Money and measures: Oakland’s ballot by the numbers

The ballot in Oakland voters’ hands this Tuesday has more than $20 million behind it in campaign financing, the majority of which surrounds the controversial Measure HH tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. According to data retrieved from the city’s election office and OpenDisclosure.io, a non-profit campaign funding website by California Civic Lab, funding for candidates and…

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OpenDisclosure: Your guide to the 2016 Oakland campaign data

A group of volunteers from Open Oakland have built a website called OpenDisclosure.io in partnership with the Oakland Public Ethics Commission. The site allows voters to view information about campaign funding for local ballot measures and for candidates running for office. Open Disclosure launched October 18, and uses existing data from city public records to create simple graphs and easy to understand information.

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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…

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Oakland grocers raise concerns about soda tax Measure HH

Thirty-five years ago, Abdul Talev’s grandfather opened a small grocery store in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland. Today, with the family business in his care, Talev is worried a new soda tax will cause him to lose business, or even worse, force him to close his doors.  The controversial tax Talev is referring to is…

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