The Oakland Mayor’s Race for the seat currently held by the 50th Mayor and my long-time friend Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is starting to get crowded. Now, there’s some guy named Stephen Schear, which is why I’m blogging about this subject of the Oakland mayoral election for 2022, again.
Right now, there are five people officially listed on the City of Oakland’s website, and really four of them, because District 6 Councilmember Loren Taylor is still listed as running for re-election in District Six as well as running for Mayor of Oakland – a clear election law violation. When Loren removes his name from either City Council District Six or Mayor, I will stop saying he’s running illegally. For the Oakland City Clerk’s Office to have the appearance of giving him a pass is outrageous. Moreover, doesn’t Loren have any work to do as an Oakland councilmember? Where is he finding the time to run for Mayor so early? Is Loren board or something?
Remember The Names: Greg Hodge, Tyron Jordan, Stephen Schear, Derrick Soo, Allyssa Victory Villanueva, Loren Taylor, Frank Somerville, And Who’s Got Next for Mayor Of Oakland
I still think KTVU Anchor Frank Somerville should toss his hat into the Oakland Mayoral Race, and while he’s not done that, the 30-year-TV-veteran has not said “NO” either. At least not directly to me at this point. And as of this writing we have long-time Oakland politico and former school board member Greg Hodge, Tyron Jordan, homeless advocate Derrick Soo, and ACLU staff lawyer Allyssa Victory Villanueva running. Those are the officially-listed names.
What I wrote before…
Loren Taylor’s up against a growing list of people running for Mayor of Oakland in 2022, five (counting Loren) who are officially listed and another four not officially listed: Greg Hodge, Tyson Jordan, Derrick Soo, Allyssa Victory Villanueva, are listed, and incumbent District Four Councilmember Sheng Thao, Derrick Johnson (who ran against Rebecca Kaplan for the At-Large Seat she won the right to hold again in 2020), Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby, and Oakland City Councilmember Treva Reid (District 7), are not officially listed, but said to be at various levels of preparation to run for Mayor.
And I am told that Councilmember Sheng Thao is close to securing the support of organized labor and has the backing of Oakland Councilmembers Carroll Fife (District Three) and Rebecca Kaplan (At-Large). Sheng worked for Rebecca before running for the District 4 seat she won in 2018.
Oakland News Now
….Still stands. What I can’t get over is this: I thought being an Oakland Councilmember was a full-time job? If that’s the case, why are so many current councilmember’s already spending time thinking about campaigning. Where the Oakland Pandemic Recovery Plan? Does anyone care? Am I the only one pissed off about this? What’s the hell is wrong with you all? The whole deal is just fucking crazy.
One something not crazy is the fact that Mr. Stephen Schear managed to slip in to the race so quietly. Well, just who is this dude?
Stephen Schear Is A One-Time Oakland Lawyer Now Filmmaker
Mr. Stephen Schear, who I have never met nor heard of before, is a filmmaker. The only reason I know is because I searched for information about him on the Internet. (A pretty handy tool at times, you know?). The man who matches the City Clerk filing has a website on himself (but not on his run for Mayor of Oakland), where he reports as follows:
Stephen Schear has been practicing law in California since 1978. For over forty years, he has specialized in health law. He is now making the transition from law to film.Steve has represented health care providers in employment and hospital privilege matters, retaliation cases, hospital medical staff hearings, and disciplinary actions before California licensing boards. He also served as general counsel for non-profit clinics and other healthcare agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area area. He was lead counsel in Fahlen v. Sutter Central Valley Hospitals. In Fahlen, Steve and his co-counsel Jenny Huang won a landmark decision from the California Supreme Court affirming a physician’s right to sue for retaliatory peer review. The case has been called “one of the most important cases for practicing doctors in California in the last 20 plus years.” Steve was named one of California’s leading labor and employment lawyers for 2014 by the Daily Journal, California’s largest legal newspaper.Steve is now only accepting legal work as a consultant to individuals or attorneys.
https://stephenschear.com/
The Stephen Schear website also reports that he’s transitioned from law to fimmaking, and with his Son, Theo, even made a prize-winning commercial for drinking water featuring Stephen Curry. And add to that, he made a movie about “a 53 minute film about the accomplishments of Alan Berg, the 20th Century’s foremost leader in addressing global malnutrition.”
And, as you may have guessed by now, Stephen Schear is a Democrat of long-standing. This is his first run for local political office and there’s no website.
Stay tuned for me, and I’m going to update this space, too.
Signed, fucking mad. See ya! And talk to you later Stephen Schear (maybe he’s f-ing mad, too)!