City Government

Parent Group Launches Campaign to Recall Oakland School Board President Jody London

Published

5 years ago

January 2, 2020

Oakland Not for Sale — a coalition of community members and educators against public school closures — is moving ahead with a campaign to recall Jody London, who serves as president of the Oakland Board of Education this year and represents District 1 on the board.

“The people of Oakland seek to recall Director London for failing to properly perform her oversight duties of OUSD District. 1 and intentionally neglecting district schools, causing under-enrollment, an artificially inflated need for security presence and massive drain of students and funding into charter schools,” according to the legal Notice of Intention to Circulate Recall Petition that Oakland Not for Sale is running as a paid announcement in this week’s Oakland Post.

The announcement alleges that among Director London’s “dereliction of duties,” she has “advocated for school closures as the first remedy to OUSD’s fiscal mismanagement,” failed to “produce evidence that closing schools would save money or produce better outcomes for impacted students, “approved or renewed charters to school that drain students and funding from traditional public schools and “condoned police brutality against peaceful students, teachers, and community members.”

According to the recall organizers, “Oakland families and educators have had enough of public school closures and the proliferation of charters over the past fifteen years. Of all California districts, Oakland has the highest percentage of students attending charter schools, which drained $57 million from the city’s public schools in a single year, according to a study released in 2018.”

Proponents of the recall include Alicia Johnson, Caroline Stern, Susana Benz, Rachel Prince, Rachel Judson, Gerry Mack, Deanna Lee, Derek White, An Thu Tran-lu and Elizabeth DeLuca.

Once the petition has been filed with the City of Oakland Election Office, officials will establish the number of signatures from District 1 that are needed to authorize the recall to go forward, which Oakland Not for Sale organizers estimate will range from 5,000 to 7,000. The signatures must be collected within 120 days from the date the city approves the petition. In addition, a recall election cannot be called within six months of the seat being up in a general election, which takes place this year is in November.

Contacted by email by the Oakland Post, Director London said, “I announced over a year ago that I am not seeking re-election as my younger daughter graduated in May 2019 and I believe a parent of students in OUSD schools should hold the seat.”

In a written statement prepared in response to the recall, she said that during her time as a school board member, “ I have made hard decisions to preserve the financial viability of the school district in a state that funds public schools below the national average per pupil, and at a time when expenses are rising. The costs of a recall election must be borne by OUSD; a recall election is unnecessary given this seat is up for re-election in 2020.”

Director London has represented North Oakland on the Board of Education since 2009. She was re-elected to a second term in 2012. Her third term ends Jan. 4, 2021.

While serving on the board, she led the effort to replace aging portables. She co-chaired the 2006 Measure B campaign, a $435 million bond. She also has helped pass the Measure G (2009) and Measure N (2014) parcel taxes, and Measure J, the 2012 renewal of the general obligation bond for capital projects.

London’s professional experience is in state policy, working with local government and non-profit organizations on strategic planning, communication, and advocacy on environmental sustainability and energy issues. Much of her current work involves state energy regulatory agencies.

Ken Epstein

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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

4 days ago

May 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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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

2 weeks 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.