Dis OPINION: Gavin’s Ghosts: Governor Attacks Oakland’s Voter-Approved Police Commission. see page 2
Oakland Housing Authority to Hold Lottery for 5,000 New Spots on Voucher Waitlist ... see page 1
In Letter, Conservative Org Threatens Mayor Bass, Other Officials, With Imprisonment ... see page 6
Eddie Abrams, Community Historian, 94 ... see page 4
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
62st Year, No. 2
Weekly Edition January 8 - 14, 2025
postnewsgroup.com
Ending Months of Public Speculation, Barbara Lee Launches Campaign for Mayor of Oakland Oakland Acquisition Company’s Purchase of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion
Barbara Lee came to the Oakland Post office for an in-depth interview as she kicks off her campaign. Photo by Kevin Hicks. By Ken Epstein
Part 1
“I’ve never shied away from a challenge – I’m always ready to fight for Oakland,” said outgoing Congresswoman Barbara Lee, kicking off her campaign this week to become the next mayor of Oakland, speaking with characteristic optimism. In an exclusive interview Wednesday afternoon at the offices of the Oakland Post, Lee spoke about how she came to the decision to run for mayor in the April 15 special election. She also discussed some of her priorities, including defense of human rights of immigrants. “As mayor, I’ll address our homelessness crisis, prioritize comprehensive public safety and mental health services, and lead with fiscal responsibility to deliver the core City services residents and business owners deserve,” she said in her campaign announcement. In reaching her decision to
run, Lee said, “The process was actually doing a deep dive (talking) with many different people, organizations, constituencies here in Oakland, with the business community, with labor, with activists, with nonprofits, with ordinary folks who are just trying to survive on a daily basis. “It has been and will continue to be a good process primarily of listening and listening for the common threads, because I believe that this city – and I love this city – has had such a great history of working together and being unified, even though we disagree on a lot, but in challenging times, we come together,” she said. “I (will) be a mayor who is hands-on and helping find solutions. We can’t make big promises, naturally, but I certainly can say we’re all going to try and move forward together.” Looking at public safety concerns, she said, “People want Continued on page 8
Oakland Housing Authority to Hold Lottery for 5,000 New Spots on Voucher Waitlist
Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo. Special to The Post The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion. The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.
Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County: 1) The Oakland-Alameda 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, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net mission. In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.” The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential. “The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.
Kevin Jenkins will serve as mayor only until May. Photo by Kevin Hicks
Oakland City Councilmember Kevin Jenkins Voted in as Council President, Will Serve as Interim Mayor Councilmember Noel Gallo will serve as Interim City Council President and former Councilmember At-Large Rebecca Kaplan will serve as Interim District 2 Councilmember
By City of Oakland The Oakland City Council voted Monday to appoint Councilmember Kevin Jenkins as Council President, and Councilmember Noel Gallo as Council President Pro Tem. Effective immediately, they will serve as interim mayor and interim City Council president, respectively. The City Council also voted to temporarily appoint Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan to hold the District 2 City Council office. Interim Mayor Jenkins, Interim City Council President Gallo, and Interim District 2 City Councilmember Kaplan will all
hold these roles until a special election is held in April to fill the vacant permanent positions of Mayor and District 2 City Councilmember. “What Oaklanders and Bay Area residents can expect over the coming months is we’re going to have a special election that will be held on April 15 to elect a new mayor as well as to fill the District 2 vacancy,” said Oakland City Attorney Ryan Richardson. The special elections are required because former Mayor Sheng Thao was recalled by voters in November and District 2’s former representative, Nikki Fortunato Bas, was elected to the Continued on page 8
By Magaly Muñoz
al programs and cut public safety
Oakland Leadership Shuffles with New Interim Mayor and D2 Councilmember Oakland has officially begun
The Oakland Coliseum. iStock photo.
The Oakland Housing Authority main office is located at 1540 Webster St. Courtesy photo. By Post Staff The Oakland Housing Authority will hold a lottery for 5,000 new spots on the Section 8 voucher waitlist, which low-income households can use to pay part of their rent. Applications will be accepted Jan. 7 through Jan. 26 for the new spots on the list. The last time the waitlist opened was in 2011. Recipients of the Section 8 vouchers, now called Housing Choice Vouchers pay 30-40% of their monthly income rent and utilities, while the voucher will cover
Dr. Kimberly Mayfield Working to Bring a ‘BlackAffirming University’ (HBCU) to Oakland
the rest. Interested
individuals
and
households can apply online or in person at Oakland Housing Authority locations: including at 1327 65th Ave., 1540 Webster St., and 935 Union St. (See dates and times online.) The Housing Authority “encourages every family seeking affordable housing in Oakland to apply to the waiting list lottery,” Spokesperson Kelsey Frost said. “We have staff to assist with the process, including in-person application kiosks at several locations, Continued on page 8
Dr. Kimberly Mayfield. Official photo. By Ken Epstein Dr. Kimberly Mayfield, who, until recently served as deputy mayor of Oakland, has been working for several years with educators and community groups to create a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) or other Black-serving institution of
higher education in Oakland — potentially on the fully operational campus of Holy Names University in East Oakland, which went out of business in 2023. The goal, according to Mayfield, is to “create a Black-serving institution in Oakland, which means that 50% or more of the student body would be African American.” The Oakland program could either be an HBCU, which is preferable, or a Black-serving institution unaffiliated with other HBCUs. The program itself could become a stand-alone institution or an assemblage of different programs on a single campus.
Continued on page 8
department spending by millions
its new leadership era as newly
in order to balance a $130 million
elected council members are in-
budget deficit.
troduced and incumbent mem-
The largest cuts affected the
bers take on new roles following
police and fire, with the OPD
the fall recall election.
facing a $25 million reduction in
The council selected Kevin Jenkins, who represents East Oakland in District 6, as the new council president and therefore
overtime expenses and two fire stations having been temporarily browned out.
interim mayor, succeeding former colleague Nikki Fortunato Bas who left to serve on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. Jenkins will temporarily serve as Oakland Mayor until this spring when residents will choose a new leader to take over the rest of ousted Mayor Sheng Thao’s term after being recalled in late 2024. “There’s some serious issues in the city, but we’re only going to get past them if we work together. The residents of Oakland absolutely demand it,” Jenkins said. The city recently gutted sever-
Carroll Fife. District 3. All photos by Kevin Hicks. Firefighters expressed their disapproval of these shutdowns at a rally outside of City Hall on Monday morning, calling this Continued on page 8