Activism
Jovanka Beckles Projected to Win AC Transit Board Seat
Although the votes are still being counted, Jovanka Beckles’ campaign is confident she won her seat for the AC Transit Board of Directors in Ward 1. She had challenged Joe Wallace, a 20-year incumbent.
Beckles is a movement organizer, a former two-term Richmond City Councilmember, a longtime leader in the Richmond Progressive Alliance, a children’s mental health professional, a former candidate for California’s 15th State Assembly district, and a democratic socialist in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., her web site biography says.
In a letter to her supporters on Wednesday, she said, ‘We won!”
She went on to thank her donors supporters who spent ‘countless hours’ volunteering for her campaign.
And characterized her victory a one “for working people and our public transit system. We said “NO” to service cuts, wage reductions and layoffs, and demanded expanded service.
“We demanded free masks and sanitizer to make buses safe for workers and riders. We demanded that we treat public transit like a human right and get rid of bus fares permanently,” she wrote.
Further demands by her campaign support a Green New Deal for the East Bay and a call to reclaim wealth from corporations and the ultra-rich and invest in public services and public union jobs — starting with transit.
Beckles gave credit to labor unions, progressive activists, and ordinary working people across the Bay and the country who came out in support of her vision for the people. “That’s why we won, and I’m so grateful to all of you for your support.”
But the fight does not stop now, she said. “We’re going to need to put massive public pressure on the rest of the AC Transit Board and on local and state legislators to win taxes on the rich, to fund the public transit system we deserve.
“We need to support the ATU workers should they go on strike to stop givebacks.
Let’s celebrate our victory — and then get back to work to win transit for the people!
Activism
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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Activism
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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Activism
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.
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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