Oakland could use help in a lot of ways, but one clear step forward would be to elect a mayor that we feel good about a few years down the road. Happily, we have two strong candidates to choose from. While there are others on the ballot, even ranked-choice voting will come down to a choice between Barbara Lee and Loren Taylor. I am voting for Barbara Lee and I want to tell you why I think you should do so, too.

I have three main arguments:

1. Loren was on Oakland City Council. He seems to want you to forget that, but that history makes a useful lens into his current rhetoric, and I don’t like what I see.

   I first met Loren through the “Reimagining Public Safety” (RPS) task force that worked from September 2020 through March 2021. He co-chaired this group (with Nikki Fortunato Bas, now an Alameda County Supervisor). Lots of excellent, specific proposals were generated and prioritized through this process. But rather than building on that effort he has put together his own plan. Worse, he is now throwing shade on MACRO, one of the best specific efforts towards alternative (to police) response to emerge from RPS. Loren went through the motions of community engagement, only to ignore its message.

2. If running for office is like dating, holding office is like being married. I care about the network of supporters connected to each candidate because whoever they are, they will shape the mayor’s actions once in office. Looking at supporters for Barbara and Loren, I am positively impressed by Barbara’s and negatively impressed by Loren’s.

   On Barbara’s side, she has more than 200 endorsements by: SIX current Oakland City Council members, ; FIVE Oakland school board members, ; 2 Alameda County Supervisors,; 17 faith leaders, ; 46 organizations, from organized labor and the Wellstone Club to the Sierra Club and Planned Parenthood, and ; 98 individual “leaders and neighbors.”

   Loren lists endorsements by 3 Alameda County Supervisors, 2 Oakland school board members, and about 100 other individuals. But then there are the “independent expenditure committees” behind Loren that have spend more than $400,000 towards his election. This includes spinning up the Black Action Alliance, founded just for this campaign to suggest support by the Black Oakland community for the KTVU debate March 11. And then there is the money the same folks spent on an online video for Loren that MADE UP A FAKE OAKLANDSIDE STORY about Barbara!? (See the Oaklandside’s own story for details.) Loren has rich backers bringing outside money into Oakland using shady campaign funding and tricks.

3. Barbara is in a unique position to help Oakland through the Trump era.

   The April 5 HandsOff event was an encouraging demonstration of how upset Oakland is about where the second Trump administration is sending us. But figuring out how Oakland can channel “good trouble” from our progressive West Coast city into clout in Washington is not at all clear. If anyone is in a position to strategize about how Oakland can best respond to federal actions, it has to be Barbara Lee.

Addendum

Frankly, I think Loren Taylor is probably going to win the election for Oakland’s mayor: He has appeared much more persuasive in the several debates. He has been much more forthcoming with concrete proposals regarding what he’ll do. I wasn’t even able to get a YARD SIGN from Barbara Lee, despite three separate attempts! Taylor’s supporters are spending big $$ on signs, payed canvassers and social media. And it’s working: my 10 year old grandson is tracking the election and asked me about the “back room deals Lee and Sheng Thao are doing”!

So while it may be “wasting” a vote, all I can think is how I’d feel if it winds up being close and Barbara Lee loses.  If you haven’t voted yet, please vote for Barbara Lee!