Government
Oakland has been trying to curb sideshows for years and even celebrated a “sideshow-free” summer in 2010, but the illegal street car shows haven’t gone away, and City Council seems to be at a loss on how to restrain them. The Oakland sideshow saga witnessed a stunning escalation last month as footage of a big rig participating in an event went viral on social media. In a frenzied incident near Keller Avenue and Mountain Boulevard, the rig was caught on…
Oakland City Council called a special meeting Thursday to proclaim a local emergency from a cyber attack that has ensnared the city’s computer systems for the past week. The resolution was needed for the city to take the next step in asking the governor’s office to issue a state of emergency that would enable Oakland to recover costs associated with the attack. Members of the public and the media expressed disappointment that city officials and the council didn’t answer more…
In between bites from a chicken and veggie sandwich, Oakland resident Connor Hunter, 9, read aloud from a poster he had just signed at Lincoln Summer Nights, a community event hosted by a coalition of local organizations. The prompt: “If you were an elected official in Oakland, what would your first act be?” “I wrote that if I was elected mayor, I would give $500,000 to businesses in Oakland because it would help the community and businesses grow. I could…
Oakland’s Public Ethics Commission fined Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan $19,000 Wednesday, for violating the Government Ethics Act by failing to fully report her real estate holdings. Kaplan, an at-large member of Oakland City Council since 2009, purchased a condo with her parents near Estuary Park in 2013 but failed to disclose it on a form filed annually by public officials to declare ownership of any real estate in Oakland other than their primary residence. That was problematic also because Kaplan voted twice…
In last month’s election, an overwhelming majority of Oakland voters said “yes” to Measure W, a public financing program to curb big money influence in local elections and foster political participation. The measure repeals the Limited Public Financing Act, a modest public financing program solely for City Council elections, and adopts the Fair Elections Act that will establish a “Democracy Dollars Program,” extending public financing to all city elections. Oakland’s Public Ethics Commission will implement the measure by hiring staff…
Oakland Election Updates
There are roughly 50,000 Californians who will get to vote again or for the first time on Tuesday, thanks to Proposition 17, which restored voting rights to those on parole after it passed in November 2020. UC Berkeley law Professor Emily Zhang believes that many people impacted by Prop 17 are not aware that they are newly eligible to vote. “A law changing can only do so much. There’s the second part, which is to make sure people know about…
Nine candidates who want to be Oakland’s next mayor answered questions about gun violence, the environment and quality of life before an audience of about 50 voters Thursday at St. Columba Catholic Church in northwest Oakland. The forum was sponsored by Faith in Action East Bay, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the Alpha Nu Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the Oakland chapter of the NAACP. The Rev. Ken Hamilton moderated, giving each candidate two…
Oakland voters will be asked on the Nov. 8 ballot if they want the city to give each of them $100 in campaign vouchers that could be donated to the candidates of their choice. The program would cost the city $4 million every two years. The City Council passed it Monday, with six votes in favor; Noel Gallo and Rebecca Kaplan were not present for the vote. “If we want to increase democracy, if we want more people who are…