days",
"title": "Alameda County Moves Closer to Oakland Coliseum Sale; Final Vote Expected in 30 Days",
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"headTitle": "Alameda County Moves Closer to Oakland Coliseum Sale; Final Vote Expected in 30 Days | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated at 6 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The long-awaited deal to sell the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-coliseum\">Oakland Coliseum\u003c/a> could be finalized as soon as next month, after a vote by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county, which jointly owned the property with the city of Oakland until it sold its stake to the A’s in 2019, voted unanimously to formally cut ties with the site after reaching an agreement with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12007771/new-oakland-coliseum-sale-deal-raises-questions-about-delayed-payment-and-citys-budget\">African American Sports and Entertainment Group\u003c/a>, local developers aiming to redevelop the site. The lengthy negotiations have garnered attention partly because they’ve delayed AASEG’s purchase of Oakland’s 50% share, which would bring badly needed revenue to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020393/2-oakland-fire-stations-close-amid-budget-crisis-more-could-follow\">restore fire services\u003c/a> and soften the city’s nearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12018688/oakland-broad-cuts-public-safety-city-agencies-amid-massive-deficit\">$130 million budget deficit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AASEG founder and managing member Ray Bobbitt said before the vote that the resolution and term sheet will finally put a deadline on the deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It gives us a timeline to complete it, which is 30 days,” he told KQED. “We’ve reached outline terms, and so this would be a great opportunity for us to just sort of come out of today with some certainty.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The resolution directs the county’s counsel to approve the assignment of the A’s still-pending purchase of the land to AASEG. The Board of Supervisors also instructed the county counsel and negotiators to finalize deal terms within 30 days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Board President David Haubert wrote in the resolution that he expects the supervisors to be ready to vote publicly on the deal in an upcoming meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I firmly believe that OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two long-standing goals of the County … the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and (2) the County will be out of the sports and entertainment business,” it reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bobbitt said the deal has taken a long time to finalize because AASEG had to negotiate with four different entities. First, they made an acquisition agreement with the A’s, and then, had to settle pending litigation that the nonprofit Communities for a Better Environment had against the county \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/State-investigates-Alameda-County-s-partial-16409648.php\">over an alleged violation of the Surplus Land Act\u003c/a> when it sold to the team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AASEG also worked with the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority to guarantee that the stadium and arena’s outstanding lease revenue bond debt is defeased before reaching the current negotiating phase with the county.[aside postID=news_11997946 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/240926-LAST-AS-HOME-GAME-MD-09KQED-5.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We thought this was going to be more of just an administrative process, but it turns out that there were all these elements that had to be addressed,” Bobbitt told KQED. “It was a really complex process, so that’s what took so long.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Delays finalizing the county agreement have stalled AASEG’s scheduled payments to Oakland for the city’s 50% stake in the site since November. That \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11992883/oakland-city-council-passes-budget-amid-concerns-over-pending-coliseum-sale\">controversial deal\u003c/a> was already \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12007771/new-oakland-coliseum-sale-deal-raises-questions-about-delayed-payment-and-citys-budget\">amended\u003c/a> in the weeks after it was finalized, changing the payment schedule to complete the purchase sooner but halt the immediate transfer of revenue that former Mayor Sheng Thao had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11997946/oakland-reaches-deal-on-105-million-coliseum-sale-to-stave-off-budget-cuts\">slotted into this year’s budget to save public safety funding\u003c/a> and ward off layoffs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The schedule change forced the city to implement a contingency plan that initiated drastic budget cuts across departments, including more than 90 layoffs and rotating closures of up to six fire stations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Oakland officials have been watching the Alameda County deal closely, it won’t immediately get the city out of hot water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Bobbitt, AASEG will resume payments to Oakland when a deal with the county is final, but the funds won’t be available until the deal closes. He believes the deal is still on track to close by the end of the fiscal year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Once we get the vote and then the deal papered and executed, I think at that time, we can certainly, we’ll be in alignment with the city,” Bobbitt told KQED. “We will be trying to work together with the city to make sure everything aligns correctly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted to advance the Coliseum sale, setting a 30-day deadline to finalize terms with the African American Sports and Entertainment Group and secure critical funds for Oakland.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated at 6 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The long-awaited deal to sell the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-coliseum\">Oakland Coliseum\u003c/a> could be finalized as soon as next month, after a vote by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county, which jointly owned the property with the city of Oakland until it sold its stake to the A’s in 2019, voted unanimously to formally cut ties with the site after reaching an agreement with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12007771/new-oakland-coliseum-sale-deal-raises-questions-about-delayed-payment-and-citys-budget\">African American Sports and Entertainment Group\u003c/a>, local developers aiming to redevelop the site. The lengthy negotiations have garnered attention partly because they’ve delayed AASEG’s purchase of Oakland’s 50% share, which would bring badly needed revenue to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020393/2-oakland-fire-stations-close-amid-budget-crisis-more-could-follow\">restore fire services\u003c/a> and soften the city’s nearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12018688/oakland-broad-cuts-public-safety-city-agencies-amid-massive-deficit\">$130 million budget deficit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AASEG founder and managing member Ray Bobbitt said before the vote that the resolution and term sheet will finally put a deadline on the deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It gives us a timeline to complete it, which is 30 days,” he told KQED. “We’ve reached outline terms, and so this would be a great opportunity for us to just sort of come out of today with some certainty.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The resolution directs the county’s counsel to approve the assignment of the A’s still-pending purchase of the land to AASEG. The Board of Supervisors also instructed the county counsel and negotiators to finalize deal terms within 30 days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Board President David Haubert wrote in the resolution that he expects the supervisors to be ready to vote publicly on the deal in an upcoming meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I firmly believe that OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two long-standing goals of the County … the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and (2) the County will be out of the sports and entertainment business,” it reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bobbitt said the deal has taken a long time to finalize because AASEG had to negotiate with four different entities. First, they made an acquisition agreement with the A’s, and then, had to settle pending litigation that the nonprofit Communities for a Better Environment had against the county \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/State-investigates-Alameda-County-s-partial-16409648.php\">over an alleged violation of the Surplus Land Act\u003c/a> when it sold to the team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AASEG also worked with the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority to guarantee that the stadium and arena’s outstanding lease revenue bond debt is defeased before reaching the current negotiating phase with the county.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We thought this was going to be more of just an administrative process, but it turns out that there were all these elements that had to be addressed,” Bobbitt told KQED. “It was a really complex process, so that’s what took so long.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Delays finalizing the county agreement have stalled AASEG’s scheduled payments to Oakland for the city’s 50% stake in the site since November. That \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11992883/oakland-city-council-passes-budget-amid-concerns-over-pending-coliseum-sale\">controversial deal\u003c/a> was already \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12007771/new-oakland-coliseum-sale-deal-raises-questions-about-delayed-payment-and-citys-budget\">amended\u003c/a> in the weeks after it was finalized, changing the payment schedule to complete the purchase sooner but halt the immediate transfer of revenue that former Mayor Sheng Thao had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11997946/oakland-reaches-deal-on-105-million-coliseum-sale-to-stave-off-budget-cuts\">slotted into this year’s budget to save public safety funding\u003c/a> and ward off layoffs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The schedule change forced the city to implement a contingency plan that initiated drastic budget cuts across departments, including more than 90 layoffs and rotating closures of up to six fire stations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Oakland officials have been watching the Alameda County deal closely, it won’t immediately get the city out of hot water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Bobbitt, AASEG will resume payments to Oakland when a deal with the county is final, but the funds won’t be available until the deal closes. He believes the deal is still on track to close by the end of the fiscal year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Once we get the vote and then the deal papered and executed, I think at that time, we can certainly, we’ll be in alignment with the city,” Bobbitt told KQED. “We will be trying to work together with the city to make sure everything aligns correctly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Who Will Be Oakland’s Interim Mayor? This Tight Race Could Scramble the Plan",
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"content": "\u003cp>Near-final ballot returns show Oakland’s City Council president slightly ahead in her bid for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, setting her up for a win that would throw into question \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12014241/what-happens-now-oaklands-mayor-recalled-could-get-messy\">who will lead the city\u003c/a> after Mayor Sheng Thao’s recall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As council president, Nikki Fortunato Bas is set to become interim mayor once \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12012357/sheng-thao-accepts-defeat-in-contentious-oakland-mayoral-recall\">Thao’s recall\u003c/a> is certified next month. But if she wins a seat on the Board of Supervisors, she would be sworn in just weeks later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bas stopped short of declaring victory over Emeryville Councilmember John Bauters on Wednesday night after the latest ballot returns, \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/Nikkiforallofus/status/1859402441072181610\">posting on X\u003c/a> that it “appears” voters have selected her as their next supervisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One year ago, I answered the call from community-based advocates and Labor leaders to advance a vision of an equitable, prosperous and healthy future for every Alameda County family,” Bas wrote. “I will bring an unflagging commitment and engage the community to serve every resident.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She currently \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/alameda/races#supervisor-5th-district\">leads the District 5 race by 415 votes\u003c/a>, and Alameda County Registrar Tim Dupuis estimates that about 4,800 ballots are outstanding across the entire county. Those ballots all have signature errors — like mismatching signatures or lack of a signature at all — that must be cured before they can be counted, Dupuis said, and those that are won’t be added to the online tally until Dec. 3.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11974489\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11974489\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/04052023_downtownoaklandreactivation-144_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1282\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/04052023_downtownoaklandreactivation-144_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/04052023_downtownoaklandreactivation-144_qut-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/04052023_downtownoaklandreactivation-144_qut-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/04052023_downtownoaklandreactivation-144_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/04052023_downtownoaklandreactivation-144_qut-1536x1026.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao listens to City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas speak in front of city hall during a city-led “Welcome Back Wednesday” event to promote the recovery of the city’s downtown area on April 5, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We don’t know how many of these 4,836 votes are within that district, and we also don’t know how those folks ended up voting,” he told KQED. “We’ll just have to see what comes in by Dec. 3. That’s just how this works, every vote counts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until then, Oakland elected officials will be waiting with bated breath to see if they’ll have to select a new interim leader to inherit \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015103/oakland-is-at-risk-of-financial-insolvency-is-bankruptcy-on-the-table\">a serious budget crisis\u003c/a>, weather political fracturing and lead a fairly novice council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland’s city charter said that when a mayor vacates the office, the council president will serve until the city holds a special election, which will take place mid-April. But if Bas vacates her seat, the council will have to select a new president from its ranks in January. As council president, that person would step in as interim mayor to lead the city until voters choose a representative to serve out Thao’s term, which ends in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stakes for choosing a new council president and president pro tempore will be high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without Bas, the council would be under entirely new leadership since current President Pro Tem Dan Kalb and Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan both chose not to run for another term. And Oakland has big decisions to make before the spring, most notably getting the city back on a fiscally responsible path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12015103 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-1020x573.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City officials raised a red flag this week, telling the council that Oakland is at risk of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015103/oakland-is-at-risk-of-financial-insolvency-is-bankruptcy-on-the-table\">financial insolvency\u003c/a> if there aren’t major budget reductions by the end of the calendar year. Spending at its current rate, the city is set to add $93 million to its already significant deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The interim mayor will also have to take over Thao’s role in orchestrating the stalled sale of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010521/oaklands-fiscal-crisis-budget-cuts-coming-even-with-coliseum-sale\">Oakland Coliseum\u003c/a> to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, which the city’s year-end budget is significantly reliant on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether the outstanding votes in Alameda County are enough to swing Bas’ race, leaving her on the City Council, is unknown. Dupuis said the ballots span the county’s five districts, and it isn’t clear how many are District 5 residents. There’s also a chance some people won’t cure their ballots before the Dec. 3 deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The elections office reaches out to voters whose ballots have errors via phone, email and paper mail, urging them to submit signature verification statements by the deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes, “people are very interested in having their vote counted for a particular race, and sometimes they may feel that the election is over, and they don’t get around to doing it,” Dupuis told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the race’s margin remains close, Alameda County has no threshold for triggering an automatic recount. Instead, anyone can request a recount — as long as they pay for it. If that’s the case, Dupuis said the person would have to reach out to the registrar within five days of election certification. Then, his office would meet with the requester to discuss whether they want a hand or machine count and how they plan to fund it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, a requested recount in the Oakland mayoral election that narrowly put Thao into office \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11935550/oakland-mayoral-recount-forfeited-after-supporters-fall-short-of-covering-cost\">was called off\u003c/a> after its supporters couldn’t foot the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No matter what, Dupuis said, the county will post final unofficial results on the evening of Dec. 3, and he will certify elections on Dec. 5.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas is set to fill in once Sheng Thao’s recall is certified. But she’s narrowly winning a race to join the Alameda County Board of Supervisors instead.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Near-final ballot returns show Oakland’s City Council president slightly ahead in her bid for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, setting her up for a win that would throw into question \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12014241/what-happens-now-oaklands-mayor-recalled-could-get-messy\">who will lead the city\u003c/a> after Mayor Sheng Thao’s recall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As council president, Nikki Fortunato Bas is set to become interim mayor once \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12012357/sheng-thao-accepts-defeat-in-contentious-oakland-mayoral-recall\">Thao’s recall\u003c/a> is certified next month. But if she wins a seat on the Board of Supervisors, she would be sworn in just weeks later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bas stopped short of declaring victory over Emeryville Councilmember John Bauters on Wednesday night after the latest ballot returns, \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/Nikkiforallofus/status/1859402441072181610\">posting on X\u003c/a> that it “appears” voters have selected her as their next supervisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One year ago, I answered the call from community-based advocates and Labor leaders to advance a vision of an equitable, prosperous and healthy future for every Alameda County family,” Bas wrote. “I will bring an unflagging commitment and engage the community to serve every resident.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She currently \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/alameda/races#supervisor-5th-district\">leads the District 5 race by 415 votes\u003c/a>, and Alameda County Registrar Tim Dupuis estimates that about 4,800 ballots are outstanding across the entire county. Those ballots all have signature errors — like mismatching signatures or lack of a signature at all — that must be cured before they can be counted, Dupuis said, and those that are won’t be added to the online tally until Dec. 3.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11974489\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11974489\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/04052023_downtownoaklandreactivation-144_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1282\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/04052023_downtownoaklandreactivation-144_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/04052023_downtownoaklandreactivation-144_qut-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/04052023_downtownoaklandreactivation-144_qut-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/04052023_downtownoaklandreactivation-144_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/04052023_downtownoaklandreactivation-144_qut-1536x1026.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao listens to City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas speak in front of city hall during a city-led “Welcome Back Wednesday” event to promote the recovery of the city’s downtown area on April 5, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We don’t know how many of these 4,836 votes are within that district, and we also don’t know how those folks ended up voting,” he told KQED. “We’ll just have to see what comes in by Dec. 3. That’s just how this works, every vote counts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until then, Oakland elected officials will be waiting with bated breath to see if they’ll have to select a new interim leader to inherit \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015103/oakland-is-at-risk-of-financial-insolvency-is-bankruptcy-on-the-table\">a serious budget crisis\u003c/a>, weather political fracturing and lead a fairly novice council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland’s city charter said that when a mayor vacates the office, the council president will serve until the city holds a special election, which will take place mid-April. But if Bas vacates her seat, the council will have to select a new president from its ranks in January. As council president, that person would step in as interim mayor to lead the city until voters choose a representative to serve out Thao’s term, which ends in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stakes for choosing a new council president and president pro tempore will be high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without Bas, the council would be under entirely new leadership since current President Pro Tem Dan Kalb and Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan both chose not to run for another term. And Oakland has big decisions to make before the spring, most notably getting the city back on a fiscally responsible path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City officials raised a red flag this week, telling the council that Oakland is at risk of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015103/oakland-is-at-risk-of-financial-insolvency-is-bankruptcy-on-the-table\">financial insolvency\u003c/a> if there aren’t major budget reductions by the end of the calendar year. Spending at its current rate, the city is set to add $93 million to its already significant deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The interim mayor will also have to take over Thao’s role in orchestrating the stalled sale of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010521/oaklands-fiscal-crisis-budget-cuts-coming-even-with-coliseum-sale\">Oakland Coliseum\u003c/a> to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, which the city’s year-end budget is significantly reliant on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether the outstanding votes in Alameda County are enough to swing Bas’ race, leaving her on the City Council, is unknown. Dupuis said the ballots span the county’s five districts, and it isn’t clear how many are District 5 residents. There’s also a chance some people won’t cure their ballots before the Dec. 3 deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The elections office reaches out to voters whose ballots have errors via phone, email and paper mail, urging them to submit signature verification statements by the deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes, “people are very interested in having their vote counted for a particular race, and sometimes they may feel that the election is over, and they don’t get around to doing it,” Dupuis told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the race’s margin remains close, Alameda County has no threshold for triggering an automatic recount. Instead, anyone can request a recount — as long as they pay for it. If that’s the case, Dupuis said the person would have to reach out to the registrar within five days of election certification. Then, his office would meet with the requester to discuss whether they want a hand or machine count and how they plan to fund it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, a requested recount in the Oakland mayoral election that narrowly put Thao into office \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11935550/oakland-mayoral-recount-forfeited-after-supporters-fall-short-of-covering-cost\">was called off\u003c/a> after its supporters couldn’t foot the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No matter what, Dupuis said, the county will post final unofficial results on the evening of Dec. 3, and he will certify elections on Dec. 5.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Last week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a> became the first mayor in the city’s history to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12012357/sheng-thao-accepts-defeat-in-contentious-oakland-mayoral-recall\">recalled from office\u003c/a>, with more than 60% of voters in favor of her removal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, understandably, Oaklanders have some questions about what comes next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters must certify the election results. It has 30 days to do so, i.e., by Dec. 5. Although \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12013684/why-alameda-countys-vote-count-slow-official-blasts-sluggish-pace\">the county has been blasted\u003c/a> in recent days for its slow vote count, elections officials said their focus is on meeting that certification deadline rather than delivering fast early results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, the City Council has to officially declare the results of the election at its next meeting, which would likely be Dec. 17. Once it’s done so, the mayor’s seat is officially vacant, with the council president serving as interim mayor, according to the city charter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question is who that interim mayor will be, given that current council president Nikki Fortunato Bas is still in the running for a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/alameda/races#supervisor-5th-district\">a race that has yet to be called\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992755\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11992755\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland City Hall in downtown Oakland on Aug. 2, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bas is currently trailing her opponent, Emeryville City Council member John J. Bauters, by a few thousand votes in District 5, though the registrar of voters said Wednesday morning that it still has nearly 200,000 votes left to count countywide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Bas loses that race, she will serve as interim Oakland mayor. But if she wins, she could theoretically serve as interim mayor for a couple of weeks before being sworn in as a county supervisor, at which point another Oakland City Council member would need to step in to fill the interim mayor role.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On top of all that, the City Council is expected to reorganize in January once all the election results have been finalized, and it could appoint another president at that point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also worth noting that, throughout this time, the city administrator will continue to handle the day-to-day operational tasks, so nothing will drastically change during the transition. The mayor’s job, \u003ca href=\"https://library.municode.com/ca/oakland/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=THCHOA_ARTIIITHMA\">according to the city charter\u003c/a>, is largely to elect other city officers and serve as the ceremonial head of the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether it’s Bas or another council member, the interim mayor is only expected to fill in for a few months at most — the charter requires a special election to determine who will take over the position permanently within 120 days of the vacancy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12014331\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12014331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Retired NFL footballer Marshawn Lynch is all smiles before the preseason game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams at Aloha Stadium on Aug. 17, 2019, in Honolulu, Hawaii. \u003ccite>(Alika Jenner/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Who will run in that special election is still up in the air. So far, Marshawn Lynch, a former NFL player who grew up in Oakland, has \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/10/marshawn-lynch-oakland-mayor-00183302\">hinted at a possible run\u003c/a> for mayor on a podcast he co-hosts with his agent and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED, former Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12012357/sheng-thao-accepts-defeat-in-contentious-oakland-mayoral-recall\">said he would run\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oaklanders have spoken with a very strong voice regarding what they need from city leadership, and they clearly have not been getting it from the current administration,” said Taylor, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11931400/sheng-thao-oaklands-next-mayor\">finished second to Thao\u003c/a> two years ago. “The same commitment I have to the city I’m from that drove me to run in 2022 is what’s compelling me to step up in the special election once the results are certified.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whoever it is, Oaklanders are already spelling out what they want to see in their next leader.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The basic stuff for us right now is safety, safety, safety,” said Nigel Jones, who owns Calabash, an Afro-Caribbean and Jamaican restaurant in Oakland. “We definitely need the streets also to be clean and to lower the cost of how we do business.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12012357 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jones said he hopes the next mayor will address parking concerns in downtown Oakland by creating parking lots with subsidized rates so patrons feel safer parking at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homelessness is also a top issue for some residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is not any place I’ve gone, from the hills to the flatlands, from the bay to deep East Oakland, that I haven’t seen homeless people,” said Dorothy Lazard, the former head librarian of the Oakland History Center. “I would really like to see City Hall make some kind of effective, sustainable creative solution to attack that problem because it has become, unfortunately, a part of our identity in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city’s next mayor will also help decide the fate of the Oakland Coliseum, the former home of the A’s, which is now the focus of \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/11/12/why-is-alameda-county-holding-up-the-sale-of-the-oakland-coliseum/\">tense negotiations\u003c/a> between the city, the county Board of Supervisors and the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, which hopes to buy the 112-acre site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The whole city should be focused on what’s happening at the Coliseum site,” said Allison Brooks, executive director of the Bay Area Regional Collaborative. “That should be a priority, 127 acres of prime land that could transform Deep East Oakland in a positive way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Funds from the Coliseum sale are badly needed for Oakland, which is facing a multimillion-dollar budget deficit. During her two years in office, Thao faced a lot of criticism for her handling of the budget and her attempts to balance it. The city’s next mayor will be faced with the same challenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The next mayor has to be certifiable to really want to be mayor because balancing the budget next year is going to be virtually impossible,” said Dan Lindheim, former Oakland city administrator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two-thirds of Oakland’s funding goes to the police and fire departments, which means those departments will likely face cuts under the next administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be, let’s just say, a very difficult situation to try to do that,” Lindheim said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/ahall\">Alex Hall\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum\">Forum\u003c/a> team contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Last week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a> became the first mayor in the city’s history to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12012357/sheng-thao-accepts-defeat-in-contentious-oakland-mayoral-recall\">recalled from office\u003c/a>, with more than 60% of voters in favor of her removal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, understandably, Oaklanders have some questions about what comes next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters must certify the election results. It has 30 days to do so, i.e., by Dec. 5. Although \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12013684/why-alameda-countys-vote-count-slow-official-blasts-sluggish-pace\">the county has been blasted\u003c/a> in recent days for its slow vote count, elections officials said their focus is on meeting that certification deadline rather than delivering fast early results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, the City Council has to officially declare the results of the election at its next meeting, which would likely be Dec. 17. Once it’s done so, the mayor’s seat is officially vacant, with the council president serving as interim mayor, according to the city charter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question is who that interim mayor will be, given that current council president Nikki Fortunato Bas is still in the running for a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/alameda/races#supervisor-5th-district\">a race that has yet to be called\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992755\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11992755\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/230802-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-MHN-03-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland City Hall in downtown Oakland on Aug. 2, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bas is currently trailing her opponent, Emeryville City Council member John J. Bauters, by a few thousand votes in District 5, though the registrar of voters said Wednesday morning that it still has nearly 200,000 votes left to count countywide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Bas loses that race, she will serve as interim Oakland mayor. But if she wins, she could theoretically serve as interim mayor for a couple of weeks before being sworn in as a county supervisor, at which point another Oakland City Council member would need to step in to fill the interim mayor role.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On top of all that, the City Council is expected to reorganize in January once all the election results have been finalized, and it could appoint another president at that point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also worth noting that, throughout this time, the city administrator will continue to handle the day-to-day operational tasks, so nothing will drastically change during the transition. The mayor’s job, \u003ca href=\"https://library.municode.com/ca/oakland/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=THCHOA_ARTIIITHMA\">according to the city charter\u003c/a>, is largely to elect other city officers and serve as the ceremonial head of the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether it’s Bas or another council member, the interim mayor is only expected to fill in for a few months at most — the charter requires a special election to determine who will take over the position permanently within 120 days of the vacancy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12014331\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12014331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarshawnLynchGetty-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Retired NFL footballer Marshawn Lynch is all smiles before the preseason game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams at Aloha Stadium on Aug. 17, 2019, in Honolulu, Hawaii. \u003ccite>(Alika Jenner/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Who will run in that special election is still up in the air. So far, Marshawn Lynch, a former NFL player who grew up in Oakland, has \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/10/marshawn-lynch-oakland-mayor-00183302\">hinted at a possible run\u003c/a> for mayor on a podcast he co-hosts with his agent and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED, former Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12012357/sheng-thao-accepts-defeat-in-contentious-oakland-mayoral-recall\">said he would run\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oaklanders have spoken with a very strong voice regarding what they need from city leadership, and they clearly have not been getting it from the current administration,” said Taylor, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11931400/sheng-thao-oaklands-next-mayor\">finished second to Thao\u003c/a> two years ago. “The same commitment I have to the city I’m from that drove me to run in 2022 is what’s compelling me to step up in the special election once the results are certified.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whoever it is, Oaklanders are already spelling out what they want to see in their next leader.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The basic stuff for us right now is safety, safety, safety,” said Nigel Jones, who owns Calabash, an Afro-Caribbean and Jamaican restaurant in Oakland. “We definitely need the streets also to be clean and to lower the cost of how we do business.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jones said he hopes the next mayor will address parking concerns in downtown Oakland by creating parking lots with subsidized rates so patrons feel safer parking at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homelessness is also a top issue for some residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is not any place I’ve gone, from the hills to the flatlands, from the bay to deep East Oakland, that I haven’t seen homeless people,” said Dorothy Lazard, the former head librarian of the Oakland History Center. “I would really like to see City Hall make some kind of effective, sustainable creative solution to attack that problem because it has become, unfortunately, a part of our identity in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city’s next mayor will also help decide the fate of the Oakland Coliseum, the former home of the A’s, which is now the focus of \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/11/12/why-is-alameda-county-holding-up-the-sale-of-the-oakland-coliseum/\">tense negotiations\u003c/a> between the city, the county Board of Supervisors and the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, which hopes to buy the 112-acre site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The whole city should be focused on what’s happening at the Coliseum site,” said Allison Brooks, executive director of the Bay Area Regional Collaborative. “That should be a priority, 127 acres of prime land that could transform Deep East Oakland in a positive way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Funds from the Coliseum sale are badly needed for Oakland, which is facing a multimillion-dollar budget deficit. During her two years in office, Thao faced a lot of criticism for her handling of the budget and her attempts to balance it. The city’s next mayor will be faced with the same challenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The next mayor has to be certifiable to really want to be mayor because balancing the budget next year is going to be virtually impossible,” said Dan Lindheim, former Oakland city administrator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two-thirds of Oakland’s funding goes to the police and fire departments, which means those departments will likely face cuts under the next administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be, let’s just say, a very difficult situation to try to do that,” Lindheim said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/ahall\">Alex Hall\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum\">Forum\u003c/a> team contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated at 1:10 p.m. Saturday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a> conceded the recall election on Friday night, setting off a process that will likely see several different mayors leading the city in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao, who noted in her concession statement that she was the first Hmong American woman to become the mayor of a major American city, was recalled less than two years into her term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was my goal to make Oakland safer, cleaner, and more vibrant,” Thao said in the statement. “And I am proud of what we accomplished together. We brought crime down dramatically across the board with a historic 35% reduction in homicides. For the first time in over a decade, Oakland went over a month without a single murder. Our work literally saved lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the updated results released Friday by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, the recall held a sizable advantage — 65.3% to 36.1%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Oakland’s city charter, once the election is certified and Thao’s office is declared vacant, the city council president fills the office while a special election is held within 120 days. In an interview with KQED, former Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor said he would run.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oaklanders have spoken with a very strong voice regarding what they need from city leadership, and they clearly have not been getting it from the current administration,” said Taylor, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11931400/sheng-thao-oaklands-next-mayor\">finished second to Thao\u003c/a> two years ago. “The same commitment I have to the city I’m from that drove me to run in 2022 is what’s compelling me to step up in the special election once the results are certified.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a Nov. 6 statement \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/Nikkiforallofus/status/1854297936013971470\">posted to social media platform X\u003c/a>, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas said she was already working with the city attorney to plan for a smooth transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Oakland City Council would declare the results no later than its next regularly scheduled meeting on Dec. 17, according to Bas. At that point, Thao will step down, the mayor’s spokesperson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once she is out, Bas will become interim mayor until the special election unless she is declared winner of a county supervisor race that, as of Saturday morning, still hasn’t been called.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Bas were to win that seat, a new council president would be elected in January, and that person would serve as interim mayor. If she loses, the city council could still choose a new council president in January. After Friday’s results, Bas trailed John Bauters, an Emeryville city council member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recall organizers blamed the city’s challenges, including crime, shuttering businesses and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12009486/oaklands-finances-significant-risk-report-warns-coliseum-sale-raises-questions\">multimillion-dollar budget deficit,\u003c/a> on what they described as Thao’s incompetence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991242/fbi-agents-raid-home-of-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao\">An FBI raid of Thao’s home\u003c/a> in June cast a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11992073/oakland-fbi-raids-and-straw-donor-probe-spur-allegations-of-corruption\">dark cloud over her administration\u003c/a>. Agents also served search warrants \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991426/oakland-fbi-raids-also-targeted-this-powerful-family-heres-what-we-know\">on members of the Duong family\u003c/a>, owners of the city’s recycling provider, California Waste Solutions. Thao claimed she was innocent and that federal officials had told her attorney she was not \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991658/oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-to-make-first-public-comments-since-fbi-raids\">the focus of their investigation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao had been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11935131/its-about-bringing-people-together-oakland-mayor-elect-sheng-thao-on-her-vision-for-the-town\">in office for roughly a year\u003c/a> when the recall launched in January. In the weeks leading up to the election, Thao pushed back, saying that she \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12009615/oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-makes-her-case-against-a-recall\">inherited many of the city’s problems\u003c/a> and that crime was down, pointing to city data showing a more than 30% reduction in homicides compared to this time last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Live 2024 Election Results\" link1='https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/alameda,Alameda County: Stay informed with the latest results for elected leaders and measures passed' hero=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/80/2024/10/Aside-Results-Local-Elections-Alameda-County-1200x1200-1.png]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao’s campaign also focused heavily on hedge fund manager Philip Dreyfuss, whose political contributions \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11998651/a-hedge-fund-manager-is-funding-bid-to-oust-oaklands-mayor-and-its-not-his-first-recall\">made up the bulk of recall funding\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao accused Dreyfuss in an open letter of trying to “buy our city government.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oakland is not for sale,” the letter reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, that messaging failed to resonate with residents frustrated about public safety and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12003276/oaklands-beleaguered-911-dispatch-still-far-behind-state-standards-but-improving\">slow 911 response times\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She says, ‘Oh, the crime is down.’ But it’s not really down. Especially when they’re breaking into my things around my house,” Oakland resident Cassandra Odiase told KQED at a Fruitvale Avenue grocery store less than a week before the election. “We’re not reporting it because we know the police [are] not coming.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Influential voices like the Oakland chapter of the NAACP and Thao’s predecessor, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010129/former-mayor-libby-schaaf-endorses-recall-of-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao\">former Mayor Libby Schaaf\u003c/a>, came out in support of the recall weeks before Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have come to believe, just based on this last year, that she is not capable of growing into the job,” Schaaf said in an interview with KQED’s Scott Shafer. “I am voting to recall Mayor Thao because Oakland can’t afford another two years of continued damage to our fiscal solvency and our public safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seneca Scott, a local activist who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2022, and former Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte, who was critical of Thao’s decision to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11980455/oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-appoints-floyd-mitchell-as-new-police-chief\">fire Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong\u003c/a> while serving on the city’s police commission, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11976748/oakland-mayors-announcement-of-3-5-million-public-safety-grant-disrupted-by-protesters-seeking-her-recall\">led the push\u003c/a>. Harbin-Forte’s sister, Gail Harbin, eventually took over after Harbin-Forte began running for city attorney.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated at 1:10 p.m. Saturday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a> conceded the recall election on Friday night, setting off a process that will likely see several different mayors leading the city in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao, who noted in her concession statement that she was the first Hmong American woman to become the mayor of a major American city, was recalled less than two years into her term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was my goal to make Oakland safer, cleaner, and more vibrant,” Thao said in the statement. “And I am proud of what we accomplished together. We brought crime down dramatically across the board with a historic 35% reduction in homicides. For the first time in over a decade, Oakland went over a month without a single murder. Our work literally saved lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the updated results released Friday by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, the recall held a sizable advantage — 65.3% to 36.1%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Oakland’s city charter, once the election is certified and Thao’s office is declared vacant, the city council president fills the office while a special election is held within 120 days. In an interview with KQED, former Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor said he would run.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oaklanders have spoken with a very strong voice regarding what they need from city leadership, and they clearly have not been getting it from the current administration,” said Taylor, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11931400/sheng-thao-oaklands-next-mayor\">finished second to Thao\u003c/a> two years ago. “The same commitment I have to the city I’m from that drove me to run in 2022 is what’s compelling me to step up in the special election once the results are certified.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a Nov. 6 statement \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/Nikkiforallofus/status/1854297936013971470\">posted to social media platform X\u003c/a>, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas said she was already working with the city attorney to plan for a smooth transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Oakland City Council would declare the results no later than its next regularly scheduled meeting on Dec. 17, according to Bas. At that point, Thao will step down, the mayor’s spokesperson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once she is out, Bas will become interim mayor until the special election unless she is declared winner of a county supervisor race that, as of Saturday morning, still hasn’t been called.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Bas were to win that seat, a new council president would be elected in January, and that person would serve as interim mayor. If she loses, the city council could still choose a new council president in January. After Friday’s results, Bas trailed John Bauters, an Emeryville city council member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recall organizers blamed the city’s challenges, including crime, shuttering businesses and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12009486/oaklands-finances-significant-risk-report-warns-coliseum-sale-raises-questions\">multimillion-dollar budget deficit,\u003c/a> on what they described as Thao’s incompetence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991242/fbi-agents-raid-home-of-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao\">An FBI raid of Thao’s home\u003c/a> in June cast a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11992073/oakland-fbi-raids-and-straw-donor-probe-spur-allegations-of-corruption\">dark cloud over her administration\u003c/a>. Agents also served search warrants \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991426/oakland-fbi-raids-also-targeted-this-powerful-family-heres-what-we-know\">on members of the Duong family\u003c/a>, owners of the city’s recycling provider, California Waste Solutions. Thao claimed she was innocent and that federal officials had told her attorney she was not \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991658/oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-to-make-first-public-comments-since-fbi-raids\">the focus of their investigation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao had been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11935131/its-about-bringing-people-together-oakland-mayor-elect-sheng-thao-on-her-vision-for-the-town\">in office for roughly a year\u003c/a> when the recall launched in January. In the weeks leading up to the election, Thao pushed back, saying that she \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12009615/oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-makes-her-case-against-a-recall\">inherited many of the city’s problems\u003c/a> and that crime was down, pointing to city data showing a more than 30% reduction in homicides compared to this time last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao’s campaign also focused heavily on hedge fund manager Philip Dreyfuss, whose political contributions \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11998651/a-hedge-fund-manager-is-funding-bid-to-oust-oaklands-mayor-and-its-not-his-first-recall\">made up the bulk of recall funding\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thao accused Dreyfuss in an open letter of trying to “buy our city government.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oakland is not for sale,” the letter reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, that messaging failed to resonate with residents frustrated about public safety and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12003276/oaklands-beleaguered-911-dispatch-still-far-behind-state-standards-but-improving\">slow 911 response times\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She says, ‘Oh, the crime is down.’ But it’s not really down. Especially when they’re breaking into my things around my house,” Oakland resident Cassandra Odiase told KQED at a Fruitvale Avenue grocery store less than a week before the election. “We’re not reporting it because we know the police [are] not coming.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Influential voices like the Oakland chapter of the NAACP and Thao’s predecessor, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010129/former-mayor-libby-schaaf-endorses-recall-of-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao\">former Mayor Libby Schaaf\u003c/a>, came out in support of the recall weeks before Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have come to believe, just based on this last year, that she is not capable of growing into the job,” Schaaf said in an interview with KQED’s Scott Shafer. “I am voting to recall Mayor Thao because Oakland can’t afford another two years of continued damage to our fiscal solvency and our public safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seneca Scott, a local activist who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2022, and former Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte, who was critical of Thao’s decision to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11980455/oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-appoints-floyd-mitchell-as-new-police-chief\">fire Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong\u003c/a> while serving on the city’s police commission, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11976748/oakland-mayors-announcement-of-3-5-million-public-safety-grant-disrupted-by-protesters-seeking-her-recall\">led the push\u003c/a>. Harbin-Forte’s sister, Gail Harbin, eventually took over after Harbin-Forte began running for city attorney.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A veteran member of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors said he’s frustrated with the snail-like pace of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/alameda\">county’s vote reporting\u003c/a>, delaying results in two highly anticipated recall elections and other contests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Keith Carson, who is about to retire from the board after eight terms, said he shares voters’ unhappiness with the county registrar’s tally, which so far has worked its way through roughly a third of ballots cast in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results\">Tuesday’s general election\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many have contacted my office to express their dismay/anger regarding the small number of votes that have been counted to date, while all of our surrounding counties are posting a greater number of results,” Carson said in a statement on Friday. “I share your dismay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carson’s remarks came after the registrar’s office posted an update Thursday evening that reported just 4,589 new votes tabulated since the final election night report at 1:03 a.m. Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That update brought the total number of ballots tallied so far to 238,035, according to the office. Assuming an 80% turnout among Alameda County’s 962,000 registered voters, which would align with recent presidential elections, that would mean the registrar still has a backlog of about 530,000 ballots to process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12012944\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12012944\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Sheng Thao fields questions from press at the election watch and recall party at Fluid510 in Oakland on election night, Nov. 5, 2024. \u003ccite>(Camille Cohen for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Those ballots hold the answer to a number of closely watched contests, including recall votes for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12013194/recalls-oakland-mayor-alameda-county-da-take-commanding-leads\">District Attorney Pamela Price and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a> and dozens of legislative, mayoral, city council and ballot measure races across the county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thursday evening’s results showed both recalls winning with about 65% of the vote. They would pass with a majority vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I understand the public is interested in getting results very quickly,” registrar Tim Dupuis said in an interview on Friday, adding that he expects the process to speed up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we typically see is a slow start, and then we ramp up,” Dupuis said. He said his office’s main challenge is the 460,000 mail-in ballots received on Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12013722\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12013722\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Darius Lynch fills out his ballot at Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland on Nov. 5, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It takes time to get those ballots queued up so that we can get them through our tally system,” he said. “You have to check the signatures. You have to sort them, you have to open them. You have to extract the ballot from the envelope. You have to stage it so that our tally system is ready for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his statement, Carson questioned whether Dupuis had hired enough workers for the vote count.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Months ago, in public meetings, I asked the registrar if he had a sufficient workforce and resources in order to carry out the November election,” Carson said. “His response was ‘yes.’ Unfortunately, that appears not to be the case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12013450 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dupuis said his department is more focused on getting all votes processed by the state’s 30-day deadline for counties to certify election results than on delivering fast results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So the issue really is the balance between having enough staff to get the selection certified within the time allotted versus trying to have the results as quickly as possible,” he said. “If the concern is to increase the speed at which we are able to post and get final results out, especially given the large number of vote-by-mail ballots, there’s a number of things that we could look at. We could look at more staffing, we could look at more equipment, we could look at more state-of-the-art facilities. ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Dupuis’ office has gained \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2024/11/04/why-are-people-always-getting-mad-at-the-alameda-county-registrar-of-voters/\">a reputation\u003c/a> for slow and sometimes inefficient operations, Alameda County is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12013450/bay-area-voters-heres-when-you-can-expect-updated-election-results\">not alone\u003c/a> in its long, drawn-out vote reporting this election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa, Marin and Napa counties, for instance, have not reported updated results since their final election night reports. Two other counties, San Mateo and Sonoma, say they’ve processed fewer than 10,000 ballots since election night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other end of the spectrum, Santa Clara County processed twice the number of votes Alameda County did on election night — 468,395 versus 233,246. Dupuis credited Santa Clara’s performance to having more staff and twice as much high-speed sorting capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "With recalls of District Attorney Pamela Price and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao still in the balance, the election tally has slowed to a near-standstill, with potentially 500,000 ballots left.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A veteran member of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors said he’s frustrated with the snail-like pace of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/alameda\">county’s vote reporting\u003c/a>, delaying results in two highly anticipated recall elections and other contests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Keith Carson, who is about to retire from the board after eight terms, said he shares voters’ unhappiness with the county registrar’s tally, which so far has worked its way through roughly a third of ballots cast in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results\">Tuesday’s general election\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many have contacted my office to express their dismay/anger regarding the small number of votes that have been counted to date, while all of our surrounding counties are posting a greater number of results,” Carson said in a statement on Friday. “I share your dismay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carson’s remarks came after the registrar’s office posted an update Thursday evening that reported just 4,589 new votes tabulated since the final election night report at 1:03 a.m. Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That update brought the total number of ballots tallied so far to 238,035, according to the office. Assuming an 80% turnout among Alameda County’s 962,000 registered voters, which would align with recent presidential elections, that would mean the registrar still has a backlog of about 530,000 ballots to process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12012944\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12012944\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-NIGHT-THAO-PARTY-CC-01-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Sheng Thao fields questions from press at the election watch and recall party at Fluid510 in Oakland on election night, Nov. 5, 2024. \u003ccite>(Camille Cohen for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Those ballots hold the answer to a number of closely watched contests, including recall votes for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12013194/recalls-oakland-mayor-alameda-county-da-take-commanding-leads\">District Attorney Pamela Price and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a> and dozens of legislative, mayoral, city council and ballot measure races across the county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thursday evening’s results showed both recalls winning with about 65% of the vote. They would pass with a majority vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I understand the public is interested in getting results very quickly,” registrar Tim Dupuis said in an interview on Friday, adding that he expects the process to speed up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we typically see is a slow start, and then we ramp up,” Dupuis said. He said his office’s main challenge is the 460,000 mail-in ballots received on Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12013722\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12013722\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241105-ELECTION-DAY-ALLEN-TEMPLE-MD-06_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Darius Lynch fills out his ballot at Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland on Nov. 5, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It takes time to get those ballots queued up so that we can get them through our tally system,” he said. “You have to check the signatures. You have to sort them, you have to open them. You have to extract the ballot from the envelope. You have to stage it so that our tally system is ready for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his statement, Carson questioned whether Dupuis had hired enough workers for the vote count.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Months ago, in public meetings, I asked the registrar if he had a sufficient workforce and resources in order to carry out the November election,” Carson said. “His response was ‘yes.’ Unfortunately, that appears not to be the case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dupuis said his department is more focused on getting all votes processed by the state’s 30-day deadline for counties to certify election results than on delivering fast results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So the issue really is the balance between having enough staff to get the selection certified within the time allotted versus trying to have the results as quickly as possible,” he said. “If the concern is to increase the speed at which we are able to post and get final results out, especially given the large number of vote-by-mail ballots, there’s a number of things that we could look at. We could look at more staffing, we could look at more equipment, we could look at more state-of-the-art facilities. ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Dupuis’ office has gained \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2024/11/04/why-are-people-always-getting-mad-at-the-alameda-county-registrar-of-voters/\">a reputation\u003c/a> for slow and sometimes inefficient operations, Alameda County is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12013450/bay-area-voters-heres-when-you-can-expect-updated-election-results\">not alone\u003c/a> in its long, drawn-out vote reporting this election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa, Marin and Napa counties, for instance, have not reported updated results since their final election night reports. Two other counties, San Mateo and Sonoma, say they’ve processed fewer than 10,000 ballots since election night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other end of the spectrum, Santa Clara County processed twice the number of votes Alameda County did on election night — 468,395 versus 233,246. Dupuis credited Santa Clara’s performance to having more staff and twice as much high-speed sorting capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"soldout": {
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