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Tuman and Parker Criticize Quan’s National Journal Comments

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Mayoral candidates Joe Tuman and Bryan Parker have taken Mayor Jean Quan to task following the mayor’s controversial comments in an interview with the National Journal this week.

Her comments were totally insensitive,” said Tuman, a political analyst for CBS5 news on television and KCBS radio.

[caption id=”attachment_28258″ align=”alignnone” width=”300″]Mayoral candidate Joe Tuman Mayoral candidate Joe Tuman[/caption]

He has worked for the past 27 years teaching politics, law, and communication at San Francisco State University. What Quan said “implies that you should be concerned if African Americans are in your neighborhood,” Tuman said. “I don’t think she is a racist.”

“Race is a major fault line for us in Oakland,” he said. “We need to talk more openly about it, but this is not the way to provoke the discussion. The African American community is a source of our strength.”

Parker also criticized Quan.

“I’m sure many, as I was, were taken aback by these remarks,” Parker said. “I think the comments miss on two fronts. First, her comments suggest that her belief is that there is a negative stigma associated with having a high number of African Americans in Oakland.”

Mayoral candidate Bryan Parker

Mayoral candidate Bryan Parker

“Second, like many of her other actions, her comments lack the structure of thoughtful leadership,” he added.

Parker served on the Oakland Workforce Investment Board and is a member of the Oakland Port Commissiono. Also an attorney, he works as a health care executive.

As originally published, Quan spokesman Sean Maher said that the mayor’s answer was so “truncated” as to be distorted.

In the interview with the National Journal, Quan was asked: “What remains your biggest challenge?”

Her reply: “Well, my challenge is to let people know what the new Oakland looks like. “Somebody just sent me an email saying, ‘Oh, you should have more black police since more than 50 percent of your residents are black.’ And I’m like, ‘Actually, no, 28 percent of my residents are black, but we’re pretty evenly divided between blacks, whites, Latinos, and Asians these days.’ But that’s their image of Oakland–and this is somebody who lives in the Bay Area.”

For Quan’s full interview with the National Journal, go to www.nationaljournal.com/next-economy/america-360/can-oakland-escape-san-francisco-s-shadow-20131006

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Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94

Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.

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William "Bill" Patterson, 94. Photo courtesy of the Patterson family.

William “Bill” Patterson, 94, of Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2025, at his home in Oakland, CA. He was born on May 19, 1931, to Marie Childress Patterson and William Benjamin Patterson in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Dunbar High School and traveled to Oakland, California, in 1948. William Patterson graduated from San Francisco State University, earning both graduate and undergraduate degrees. He married Euradell “Dell” Patterson in 1961. Bill lovingly took care of his wife, Dell, until she died in 2020.

Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.

He served on the boards of Oakland’s Urban Strategies Council, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and the Oakland Workforce Development Board.

He was a three-term president of the Oakland branch of the NAACP.

Bill was initiated in the Gamma Alpha chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

In 1997 Bill was appointed to the East Bay Utility District Board of Directors. William Patterson was the first African American Board President and served the board for 27 years.

Bill’s impact reached far beyond his various important and impactful positions.

Bill mentored politicians, athletes and young people. Among those he mentored and advised are legends Joe Morgan, Bill Russell, Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, and Lionel Wilson to name a few.

He is survived by his son, William David Patterson, and one sister, Sarah Ann Strickland, and a host of other family members and friends.

A celebration of life service will take place at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Calvin Simmons Theater) on November 21, 2025, at 10 AM.

His services are being livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1250167107131991/

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Euradell and William Patterson scholarship fund TBA.

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