It’s a sunny Tuesday morning on the shores of Lake Merritt, and a small group of researchers and curious onlookers is crowded around a dead fish. The silvery, 30-inch-long Chinook salmon, pulled that morning from a small, enclosed arm of Lake Merritt that leads to Glen Echo Creek, is placed on a concrete slab, and a man with a sharp instrument gets to work. First he slices through the belly, and then separates the head from the body. “We are…
Ranked-choice divides Oakland voters — some want to scrap it, others want outreach to educate voters
In November 2022, Oakland resident Ima Ekong went to her local polling place to cast her vote in the city’s mayoral election. Two years later, she says she’s still unclear how ranked-choice voting, the ballot system used in city elections, selects winners and losers. “I think it is really confusing,” she said. Ekong is not alone. The 2022 election put a spotlight on ranked-choice voting with the surprise victory of Sheng Thao over Loren Taylor in the Oakland mayoral race…