City Government

Post Endorsements: Cat Brooks, Pamela Price and Saied Karamooz for Mayor

Published

7 years ago

October 5, 2018

The Oakland Post equally endorses Cat Brooks and Pamela Price for mayor of Oakland and supports Saied Karamooz in third place on the Nov. 6 ranked choice ballot.

We recommend that voters in November choose either Cat Brooks or Pamela Price for number one and the other candidate for number two—and Saied Karamooz for number three. Do not include an unwanted candidate in your ranked vote—not first, second or third.

Journalist, actor and activist Cat Brooks, who lives in Oakland with her husband and daughter, has become prominent locally during the past few years for her courageous work for social justice—demanding an end to police brutality and accountability of officers who committed sex crimes and their superiors who covered for them.

She has fought for the mayor and city officials to end their indifference as homelessness and displacement skyrocket, calling on our leaders to listen to and incorporate voices of the homeless in fashioning real—rather than symbolic—solutions to this urgent and horrifying problem.

Born in Las Vegas, Nev., Cat Brooks has worked in Oakland for Education Trust-West, as well as executive director of Youth Together and the National Lawyers Guild. She is the co-founder of the Anti-Police-Terror Project (APTP).

Brooks’ platform, fashioned with community participation, calls for building an economy that works for all Oaklanders, “investing in job training programs, supporting cooperative efforts with businesses and recruiting companies to base in Oakland.”

Her website is www.catbrooksforoakland.com
…………………………………
Long time Oakland resident Pamela Price is a civil rights attorney who has spent her entire career advocating for justice for women and she has successfully represented victims of sex and race-based discrimination.

Growing up in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, she was emancipated at the age of 16 and went on to graduate from Yale and the UC Berkeley School of Law.She has won large settlements on behalf of victims of sexual harassment against the City of Oakland and against the California Department of Corrections (CDC).

She was one of only a handful of Black women to ever argue in front of the United States Supreme Court.
Her website is www.pamelaprice4mayor.com

“Oakland is at a crossroads – a time of opportunity and a time of challenge,” Price said at a recent candidate forum held at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland.

“If you want to live in a city without homelessness, you need to vote for a change. If you want to live in a city with clean streets and safe neighborhoods, you need to vote for a change.”
……………………………………
Saied Karamooz has served Oakland as a member of the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission and the president of the Jack London Business Improvement District. He has worked on many progressive causes: Police Accountability, Fight for 15, Stop Urban Shield, Renter Protection, Public Bank and No Coal in Oakland.

Born in Iran, he has lived in the US since 1978. A senior executive at a technology consulting firm and a software company, he directed large multi-national initiatives in Fortune 100 companies. He and his wife currently operate a start-up skincare company.
“Let’s prevent the wealthy, influential, and selfish few from hijacking our elections again,” said Karamooz on his website.

Bamboozling us with fancy words and hollow rhetoric is how politicians trick their way into office each time,” he said. Visit his platform at https ://everyonesmayor.org/speaking-the-truth/.

Despite a well-funded campaign touting Oakland’s success, the city, under the present leadership, has failed to live up to the needs of Oakland’s most vulnerable residents.

A brief drive around our city will reveal how over 6,000 of our homeless neighbors live under the freeways, in tents and cars around the city, where they are chased from here to there by police and city workers.

Piles of garbage and sewage litter city streets and unmaintained city parks, as protesters rally in front of City Hall demanding clean up.

More and more holes in the streets put drivers at risks, although voters passed measures that were supposed to produce solutions.

Meanwhile, real estate speculators are doing fine. Upscale housing, with rents as high as $8,000 a month, are going up all over the city. The present leadership refuses to adequately fund workforce training leading to sustainable jobs, which means that Oaklanders cannot afford to live in these buildings. More importantly, the mayor, who avoids the recommendations of the city’s Department of Race and Equity, has not advocated for, or expressed an interest in, any plans for the aggressive hiring of residents on these projects.

The city’s budget, fashioned by the mayor’s administration, has not come to grips with these urgent issues.

We need a mayor who will work with the community on real solutions rather than seeking to replace City Council members who push to end homelessness through affordable housing, tenant rights, police accountability, and job training funding for low-income residents.

How and Why the Post Recommends Your Votes
The Oakland Post invited community representatives to participate in panels that asked questions of City Council, mayoral candidates and school board candidates to help decide who the Post would recommend. The recommendations we make were based on the track records and experience of the individual candidates, their platforms and responses to the questions asked by the panelists.’

We thank the volunteer panelists for committing many hours to interviewing candidates and discussing endorsements. the panelists included community members who are working for police accountability, a public bank in Oakland, solutions to the city’s homelessness crisis, jobs for Oakland’s most vulnerable residents, affordable housing and an end to displacement.

The panel that spoke with school board candidates included representatives of the Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network (PLAN), school activists, Network for Public Education, professional educators and parents.

The Oakland Post editorial board takes responsibility for its recommendations.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Report on Alameda County Jails Reveals Dastardly Conditions

Don't Miss

Green the Church Hosts Annual Summit, Oct. 7-9

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Barbara Lee Accepts Victory With “Responsibility, Humility and Love”

“I accept your choice with a deep sense of responsibility, humility, and love. Oakland is a deeply divided City,” Lee said in an April 19 statement. “I answered the call to run to unite our community, so that I can represent every voter, and we can all work together as One Oakland to solve our most pressing problems.”

Published

22 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Barbara Lee. File photo.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌,
California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

As a candidate for mayor, former U.S. Representative Barbara Lee released a “10-point plan” last week to reassure residents that she will tackle Oakland’s most pressing challenges.

Now that she has edged out her competitors in the ranked-choice special election with 50% or more of the vote, the former Congresswoman, who represented parts of the Bay Area in the U.S. House of Representatives, can put her vision in motion as the city’s first Black woman mayor.

On Saturday evening, Taylor conceded to Lee. There are still about 300 Vote-by-Mail ballots left to be verified, according to county election officials. The ballots will be processed on April 21 and April 22.

“This morning, I called Congresswoman Barbara Lee to congratulate her on becoming the next Mayor of Oakland,” Taylor said in a statement.

“I pray that Mayor-Elect Lee fulfills her commitment to unify Oakland by authentically engaging the 47% of Oaklanders who voted for me and who want pragmatic, results-driven leadership.”

The influential Oakland Post endorsed Lee’s campaign, commending her leadership on the local, state, and federal levels.

Paul Cobb, The Post’s publisher, told California Black Media that Lee will bring back “respect and accountability” to the mayor’s office.

“She is going to be a collegial leader drawing on the advice of community nonprofit organizations and those who have experience in dealing with various issues,” Cobb said. “She’s going to try to do a consensus-building thing among those who know the present problems that face the city.”

Born in El Paso, Texas, Lee’s family moved to California while she was in high school. At 20 years old, Lee divorced her husband after the birth of her first child. After the split, Lee went through a tough period, becoming homeless and having to apply for public assistance to make ends meet.

But destitution did not deter the young woman.

Lee groomed herself to become an activist and advocate in Oakland and committed to standing up for the most vulnerable citizens in her community.

Lee traveled to Washington, D.C. to work for then U.S. Congressman Ron Dellums after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mills College in Oakland in 1973. Lee later won a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) fellowship to attend the School of Social Welfare, and she earned a Master of Social Work from the University of California-Berkeley in 1975.

Lee later served in the California State Assembly and State Senate before she was elected to Congress in 1998.

After serving in the U.S. Congress for more than 25 years, Lee ran unsuccessfully for California’s U.S. Senate in the 2024 primary election.

Lee joins current Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass and former San Francisco Mayor London Breed as Black women serving as chief executives of major cities in California over the last few years.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Teachers’ Union Thanks Supt. Johnson-Trammell for Service to Schools and Community

“I speak for our Oakland community and the families OEA serves in thanking Supt. Johnson-Trammell for her service. With public schools and immigrant families under attack nationally from Trump and with budget challenges affecting many California school districts, these are tough times demanding the best of what we all have to offer,” said OEA President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer in a statement released Thursday.

Published

1 day ago

April 27, 2025

Oakland Post

OEA President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer. Courtesy photo.

The union calls for a community-involvement in search for new superintendent

By Post Staff

While pointing out that Supt. Kayla Johnson-Trammell has been planning to resign for a while, the Oakland Education Association (OEA) thanked her for years of service to the schools and called for community involvement in the search for a new superintendent.

“While we disagreed strongly on a number of issues,” said Taiz-Rancifer, “Dr. Johnson-Trammell is a daughter of Oakland and a product of our public schools. We thank her for her service and wish her the best moving forward.”

She said the schools’ community was aware that the superintendent had been planning to leave well before this week’s announcement.

“The superintendent has spoken publicly throughout the year about her planned departure. In August 2024, the previous school board approved a renewed contract raising her compensation to over $600,000 per year and allowing her to step back from daily responsibilities beginning in the 2025-2026 school year,” said Taiz-Rancifer.

She said the teachers’ union has been raising concerns about the need for stability and financial transparency in the district. “For three of the last four years, the district projected major deficits, only to end with millions in reserve.” This year, she said, the district added $90 million to central office overhead expenses.

“Just last month, a majority of school board directors took action to cap expensive consultant costs and develop alternative budget proposals that align spending with community priorities to keep funding in classrooms,” she said.

Taiz-Rancifer said the union stands behind the leadership of Board President Jennifer Brouhard and Boardmembers Valarie Bachelor, Rachel Latta, and VanCedric Williams.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

OUSD Supt. Chief Kyla Johnson-Trammell to Step Down on July 1

The district’s progress under Johnson-Trammell’s leadership “provides a strong foundation for the transition and work ahead,” according to the joint statement. “The plan has always prioritized a smooth and thoughtful transition. A formal search for a permanent superintendent was (originally) scheduled to begin in fall 2025,” but now the board is “initiating this process focusing on transparency and deep community involvement.”

Published

1 day ago

April 27, 2025

Oakland Post

Kyla Johnson-Trammell. File photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland Unified School District announced this week that Supt. Kyla Johnson-Trammell will leave her position on July 1 after serving for eight years.

In closed session on Wednesday evening, the school board approved a voluntary separation agreement by a 4-3 vote, said Board President Jennifer Brouhard.

The board will begin searching immediately for an interim superintendent who will start on July 1. Johnson-Trammell will continue as superintendent emeritus from July 1 to Jan. 15, 2026, to help with the transition, according to a joint statement released by Johnson-Trammell and the Board.

In a personal statement to the community, Johnson-Trammell said:

“As I prepare to step away from my role as your superintendent on June 30, I do so with immense pride in what we’ve accomplished together. The last eight years have brought some of the most challenging — and most defining — moments in our district’s history. Through it all, Oakland has shown what’s possible when we stay grounded in our mission and vision and work in partnership for our students.”

The joint statement from Johnson-Trammell and the Board modifies her existing contract. According to the joint statement: “in August 2024, the OUSD Board of Education approved a three-year transitional contract for Superintendent Johnson-Trammell, with the next school year (2025-2026) allowing for a shift in responsibilities to support the transition to a permanent superintendent at the start of the 2026-2027 school year.”

Praising Johnson-Trammell’s accomplishments, the joint statement said, “(She) has done an extraordinary job over the past eight years, a historic tenure marked by stability, strong fiscal oversight, and improvements in student achievement.”

According to the statement, her achievements include:

increased graduation rates
improved literacy
increased student attendance rates,
“exemplary” COVID pandemic leadership,
“historic” pay raises to educators,
Improvement in OUSD’s facilities bond program,
ensuring strong fiscal systems and budgeting

As Johnson-Trammell’s years of service are coming to an end, there remain significant unresolved challenges facing the district, including a $95 million budget deficit and the threat of school closings and employee layoffs, as well as contract negotiations with the Oakland Education Association (OEA), the teachers’ union.

Another ongoing controversy has been the superintendent’s extremely high salary, which was negotiated less than a year ago under the leadership of Boardmember Mike Hutchinson and former Boardmember Sam Davis.

Johnson-Trammell is one of the highest-paid superintendents in California and the country, earning a total compensation package of $637,036.42 a year.

The contract had granted her a pay raise and a final three-year contract extension through the 2027 school year.

Under that contract, she would only continue as superintendent during the current school year, and then for two additional years she would work on research projects and prepare the district for a new superintendent, at the same rate of pay she now earns, plus raises.

During those two years, a temporary superintendent would be hired to handle the responsibilities of running the school district.