Activism

Community Coalition Says ‘No’ to Coal Money in Oakland Mayor’s Race

In recent weeks a total of more than $600,000 has been donated to an Independent Expenditure Committee supporting Ignacio de la Fuente, a mayoral candidate who has gone on record in The Oaklandside as being “in favor of the coal plan.”

Published

3 years ago

November 5, 2022

Oakland Post

Rally at the Rotunda building to protest at the Rotunda Building at 300 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in Oakland on Oct. 27, 2022. Photo courtesy of No Coal in Oakland.

By Post Staff

No Coal in Oakland, a grassroots coalition of community, faith, and environmental justice groups are denouncing an attempt by coal terminal developers to influence the Oakland mayor’s race with over $600,000 of out-of-town money.

Rallying last Thursday at developer Phil Tagami’s office at the Rotunda Building at 300 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, the coalition pledged to continue to resist efforts to build a coal terminal in West Oakland and to protect the health and well-being of the community.

Scheduled speakers at the rally included Margaret Gordon, West Oakland environmental activist; Igor Tregub, Sierra Club; Julia Dowell, SF Baykeeper; representatives of 350 Bay Area; Georgia Wallace, Marlay’ja, Youth vs. Apocalypse; Communities for a Better Environment; and SEIU 1021.

This summer, only a few months after City Attorney Barbara Parker’s announcement that a deal was in the works to end the lawsuit over the West Gateway terminal and ensure a ‘no coal’ future, the developers backed out of settlement negotiations.

Last week, the Los Angeles-based financier, Jonathan Brooks, contributed another $250,000 to an Independent Expenditure Committee supporting Ignacio De La Fuente in his bid for mayor.

In recent weeks a total of more than $600,000 has been donated to an Independent Expenditure Committee supporting Ignacio de la Fuente, a mayoral candidate who has gone on record in The Oaklandside as being “in favor of the coal plan.”

Most of that money comes from Brooks, who is a hedge fund operator. Brooks is the CEO of JMB Capital, the big hedge fund behind Autumn Wind LLC. Autumn Wind, headed by Vikas Tandon, which currently has the sublease on the property and threatens to develop and operate a coal terminal if local developer Phil Tagami wins his multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the City of Oakland.

“It should alarm all voters that a total of $600,000 of coal-related money has been donated by would-be coal developers – Jonathan Brooks and Phil Tagami through his shell-company OBOT – in a seeming attempt to buy Oakland’s mayoral election,” according to the No Coal in Oakland press statement.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

4 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.