City Government

Mayoral Candidate Jason “Shake” Anderson Talks Jobs, Public Safety, & Youth

Published

11 years ago

July 24, 2014

As election season gets into full swing, Oakland’s mayoral race is heating up as we get closer to the November elections and mayoral candidate Jason “Shake” Anderson is using this platform to push for progressive leadership in the city, public safety, local jobs, and more effective programs to engage young people.

“The City of Oakland should be at the forefront of progressive politics,” says Anderson, who served in the military for seven years and was involved in the Occupy Oakland movement.

The Occupy movement served as his gateway into politics and provided a “vehicle to engage in what I can do for humanity.”

The Bay Area native says city leadership should reflect community needs, not corporate interests. Growing up in Oakland, a former radio host and now a spoken word artist, Anderson feels that he has what it takes to represent the community.

“I think now is the time for Oakland to really make the change to have the leadership it deserves,” he says. “It would take someone like myself who is already dedicated to civil engagement, fighting against economic inequality and social injustice and who has a strong community background without any corporate ties, to push the progressive movement that Oakland should have.”

It’s about working together, Anderson continues.

“The problem with government and politics is this ‘isolation politics,’ where people only help those that help them. What it looks like at the end of the day is a small group of people advance while the general populace falls behind, and I would like to see the general populace advance,” he says.

Focusing on a number of issues including youth engagement and jobs, Anderson takes a different approach when addressing public safety.

He says, “To decrease crime, you have to actually identify not just who’s perpetrating but why they’re perpetrating.”

Addressing the need for local jobs, Anderson is supporting running mate Sam Washington’s plan, Oakland First, which would prioritize hiring and employment goals for Oakland residents.

When corporations want to bring their business to Oakland, the conversation should not be about if it’s going to happen, it should be about how much they are willing to give, says Anderson.

“For years, Oakland has always taken a position of weakness when it comes to corporations, and that’s just a bad way to negotiate,” he says.

“We have to come from a position of strength, and that means setting standards on what we want from corporations before they even come to the table. If we don’t have any standards on what corporations are going to give back to the community, then we’ll always be negotiating from a deficit.”

The self-proclaimed “Town Mayor” professes his adaptability in reaching both the younger and older generations. Another priority issue for Anderson is ensuring that current youth programs are effective in benefiting those young people who are in need of resources. Some of these programs, he says, are either underfunded or mismanaged.

“Intelligence shouldn’t be stifled by a lack of resources,” he said. “We should help people get the resources they need so that we can use their intelligence to make things better for everyone.”

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Related Topics:City of Oakland Jason "Shake" Anderson jobs Mayoral Election Oakland Politics public safety Youth

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

2 days ago

May 25, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: Nate Holden, State Senator and Longtime Los Angeles Councilmember, Dies at 95

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.” Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Published

1 week ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Former Los Angeles Councilmember and California State Sen. Nate Holden. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Nathaniel “Nate” Holden, a prominent figure in the city’s politics, passed away at the age of 95, his family confirmed on May 7.

Holden, who represented South Los Angeles for 16 years on the City Council and served one term in the California State Senate, was widely regarded as a forceful advocate for his community.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.”

Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Holden’s journey to political prominence began in the segregated South, where he was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1929. He often recalled the childhood moment when he first heard the governor of Georgia vowing to continue suppressing Black people.

“Doing the best you can for the people. Law and order. Make sure that people’s communities are safe. I did it all,” said Holden, reflecting on his legacy.

Holden is survived by his sons, including former California Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represented a district in Southern California that includes Pasadena and Altadena in Los Angeles County and cities in San Bernardino County.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

1 week ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.