Oakland

Meet Taj Tashombe: Oakland A’s VP of External Affairs

Published

7 years ago

November 24, 2017

Taj Tashombe

The Oakland Athletics recently promoted Taj Tashombe to Vice President of External Affairs. In his new role, Tashombe oversees community engagement and outreach for the team’s new ballpark effort.

The new job places Tashombe right in the middle of the A’s new coliseum project and their hopeful plans to build on the Peralta Community College District’s land near Laney College.

Tashombe considers Oakland to be at a major tipping and wants the community to grasp the the gravity of the moment and the positive impact the new stadium will have on education, jobs, crime prevention and re-entry.

“If we miss this opportunity, I don’t know when the next ship is coming because this is the largest project on the table in Oakland,” he said. The 35,000 seat stadium is expected to have its new location established and begin building by the year 2023.

Tashombe says that change is inevitable, however he wants gentrification with equity. Primarily privately funded, Tashombe says the project will yield a $3 billion dollar economic impact on Oakland with 2,000 construction jobs. He is really excited about the creation of partnerships and the possibilities for anyone involved.

“The new stadium will be state of the art with cutting edge technology and we look forward to creating a pipeline for students to be a part of the A’s family in the form of internships while in school and viable jobs thereafter,” he said.
From an infrastructural standpoint, he says the project will create improvements on the surrounding roads, sewage system and buildings.

“The infrastructural impact and development of the loan will be of benefit with the use of Infrastructure Finance Districts which allows new revenue from the ballpark after it’s built, to be poured back into the community so that the cost to the City goes down and there are no new taxes,” he said.

A desire for Oakland residents to have the opportunity to tell their story, leave their legacy and imprint in the lens of past, present, and future is of importance to Tashombe. As Tashombe pushes the new vision for the A’s he feels that his own life story has come full circle since his return to the Bay Area in January, with his wife and 4-year old daughter.

Prior to the A’s, Tashombe worked in conjunction with the NBA on TNT, NFL Sunday Night Football, and MLB Network. He has also worked with big brands such as Toyota, Hilton Hotels and Hyundai.

The Oakland native who once worked as an Oakland A’s intern, is a graduate of HBCU, Clark Atlanta University.

“On campus, I started the Men’s Institution Program, a campaign that promoted the success and dignity of who we are as men, our character, and dreams and the way in which we conduct ourselves in a collegiate environment,” said Tashombe. “We even had Nelson Mandela’s grandson as a part of the organization.”

Tashombe took his leadership skills and gained valuable political and community engagement experience as a special assistant to Congresswoman Barbara Lee, as well as to the Director of Communications at the Port of Oakland. His love of business and entertainment moved him to Southern California for 15 years until a 15-minute meeting with the A’s president turned into a job opportunity.

“I simply reached out to the president of the A’s and asked for a 15-minute meeting – that meeting turned out to be a job offer that changed my life.”

Just as Tashombe walked through the door of opportunity he hopes to help others weigh in on the development and partake in the benefits of the new stadium.

“My dream is for this ballpark to coincide and be very meaningful to the community and I want it to be done in a responsible way,” he added.

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Activism

OPINION: Solutions to the Housing Crisis Exist, but Governments Waste Tax Dollars Instead

People who are homeless want real housing, not temporary shelters that are dangerous and crowded. The City of Oakland has been telling the public that the sweeps of encampments are an effective solution, but it just pushes people from block to block, wasting tax money on paying police officers overtime in a budget crisis. This is true at the state level too, where California spends $42,000 per person that is unhoused per year. The city and state could just help pay residents’ rent, rather than pay for police to harass people on the streets, many of whom have disabilities or are elders.

Published

2 days ago

December 29, 2024

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Kimberly King and Victoria King

In a powerful demonstration of grassroots organizing, activists joined forces in direct action that started on Dec. 17 to call for the establishment of sanctuary communities across the West Coast

The goal of the effort is to raise awareness about misleading narratives around homelessness and to present concrete solutions to a crisis that leaves over 35,000 people unsheltered each night in the Bay Area.

The action, led by members of Oakland’s Wood Street Commons and Homefullness/Poor Magazine, represents a direct response to the U.S. Supreme Court and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approach to homelessness. At the core of the movement is a fundamental truth: housing is a human right, not a commodity to be bought and sold for profit.

The coalition of organizations, led by people with lived experience of homelessness, coordinated their efforts to show the unity behind this movement, including setting up sweeps-free sanctuary communities and resource centers and presenting solutions to city council. The message is clear: unhoused residents refuse to remain invisible in the face of policies that have resulted in 347 deaths for people experiencing homelessness in Alameda County just this year alone.

The coalition presented four key demands, each addressing different aspects of the housing crisis. First, they called for the establishment of sanctuary communities instead of sweeps, urging the redirection of encampment management funds toward positive solutions like encampment upgrades and permanent low to no-income housing.

The second demand focuses on utilizing public land for public good, specifically identifying vacant properties like the Hilton Hotel on Port of Oakland land. The coalition emphasized the immediate availability of these spaces to house hundreds of currently unhoused residents.

Prevention forms the third pillar of the coalition’s demands, with calls for strengthened renter’s rights, rent subsidies, and a permanent moratorium on rental evictions and foreclosures for non-payment.

Finally, the coalition demands the defunding of coercive “Care Courts,” advocating instead for non-carceral approaches to mental health care and harm reduction.

The Poor People’s Campaign’s motto, “When we lift from the bottom, no one gets left behind,” encapsulates the spirit of the action. Daily activities, including opening prayers for those who have died while homeless, served as powerful reminders of the human cost of failed housing policies that treat housing as a commodity rather than a fundamental right.

As this crisis continues to unfold, these activist groups have made it clear that the solution to homelessness must come from those most directly affected by it.

About the Authors

Kimberly King and Victoria King are Oakland Residents who advocate for the unhoused and propose solutions to end homelessness and housing insecurity.

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Alameda County

Barbara Lee Releases Statement on Possible Run for Mayor of Oakland

Already, her backers are organizing to urge her to run for the position left vacant by the recall of former Mayor Sheng Thao, which became effective on Dec. 17. At present, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas is serving temporarily as mayor.

Published

2 days ago

December 29, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Courtesy photo, Office of Rep. Barbara Lee.

By Ken Epstein

Questions continue to swirl in Oakland and throughout the Bay Area over the possibility that Congresswoman Barbara Lee might run for mayor of Oakland after she leaves Congress in January.

Already, her backers are organizing to urge her to run for the position left vacant by the recall of former Mayor Sheng Thao, which became effective on Dec. 17.

At present, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas is serving temporarily as mayor.

Lee is already meeting with city leaders and learning more about the major issues facing the city. In a social media post on Dec. 20, she released a statement clarifying her timeline for making a decision.

“The decision to run for Mayor of Oakland, a city that I have long called home, is not one I take lightly,” she said.

“As my time in Congress wraps up, my current priority is navigating the crisis before us in DC. I am working around the clock to reach a deal that will keep our government open and provide crucial resources for my district,” she continued.

“I will announce my intentions in early January,” Congresswoman Lee said.

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Activism

Oakland Awarded $675,000 Grant to Reduce Lead Hazards

Published

3 days ago

December 29, 2024

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By Post Staff

The City of Oakland has won a $675,800 grant from Partnership for the Bay’s Future (PBF) that will fund a two-year fellow to work in the Housing and Community Development (HCD) Department to support the development of lead hazard abatement and proactive rental inspection initiatives.

The award will assist in Oakland’s work to reduce lead hazards in older rental housing, especially in communities most impacted by housing instability. The City hired a consultant, Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, in 2024 to lead the technical aspect of the lead abatement work. By exploring the integration of lead hazard abatement with proactive rental inspections, the fellow’s work will aim to improve living conditions for families at risk of exposure and create safer homes for Oakland’s residents.

“We are grateful for the support of Partnership for the Bay’s Future for this award,” said Emily Weinstein, HCD director. “Housing safety and habitability are top priorities for our work in the coming year, and this fellow will ensure specific attention is paid to creating equitable solutions.”

The fellow will be dedicated full-time for the next two years to facilitate collaboration between HCD, Planning and Building Department (PBD), and a coalition of community partners. The total benefit to the City of Oakland is at least $675,800, of which $220,000 goes to a collaborative of community organizations to support the work.

The Healthy Havenscourt Collaborative brings essential community expertise to the project, connecting Oakland residents with resources and ensuring the program aligns with their needs.

These partners will engage residents directly to shape the program and make sure their voices are central to its design and implementation.

Coalition partners include Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP), La Clinica de la Raza, EBALDC, and Black Cultural Zone – all of which form the Healthy Havenscourt collaborative.