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Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
60th Year, No. 2
Weekly Edition. Edition. January 11 - 17, 2023
postnewsgroup.com
Sheng Thao Sworn in as New Mayor of Oakland, Pledges New Direction for the City Mayor Thao Appoints HNU’s Dr. Kimberly Mayfield as Deputy Mayor possible and within our reach.” Mayor Thao provided a few minutes on the program to introduce to the community Dr. Kimberly Mayfield, the newly appointed deputy mayor, who has served as vice president of external affairs
“Sometimes, we take our shared progressive values for granted, our advances toward justice and equality,” said Mayor Thao. She reminded people that “a… century ago, our city was dominat-
Sheng Thao, a daughter of Hmong refugees who overcame homelessness and domestic abuse to attend university and build a life for herself and her family in Oakland, received the official oath of office Monday afternoon as the new mayor of the City of Oakland. Sworn in at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Oakland by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, she stood on stage surrounded by friends, family, and staff members. She was flanked by her son Ben Ventura, who performed a musical piece on the cello, and her father “Richard” Nou
My Thao. The mayor called on Oaklanders to join with her to create a more humane, inclusive, and just city. She spoke about her commitment as a progressive to significantly improve the quality of life for residents, making the city safer and cleaner, building 30,000 units of truly affordable housing, fostering jobs, promoting economic development, supporting small businesses and providing solutions to homelessness that recognize the dignity of the unsheltered. “I know what we can do together, Oakland,” she said. “Our city’s’ best days are still to come. The Oakland that we all know is
Newly appointed Deputy Mayor Kimberly Mayfield (left) with Mayor Sheng Thao. Photo courtesy of Alain McLaughlin Photography. and dean of the school of education at Holy Names University, a leader of the Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) and a member of the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. In her remarks, the mayor focused on the city’s long fight to become more inclusive and equitable. “We believe everyone deserves a seat at the table, not just a few, not just the wealthy, not just the wellconnected,” she said.
ed by members of the Ku Klux Klan (where) Klan members burned crosses in our hills and marched through our streets. As recently as the1970s, freeways were made possible by tearing down thriving Black, Latino, and Asian communities,” she continued. “We recognize what we have overcome together to remember what is worth fighting for every day…(and) to take stock of how far Continued on page 10
Congresswoman Barbara Lee Sworn in to U.S. House of Representatives
Board President Mike Hutchinson. Photo by Tony Daquipa, Oakland Voices.
New Progressive School Board Majority Halts School Closures
By Ken Epstein
The newly elected progressive majority on the Oakland Board of Education voted this week to save five schools that a previous school board had approved for closure at the end of this school year. The schools that remain open are Brookfield Elementary, Carl B. Munck Elementary, Grass Valley Elementary, Horace Mann Elementary, and Korematsu Discovery Academy, and Hillcrest K-8, will maintain its middle school. Voting for the decision to rescind the closures were Board President Mike Hutchinson and VanCedric Williams, joined by new board members Valarie Bachelor and Jennifer Brouhard. Boardmembers Sam Davis and Clifford Thompson voted no, while Nick Resnick abstained. Board President Hutchinson authored the resolution to halt the closures.
The previous board had voted
last February to close or consolidate 11 schools over two years, including the five that were saved this week. However, the closures were met with a community uprising that lasted for months, including protests, marches, walkouts, a hunger strike that received national attention and a one-teachers strike. Powered by that energy, two new progressive school board members won their elections, joining Boardmembers Williams and Hutchinson to create the anti-closure majority. Uncertain at this point is how state overseers, which have long pressed the district to close schools, will respond to this board decision.
Board of Supervisors Recommend Recount in Oakland Mayor’s Race By Ken Epstein The Alameda County Board of Supervisors this week recommended a manual recount of the Oakland mayoral race and other close ranked-choice election results in the county Nov. 8 elections but fell short of requiring a recount and making clear that the supervisors’ decision was contin-
Mayor Sheng Thao, sworn in as the 51st Mayor of Oakland, is flanked by her son Ben Ventura and her father “Richard” Nou My Thao at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, Jan. 9, 2023. Photo courtesy of Alain McLaughlin Photography. By Ken Epstein
Board members David Haubert (left) and Keith Carson
Barbara Lee was sworn in on Jan. 6. The Congresswoman served as teller in the longest Speaker vote since 1858. Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Barbara Lee was officially sworn in as United States Representative for California’s 12th Congressional District, representing the people of the East Bay in the 118th Congress. “I am honored that the people of the East Bay have entrusted me with the great responsibility of representing them in Congress, and deeply grateful to have such engaged and enlightened constituents. As a result of the 2020 Census and redistricting, our beautiful 13th district’s number is now 12. “After four days, thousands of votes, 15 ballots, and the longest Speaker election since 1858, during the Buchannan presidency, we can finally begin legislating in the 118th Congress. I was honored to serve as one of two official Democratic tellers for the Speaker’s race and I’m looking forward to continuing the work of putting people over politics. I will continue fighting for safer communities; ending poverty; affordable housing; combatting homelessness; climate action; reproductive freedom; racial
justice; global peace and security, an equitable health care system; an economy that works for all, and so much more. We have work ahead of us, but with our most diverse and committed House Democratic Caucus yet, we’ll resist the rightwing’s extremist agenda and improve the lives and livelihoods of our communities.” Congresswoman Lee is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations. She serves as Co-Chair of the Steering & Policy Committee, former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Chair Emeritus of the Progressive Caucus, Co-Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Health Task Force, and Co-Chair of the ProChoice Caucus. She also serves as Chair of the Majority Leader’s Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity. As a member of the Steering and Policy Committee, she is the highest-ranking Black woman appointed to House Leadership.
gent on what is allowable under California election law and regulations. Passed unanimously Jan. 10 by board members, the resolution who authored by Supervisor Keith Carson, who said he and other board members have received “thousands” of emails and Continued on page 10
City Fails to Win $182 Million Federal Grant for Oakland A’s Howard Terminal Project
By Keith Burbank Bay City News Oakland may miss out on millions of dollars in grant money that could advance the Oakland A’s proposed ballpark at the city’s port. The U.S. Department of Transportation failed to recommend that Oakland get $182.9 million in the initial round of funding for the city’s Waterfront Mobility Project. Oakland has not received official word that it was denied the grant money. The city has been securing
dollars for the offsite infrastructure needed to support a new ballpark at the Charles P. Howard Terminal. “While we are disappointed to have not been selected in the first round, we believe we put forward a strong application and are well positioned to secure other funding sources,” said Fred Kelley, director of the Oakland Department of Transportation. “We will continue to pursue other funding sources to ensure our projects have the resources they need.” Continued on page 10