Politics

School board candidates introduce themselves to voters, spar on charter schools

Nine school board candidates took the mic Tuesday night at Lighthouse Community Charter School to introduce themselves to Oakland voters. They are vying for four seats in Districts 1, 3, 5, and 7. Each candidate took turns answering the same three questions, which were printed in the audience’s programs in both English and Spanish. Connie “Mama” Williams, a grandmother of a Lighthouse student, moderated the forum. She was joined by several students and a mother who took turns reading aloud…

In blue California, Trump supporters focus on other states

The U.S. presidential election is less than two months away, but the campaigns of Republicans and Democrats in Oakland and California couldn’t be more different. According to the website Open Secrets, which tracks campaign contributions, so far donors in Oakland have given $4,629,987 to Democrat Hillary Clinton, compared to only $203,357 for Republican Donald Trump and $18,462 for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Statewide, so far in 2016, the former Secretary of State has raised $63,707,471, which is almost 10…