Election 2012
The efforts to recall Mayor Jean Quan have been fraught with controversy and confusion. For almost six months, at least four groups spearheaded two independent signature gathering campaigns to remove the mayor from office before her term ends. After heated debates and political tensions, today marks the deadline for the first of the signature gathering efforts. The second group has until July 2.
One of the groups trying to recall Mayor Jean Quan from office suspended operations on Monday. That leaves at least two groups left, but that doesn’t mean the recall effort has become any less confusing.
The Oakland Green Party held a public forum Friday evening at Humanist Hall in downtown Oakland, where members of other political parties as well as members of the public were invited to brainstorm ideas for Oakland’s future and form an alliance before the next city government elections.
On Tuesday, Terence Candell was out in front of Grocery Outlet on Broadway collecting signatures for a recall Mayor Quan petition, while later that night, volunteers for two groups collected signatures side-by-side in front of the Grand Lake Theater.
Jakada Imani has had to battle his entire life. As a child, he said, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, lived in a home with parents addicted to drugs, and was homeless for a brief period of time. He fought the odds to become a well-respected community leader, and strived to find ways to protect the rights of the disenfranchised. He said that was why he wanted to be a port commissioner – to fight for the people of West Oakland.
Union members and labor leaders gathered at the Alameda County Labor Council office on Monday to voice their support for Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and their opposition to the effort to recall her.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan released an official statement Monday about the efforts of Oakland residents to recall her, saying that the city did not need a “divisive and expensive” recall election and listing her accomplishments during her 294-day tenure as mayor.
As police and Occupy Oakland protesters squared off in front of City Hall this week, organizers of a recall campaign took their first formal steps this week toward an effort to remove Mayor Jean Quan from office.
Oakland voters began mailing in ballots this week to decide the fate of a controversial $80 parcel tax that is being promoted as vital to help Oakland’s budget crisis and assailed as an unnecessary burden on homeowners, with no binding resolution to determine where it would be spent. Measure I would raise $60 million for the city over a five-year period.