Election brings mixed results for Oakland police union

OPOA president Barry Donelan (left) looks at former president Dom Arotzarena at a press conference last year.

The Oakland Police Officer’s Association — the police union, a nonprofit organization representing the city’s police officers — has for years dabbled in the political scene, endorsing candidates and spending thousands of dollars each election cycle advocating for candidates OPOA leaders believe will best address public safety and police concerns.

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After fierce fight, Oakland Zoo parcel tax measure fails

Alyson Yarus, senior associate at Noll & Tam Architects and Planners, discusses the Oakland Zoo's California Trail project. Opponents to Measure A1 claim that funds from the parcel tax would have gone toward the expansion project.

Alameda County’s Measure A1, which would have created a parcel tax to fund animal care and educational programs at the Oakland Zoo, set off a stir of claims and counterclaims between zoo officials and local and state environmental groups. Roughly 62 percent of the county’s voters finally voted in favor of the measure—but because it was a tax, that fell short of the two-thirds majority of votes needed for approval.

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Oaksterdam welcomes unlikely presidential candidate, Roseanne Barr

Barr delivers a furious speech.

Roseanne Barr is running for president. It was clear, when she addressed a packed house at Oaksterdam University on Thursday night, that the bulk of the crowd was there to hear her say that out loud. Former Democratic Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney delivered an introduction to the evening, cutting directly to the chase. “We are meeting here,” she said, “because the Peace and Freedom Party had the courage and the smarts to nominate Roseanne Barr as their presidential candidate.”

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