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Publisher Charles “Chuck” Cherry Dies at 66 ... see page 2
Former Bart Director, Margaret Pryor, Dies at 89 .. see page 8
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Say Happy Birthday to Beloved Matriarch ... see page 6
Workshop Offers Non-Traditional Approach to Strategic Planning ... see page 7
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
60th Year, No. 27
Weekly Edition. Edition. July 19 - 25, 2023
postnewsgroup.com
New Leadership for Jesse Jackson’s PUSH Rainbow Coalition
D.A. Pamela Price Clarifies Duties, Concerns in Sit-Down With Community Stakeholders
Congresswoman and U.S. Senate candidate Barbara Lee joins Sandré Swanson, her former chief of staff in Washington and California State Senate candidate on her birthday at a fundraiser for both of their campaigns in the Oakland hills last weekend. Photo by A. Swanson.
Photo: (l-r) Alameda D.A. Pamela Price, Gay Plair Cobb, Dr. Paul Cobb, Richard Johnson, Dr. Maritony Yamot. Photo by Jonathan Fitness Jones.
outlets that held preconceived and Post Staff On the Road to the Senate, I had the privilege to have a ideas and outright biases. Being Barbara Lee Celebrates Her sit-down interview with Alameda a formerly incarcerated person, District Attorney Pamela trust was a significant factor in Birthday with Sandré Swanson County Price on July 16. Accompanying our discussion. Rather than as-
By Post Staff
Rev. Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes will lead Operation PUSH Rainbow Coalition, which was founded by Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago in 1971. Named Jackson’s successor at its national convention on Sunday, Haynes is the senior pastor of Friendship-West Church in Dallas, Texas. See page 2.
Alameda County District Attorney Paamela Price. Official photo.
Help Protect D.A. Pamela Price’s Victory
By Post Staff
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is asking supporters of the justice reform agenda that led her to victory last November to come to a Town Hall on public safety at Montclair Presbyterian Church on July 27. Price is facing a possible recall election just six months into her term by civic and business interests, some of whom will be at the in-person meeting from 6 - 9 p.m. at 5701 Thornhill Dr. in Oakland. “We know that opponents of criminal justice reform plan to attend this meeting and use it as a forum against the policies that Alameda County voters mandated DA Price to deliver. We cannot let them succeed,” her campaign team’s email appeal said. “That’s why I’m asking you to join us at the town hall,” the email continued. “We need to show up in force and make sure that our voices are heard.” Price’s campaign is also seeking donations to fight the effort to have her recalled. Her history-making election as
the first African American woman to hold the office had been a surprise to insiders who had expected that Terry Wiley, who served as assistant district attorney under outgoing D.A. Nancy O’Malley, would win. Price campaigned as a progressive, making it clear to voters that she wanted to curb both pretrial detention and life-without-parole sentences among other things. She won, taking 53% of the vote. Almost immediately, Price was challenged by some media outlets as well as business and civic groups who alleged, as she began to fulfill those campaign promises, that she was soft on crime. On July 11, the recall committee called Save Alameda for Everyone (S.A.F.E.) filed paperwork with the county elections office to begin raising money for the next step toward Price’s ouster: gathering signatures of at least 10% of the electorate. S.A.F.E. has its work cut out for them, but Price needs to be prepared to fight them to keep her ofContinued on page 8
With beautiful views of the skyline in the background Congresswoman Barbara Lee, U.S. Senate candidate, celebrated her birthday earlier this week at a fundraising reception hosted by Keith Uriarte and Linda Dittes in the Oakland hills. Joining Lee was her former chief of staff and California State Senate candidate, Sandré R. Swanson. Swanson said, “I am actively and enthusiastically supporting Congresswoman Lee for her historic run to represent California as our Senator in our United States Capitol.” Lee and former Assemblymember Swanson have a very long history. As young activists, Lee and Swanson met while working on the California presidential campaign of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. They both worked for Congressman Ronald V. Dellums for many years serving the Bay Area communities. Lee’s distinguished and successful legislative career included her election to the California Assembly and the California State Senate before serving in the U.S. Congress.
After serving as Lee’s chief of
staff in Washington, Swanson was
elected to the California Assembly. There, Swanson represented Oak-
land, Alameda and Piedmont and
served as the celebrated chair of the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee.
Now, these lifelong friends are
both running in campaigns to make
a mark in history for their community. Lee is running to become the
only African American woman in the U.S. Senate and would be only
the third in history to accomplish that if she wins.
If elected, Swanson would be-
come the only African American
in the California State Senate from Northern California.
Both will appear on the March
me were Post News Group publisher Dr. Paul Cobb and owner Gay Plair Cobb; Jonathan ‘Fitness’ Jones from African American Sports Entertainment Group (AASEG), and Dr. Maritony Yavot from Life Impact for Humanity (LIFH). As columnist and founder of Formerly Incarcerated Giving Back (FIGB), I am grateful for the opportunity to interview Madam D.A. Price. My intention was not to dwell on negative opinions or preconceived notions. Instead, I approached the conversation with objectivity, seeking the truth and focusing on solutions, objectives, and the law.
I was aware of various news
signing blame or harboring animosity, I wanted to ask questions and seek understanding. I posed several questions to Price that were specifically related to her role as district attorney and what she can do to address problems within her jurisdiction. It was important for me to differentiate her responsibilities from those of the county’s various mayors, police chiefs, supervisors, and members of city councils. I understood that she holds a specific position with specific tasks. My first question to her was about her plans, services, and resources for assisting the formerly Continued on page 8
Mayor Sheng Thao Receives a Raise
5, 2024, presidential primary ballot next year. If elected, Lee would
serve in Washington, D.C., and Swanson would serve in the Cali-
fornia State Capitol in Sacramento. More information about these
historic campaigns can be found
at www.barbaraleeforca.com and www.sandreswanson.net.
Panel Set to Interview Oakland Police Commission Candidates
The selection panel for the Oakland Police Commission, authorized by the City Charter, is charged with interviewing candidates who have applied to be appointed to the Commission. The Selection Panel will meet on Tuesday, July 25, at 6 p.m. at Oakland City Hall to interview five finalists selected from a total of 34 applicants. The finalists are Omar Farmer; Ricardo Garcia-Acosta; Angela
By Richard Johnson
Jackson-Castain; Karely Ordaz Salto; and Wilson Riles. After the interviews, two candidates will be recommended by the panel to the Oakland City Council for appointment to the vacancies that will occur in October. The meeting can be accessed in person or by Zoom. For further information, contact Felicia Verdin in the City Administrator’s Office, fverdin@oaklandca.gov, 510-2383128.
City of Oakland, Calif., Mayor Sheng Thao. Thao is Oakland’s 51st mayor and is the first Hmong-American mayor of a major city in the United States. (Office of Mayor Thao via Bay City News) By Keith Burbank Bay City News And Post Staff Mayor Sheng Thao received a $13,000 pay raise from the City Council despite cuts to services as the city erased its largest budget deficit in its history. The raise will bring Mayor Sheng Thao’s pay in line with the formula established by the Oakland City Charter for calculating the mayor’s salary, which the City Council sets. The council passed an amendment to the city’s salary ordinance to give Thao a raise. Oakland erased a $360 million deficit last month when it passed its fiscal 2023-25 budget, cutting almost $2 million in funding for a lodge that serves homeless resi-
dents. “I urge the City Council to set the Mayor’s salary at the lowest amount legally required by the City Charter,” Thao said in a statement Tuesday morning. “As a leader I know this is in the best interest of the City’s fiscal health, and it is also the right thing to do.” Thao said she would reject any raise that exceeds the chartermandated maximum and give back any amount that exceeds the charter mandated minimum to be used to pay for city services. Thao currently makes $202,999.94 a year. The charter-mandated minimum is $216,202.42 and the mandated maximum is $277,974.54. Continued on page 8