Ok, so here we go again. We have another Oakland Councilmember – three officially listed – running for Mayor of Oakland. Oakland District Four Councilmember Sheng Thao, Oakland District Six Councilmember Loren Taylor, and Oakland District Seven Councilmember Treva Reid. Yeah, I get that Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is termed out (which means she can’t run for re-election if she wanted to) but to have two council people be listed as running for election in two different campaigns is illegal. (And Treva Reid is not acting illegally because she’s not up for reelection until 2024.)
But I guess my Oakland City Clerk has no issue with the appearance of allowing illegal actions. Oh, well. I do wonder what Janani Ramachandran thinks of all of this? Or what does Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas think about this – especially since she’s running for re-election in District 2? (Vote for her!)
Janani Ramachandran Is Back And Running Against Sheng Thao In District Four – Says The City of Oakland
Janani Ramachandran? Who’s Janani Ramachandran, you ask? She’s the youngish Oakland lawyer who’s spitfire personality and force of energy launched her into an election run-off against our now newish California Assemblywoman Mia Bonta. In other words, she was not far off from having that honor of representing you and me in the California Legislature. Well, guess what folks, SHE’S BACK! Yep.
Janani Ramachandran is back and running against Sheng Thao in Oakland City Council District Four. What? Sheng’s running for Mayor, you say? Oh, then look:
There you go, folks. It’s in black and white as they say. Janani Ramachandran vs. Sheng Thao for Oakland City Council District Four. Yet, Sheng is now one of nine people running for Mayor of Oakland. Sorry, remove one of the names. I don’t care what Sheng or Loren says, what’s the truth is listed in our elections database. If I were Janani Ramachandran, I’d be raising hell about now. Come on, Janani Ramachandran (say her name), get crackin!
Personally, I am sick and tired of what’s become this crapola ego fest thing of sitting Oakland Councilmembers running for Libby’s job when Sheng and Loren and Treva Reid have not even solved our still growing homeless problem nor our crime problem. If you can’t make a dent in either of these, and you’re councilmember, as far as I am concerned, you have no business running for Mayor of Oakland. The last thing we need is a replay of what Libby turned out to be as Mayor: in-effective.
Being an Oakland Councilmember is where the rubber of the road of the city’s problems are right at one’s feet. A smart cookie should be able to work via his or her title and gather legislative resources to help people in this greatest time of need. But what’s happening? Sheng, Treva, and Loren are running for mayor and yet have not done jack. They fiddle while Oakland burns. And all of these little projects here and there do not make up for the malpractice of not getting money to Oaklanders in their time of need. Famous businesses have closed, like Olivetto in Rockridge, and the Oakland homeless population has grown to fantastic proportions. That’s what it looks like to me. So, I say until the homeless problem is on its way to being solved, do not vote for them. Sorry to write this, but we’re in trouble.
Oakland Surveys Have All Said That Oakland Is On The Wrong Track
Oakland is so bad now that both the Jobs and Housing poll and the Oakland Chamber of Commerce poll said the same thing: Oakland is on the wrong track. I’ve never seen two surveys about Oakland collectively scream WE’RE FUCKED! to that magnitude in my life. And that goes back to 1974, and what I am starting to call Oakland’s Wonder Years for black folks (cause it’s true).
But I digress. These times we’re living in are a kind of “Wonder Years” in themselves, where everyone in Oakland is wondering what year it will be when we get our collective act together. I don’t have to tell you all of the problems we have, and yet Sheng, Treva, and Loren who Oaklanders voted to solve the problems, now want you to basically vote for them to be Mayor of Oakland, even though they’ve not done squat.
Look, hitting base hits does not cut it when it’s the bottom of the 9th and we’re down 7,000 to 1 – which represents the low end estimate of the Oakland homeless population. We have a lot of people suffering. Meanwhile, Sheng, Treva, and Loren seem to operate as if the job of Oakland City Councilmember is part-time, when it’s not. This is not the Oakland post-2019. We can’t do normal.
Treva and Loren complain about tax increment financing for Howard Terminal, yet they don’t get off their hind-quarters and form a plan using AB 464 – which allows tax increment financing to be used to form a plan to get money by the billions to Oakland businesses. I am not kidding. They have not done squat, neither has Libby, and yet Oakland businesses are still closing. It’s like Sheng, Treva, Loren, and Libby just don’t care. You need to do big to tackle big problems.
As far as I am concerned, Oakland’s better off voting in Derrick Soo as Mayor of Oakland simply because he’s already homeless, lives in East Oakland, and has tried to work with the City of Oakland to improve the situation, and while he has some successes, Mayor Schaaf will not talk to him. Why?
Because he’s critical of her. That’s really the only reason. Seriously, Libby, you’re better than that. And you’re Mayor of Oakland. The best remedy is to have the expert at finding solutions to the problem, Derrick Soo, as Mayor of Oakland. There’s no reason to think he would not be effective. None.
Derrick Soo For Mayor Of Oakland
Yeah, that’s Nikki in the thumbnail and not Derrick, but its his vlog, and a good one, so….
So, rather than run for Mayor of Oakland, Sheng, Treva, and Loren need to get behind Derrick Soo. Now, I can hear Janani Ramachandran screaming IT’S MY TURN AT BAT IN DISTRICT FOUR! I can also hear Paulina Gonzales saying the same thing in District Six, even though I don’t yet know her – Paulina’s name is next to Loren’s, which means she’s running against him.
So, Sheng and Loren have to get with the City Clerk and correct this problem. If you’re not running in D4 and D6, get your name off the website for that race, please. That’s not fair to the other candidates, nor Oaklanders. Meanwhile, folks, get behind Derrick Soo for Mayor of Oakland. He can do the job. Give Derrick a chance.
Oh, and there’s vlog versions of what I just wrote coming. I am not going to be quiet about this. Not one bit.
Stay tuned.