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Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
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Oakland Post Endorses Barbara Lee
Public Safety & Peace Movement Car Caravan Rally U.S. Representative Lateefah Simon. Official portrait.
Community leaders, activists, and organizations come together to advocate for peace, safety, and economic opportunity in Oakland at the Oakland Public Safety & Peace Movement Car Caravan on March 29. Photo by Tata Fontenberry. By Richard Johnson
peace, safety, and economic opportunity in Oakland. The event, which included a car caravan and march, highlighted urgent issues such as violence, unemployment, homeContinued on page 10
San Francisco Is Investing Millions to Address Food Insecurity. Is Oakland Doing the Same?
The San Francisco District 10 Community Market is a fully government funded free grocery store for families in need of food assistance. The market is located in Hunters Point, one of the lowest income areas in the city. Photo by Magaly Muñoz. By Magaly Muñoz
provides grants to nonprofit-run
ment a community market similar
Part 2 Why Not Oakland? Only slightly larger than San Francisco, Oakland has over 400 food distribution sites. Oakland
organizations that run grocery pro-
to San Francisco’s.
By Ken Epstein
chairman of the party’s executive committee and a member of the Berkeley City Council, sent out an email saying Taylor’s use of the logo was unauthorized, according to CBS News “We have demanded of the Loren Taylor for Mayor campaign to cease and desist immediately from any further unauthorized and improper use of the Alameda County Central Committee Logo or materials,” he said. “Barbara Lee is the Alameda Democratic Party’s sole endorsed candidate for Oakland mayor in the April 15 special election.”
and making it challenging to imple-
Simon (D-CA-12) announced over
Oakland Public Safety & Peace
in a powerful rally advocating for
ing some organizations to regroup,
Today, Congresswoman Lateefah
research projects at the University of
leaders, activists, and organizations
city has begun to reduce those, forc-
Special to the Post
$2.7 million in funding for scientific
fully brought together community
grams. But in recent months, the
Congresswoman Simon Announces Over $2.7 Million in Funding for Scientific Research in the East Bay
On Saturday, March 29, the Movement Car Caravan success-
From left to right: Rick Fortenberry, Richard ‘Razor’ Johnson, Edwin Hagler, Pastor Raymond Lankford, mayoral candidate Barbara Lee. Photo by Jonathan Fitness Jones.
62nd Year, No. 14
Weekly Edition April 2 - 8, 2025
The Oakland Post repeatedly reached out to city and county officials for comment on the story but Continued on page 10
California, Berkeley. Five separate research projects at UC Berkeley will receive a National Science Foundation (NSF) award to continue their cutting-edge research to provide new chemistry, mathematics, behavioral
Former Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Courtesy photo. As we end the celebration of Women’s History Month in Oakland, we endorse Barbara Lee, a woman of demonstrated historical significance. In our opinion, she has the best chance of uniting the city and achieving our needs for affordable housing, public safety, and fiscal accountability. As a former small business owner, Barbara Lee understands
The Post contacted all Oakland mayoral candidates with questions to be answered by Friday, March 14. Renia Webb and Loren Taylor did not submit responses.
Suzanne Robinson Wants to Be Mayor of Oakland
Ahead of the April 15 special mayoral election, the Oakland Post interviewed Suzanne Robinson on her plans for public safety, budget reform, and creating an inclusive, thriving Oakland. Candidates in the race include Barbara Lee, Loren Taylor, Renia Webb, Cristina Grappo, Elizabeth Swaney, Eric Simpson, Peter Liu, and Mindy Pechenuk. Tyron Jordan dropped out and endorsed Lee. Taylor and Swaney didn’t submit responses, and Webb declined to comment. Below are excerpts from Robinson’s responses, edited for length and clarity. What is your plan to address public safety concerns with residents? Robinson identified both
chronic understaffing and a collapse in morale within the Oakland Police Department. “We have never had enough police officers,” she said. “We have issues that have collapsed our police department during the pandemic, including a major cultural collapse… [that] has caused the officers to do ‘as little as possible.’” She attributed that fearbased culture to the firing of senior officers and the lack of support for frontline staff, stating, “Organizations cannot attract and retain top talent without [a healthy culture], and we have retention issues in the department.” She argued that violence prevention efforts need to be more targeted. “The CF [Ceasefire] program has gaps as they only work with groups and gangs and their target age demographic is age 34,” she said. She emphasized bringing back in-person activities—such as the “Town Nights” program—to engage youth and reduce crime in hotspot areas. To empower residents, Robinson supports rebuilding community policing. “The citywide community policing infrastructure is one of the most underutilized assets our city has,” Continued on page 10
la Vinnakota, a consultant with Taylor’s campaign. “Oakland voters are smart enough to know that this is another petty, dirty attack on Loren’s campaign designed to …protect the status quo.” Lee’s campaign responded. “This is yet another example of a pattern of misinformation and plain lies from Loren Taylor and his supporters,” said Bilen Mesfin. “Oakland doesn’t have time for fake ads, fake headlines, and fake endorsements. We need a leader who is ready to govern on day one - and that’s Barbara Lee.” Taylor also recently accused
Lee of refusing to directly debate him on KQED. He released a statement “calling out Lee for dodging a … one-on-one debate,” according to KRON TV. “Not showing up for debates — that is anti-democratic,” Taylor said. However, KQED issued a statement saying that a debate between the two candidates was never scheduled. “We had never confirmed, nor publicized a formal debate. But we did invite both candidates to make their cases with listeners on Forum, together or separately. As Continued on page 10
and cognitive sciences, and engineering solutions. “When my late husband was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer,
Continued on page 10
Booker Says, ‘The Power of the People is Greater Than the People in Power’
Mayoral candidate Suzanne Robinson. Courtesy photo. By Magaly Muñoz
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker stood and spoke against President Trump’s harmful .policies for 25 hours and five minutes, without a bathroom break, on the Senate Floor. His speech set a record as the longest speech ever given in the U.S. Senate. It has sparked a widespread national bi-partisan reaction of support to his call for the nation to fight together to save Democracy.
how to apply tools needed to revitalize Oakland’s downtown, uptown, and neighborhood businesses. Barbara Lee will be able to unify the city around Oakland’s critical budget and financial issues, since she will walk into the mayor’s office with the support of a super majority of seven city council members — enabling her to achieve much-needed consensus on moving Oakland into a successful future. It is notable that many of those who fought politically on both sides of the recent recall election battles have now laid down their weapons and become brothers and sisters in support of Barbara Lee. The Oakland Post is pleased to join them.
Oakland Mayoral Candidate Loren Taylor Faces Allegations of False, Misleading Campaigning Against Opponent Barbara Lee
Candidate Loren Taylor is facing a series of criticisms that he and Independent Expenditure groups backing him have engaged in false and misleading campaigning as they seek to overcome veteran, progressive former Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s presumptive lead in the April 15 special election for Mayor of Oakland. Most recently, the Alameda County Democratic Party told Taylor this week to stop using its logo in campaign materials Last Sunday, Igor Tregub,
Mayoral candidate Loren Taylor. Courtesy image. Disputing the criticism, Taylor’s campaign said the logo was
member of the party’s governing board.
used to reinforce a statement on
“This really shows the absurdi-
the mailer, illustrating that he is a
ty of insider politics,” said Trisha-