Election 2012
Barely one week after the Obama campaign office on Telegraph Avenue in downtown Oakland had one of its window panes shattered by Occupy protesters, at least 100 protesters calling for the release of jailed U.S. Army soldier Private First Class Bradley Manning invaded the campaign offices Thursday, occupying them for at least three hours and bringing business to a standstill before police forced them out.
From Occupy Oakland activists and anti-war protestors to medical cannabis advocates and people using polar bear mascots to protest against oil drilling in the Arctic, President Barack Obama’s fundraising stop in Oakland on Monday night drew vocal dissent and equally vocal support from different local groups.
The most recent data from the Registrar of Voters Office indicates 224,025 votes were cast in last week’s June primary election, representing 29.78 percent of the registered voters in Alameda County, the lowest in years. “Turnout was very low, no question about it,” said Registrar of Voters Dave Macdonald. “That’s throughout California, not just Alameda County.”
Four candidates went before the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday afternoon to argue their cases for why they should be named the interim supervisor for District 2 after Nadia Lockyer stepped down. Now the four remaining board members have a week to decide who will join them for the next five months before standing for election this November.
For one of the first-time candidates running for public office, the first-ever Oakland Caucus on Thursday night seemed undoubtedly formal. Richard Raya is running for the District 1 council seat, which includes North Oakland, in November, and while his campaigning to this point has involved a lot of community meetings and house parties, this event featured most of the candidates for local political seats in full-on campaign mode as they mingled with voters.
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.