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NorCal Election Preview: Black Candidates on Your Gen Election Ballot 

As the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election approaches, a number of Black candidates from Northern California are running for positions in the United States Congress, the State Senate, and the State Assembly. If elected, they would collectively represent a larger proportion of elected officials at the state level than California’s Black population of about 6.5%.

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From left to right: Incumbent Mia Bonta (D) is running in Assembly District 18 (Oakland); Kevin Lincoln (R), Mayor of Stockton, is challenging incumbent Josh Harder (D) in Congressional District 9)(Stockton); and Lateefah Simon (D) is running in Congressional District 12 (Oakland).
From left to right: Incumbent Mia Bonta (D) is running in Assembly District 18 (Oakland); Kevin Lincoln (R), Mayor of Stockton, is challenging incumbent Josh Harder (D) in Congressional District 9)(Stockton); and Lateefah Simon (D) is running in Congressional District 12 (Oakland).

By Joe W. Bowers Jr,California Black Media 

 As the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election approaches, a number of Black candidates from Northern California are running for positions in the United States Congress, the State Senate, and the State Assembly. If elected, they would collectively represent a larger proportion of elected officials at the state level than California’s Black population of about 6.5%.

Of the state’s 52 U.S. House of Representatives seats, three are currently held by Black representatives. In the State Senate, which comprises 40 seats and elects half of its members every two years, there are currently two Black Senators. In the Assembly, which has 80 seats up for election every two years, 10 Black Assembly members currently serve.

In this election, five Black candidates are running for Congress, four for State Senate, and 13 for Assembly.

Below are the Black candidates (in bold letters) running for Congress and the State Legislature in the Bay Area and other parts of Northern California.

Congressional Races

In Congressional District 9 (Stockton), Kevin Lincoln (R), Mayor of Stockton, is challenging incumbent Josh Harder (D). Lincoln, a former Marine, is running on a platform focused on economic development, public safety, and government accountability. Harder, meanwhile, has focused on issues like healthcare access and immigration reform.

In Congressional District 12 (Oakland), Lateefah Simon (D), a nonprofit foundation president and civil rights advocate, is running to succeed Rep. Barbara Lee. Simon’s platform emphasizes civil rights, affordable housing, and economic reform. Her opponent, Jennifer Tran (D), a professor and chamber president, is focused on economic development, public safety and leveraging technology for government transparency​.

California State Senate Races

In State Senate District 7 (Oakland and Berkeley), Jovanka Beckles (D), an Alameda-Contra Costa (AC) Transit Director, is running on a platform centered on environmental justice, affordable housing, and public transportation reform. Her opponent, Jesse Arreguín (D), the Mayor of Berkeley, is focused on housing and economic development​.

California State Assembly Races

 In Assembly District 7 (Citrus Heights), Porsche Middleton (D), a city councilmember, is challenging incumbent Josh Hoover (R) on housing reform and local governance​.

In Assembly District 11 (Suisun City), incumbent Lori Wilson (D) is focused on healthcare access, economic development, and education. She is facing Dave Ennis (R), a civil engineer who emphasizes infrastructure improvement and reduced government regulation​.

In Assembly District 13 (Stockton), business owner Rhodesia Ransom (D) is campaigning on small business growth, educational reform, and economic justice. She faces Denise Aguilar Mendez (R), a non-profit director focused on conservative family values and reducing the size of government​. Aguilar Mendez has faced controversy including a guilty plea for welfare fraud.

In Assembly District 18 (Oakland), incumbent Mia Bonta (D) is running on housing reform and education. Her opponent, Andre Sandford, American Independent Party (AIP), advocates for fiscal responsibility and housing cost management​.

These Black candidates are running to address key issues such as housing, healthcare, public safety, reparations, and economic reform. The diversity of their platforms reflects California’s broad political spectrum, with some focusing on progressive reforms, while others advocate for a shift to more conservative policies.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

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

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Bay Area

Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

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Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.
Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron RichmondCAER and  Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.

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Activism

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.

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iStock.
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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.

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.

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.

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