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The Post Denied Place at 1st Mayoral Debate, Candidates Complain

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The Oakland Post was denied a place at the table at a Mayoral Candidate Public Safety Debate this week presented by Metropolitan Greater Oakland (MGO) Democratic Club and a group that calls itself Make Oakland Better Now!

 

The Thursday evening event featured a panel of journalist handpicked by the event organizers but not the Oakland Post, which was not asked to participate. When the Post asked to be included, hoping to correct what was probably an oversight, the request was turned down.

They refused to budge, even when asked by mayoral candidate Bryan Parker.

Invited journalists included Bob Gammon, East Bay Express; Chip Johnson, S.F. Chronicle; Matt

Brian Parker

Bryan Parker

Artz, Oakland Tribune; and Bianca Brooks, Youth Radio.

The Post had been looking forward to asking questions of all the candidates, but especially Mayor Jean Quan, who has been refusing to respond to questions on important public safety issues – police accountability, jobs and air quality at the Oakland Army Base development and lack of job opportunities for young people in the Fruitvale District and West Oakland.

Responding to the Post’s request to be on the panel was Bruce Nye, speaking for the Make Oakland Better Now! “As far as I can tell, we never received a request from the Post to participate in this event,” he said, though the other participants were asked by the event organizers to participate.

“We simply could not add another panelist two days before the debate,” Nye wrote in an email.

Added Gretchen White, MGO president, “(We) worked to achieve a press panel that represents different points of view on public safety in Oakland,” she said. “Given the time constraints of the debate, it was and is not possible to invite a larger array of local media.

“The Post was not the only newspaper not included,” she said in her email.” Neither were such news sources as Oakland North, Oakland Local, the Chinese and Korean language dailies, bloggers and local magazine and television reporters.”

In an emaill to White, the Post replied: “(We) understand that there are many different news outlets, but the Post has been serving Oakland’s African American community since 1963 and covers public safety issues that none of the other news outlets cover.

“Among our key issues are jobs and unemployment, which are directly tied to public safety, and we work to hold the mayor and city staff accountable for city job programs and promises to create jobs,” the Post said. “We are (also) the only news outlet that is asking to participate in the debate, in addition to the ones that you handpicked to represent all the media.”

Several candidates for mayor condemned the exclusion of the Post from the interview panel.

“I am disappointed that the Oakland Post will not participate in the debate,” said City Auditor Courtney Ruby. “The Post is an important voice for the Oakland community and raises important questions. I would be happy to answer any questions the Oakland Post has for me before or after the debate or at any time.”

I think it was an oversight for the Post not be included for the panel,” said Councilmember Libby Schaaf. “The Post is a important voice providing Oaklanders critical information about what Oakland is doing, and it needs to be at the table throughout the mayoral campaign.”å

“I think that the organizers of the debate should include a representative of the Post on the interview panel,” said civil rights attorney Dan Siegel “The Post represents a constituency and a perspective that is not present on the existing panel.”

Courtney Ruby

Courtney Ruby

“Not the right decision,” said Port Commissioner Bryan Parker, who added that he was talking t the organizers to encourage them to change their minds.

Post publisher Paul Cobb says he believes MGO leaders’ disagreements with Post on the way it has been reporting city issues may have had something to do with the refusal to allow the Post to participate.

“I think they are still upset at us for exposing the truth about the bogus charges against Desley Brooks and Larry Reid last year, which derailed an attempt to start a witch hunt on the Oakland City Council.”

Added Cobb, “ Our coverage led Quan’s staff to apologize to Scotlan Center for making groundless accusations that disrupted youth services to West Oakland. In addition, we exposed that the city had to send $600,00 in job funds back to the state. “

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Activism

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.

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

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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Alameda County

Oakland Begins Month-Long Closure on Largest Homeless Encampment

At 8 a.m. sharp, city workers began piling up trash and dismantling makeshift homes along the nearly five-block encampment. City crews blocked off streets from 14th Ave to 17th Ave, between E. 12th and International Blvd, due to the Safe Work Zone Ordinance that was passed by the city council in 2022 to protect workers from harassment during cleanings, according to a city spokesperson.

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The City of Oakland began sweeping their largest homeless encampment on E 12th St. Monday morning. Advocates claim that the city has not done its due diligence with providing ample resources or outreach for residents at the encampment. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.
The City of Oakland began sweeping their largest homeless encampment on E 12th St. Monday morning. Advocates claim that the city has not done its due diligence with providing ample resources or outreach for residents at the encampment. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland began a three-week-long breakdown of the largest homeless encampment in the city on E. 12th Street on Monday morning. Residents and advocates said they are devastated about the displacement of dozens of people.

At 8 a.m. sharp, city workers began piling up trash and dismantling makeshift homes along the nearly five-block encampment. City crews blocked off streets from 14th Ave to 17th Ave, between E. 12th and International Blvd, due to the Safe Work Zone Ordinance that was passed by the city council in 2022 to protect workers from harassment during cleanings, according to a city spokesperson.

Jaz Colibri, one of the many advocates at the closure, said the encampment sweeps were “intense and terrifying” to witness. They claimed that several residents, many of them non-English speakers, had not been aware that the sweep was happening that day because of a lack of proper communication and outreach from Oakland.

Colibri added that the city had done a Census “many months ago” and “had not bothered to count people since then”, meaning dozens of individuals have missed out on housing and resources in the last few weeks because the city doesn’t offer outreach in multiple languages.

“Basically, [Oakland] dropped the ball on actually getting to know everybody who lives here and then creating a housing solution that meets everyone’s needs,” Colibri said.

City spokesperson Jean Walsh told the Post that notices of the closure operation were posted in Spanish and Chinese prior to Monday, but did not clarify if outreach was done in those languages as well.

Nearly a dozen Oakland police vehicles, California Highway Patrol officers, and Oakland Public Works staff were gathered along E 12th waiting for residents to pack up their belongings and move away from the area.

Advocates said residents “felt unsafe” due to the hefty law enforcement presence.

One city worker, who was picking up debris near 16th Ave, said, “They’ve known we were coming for a long time now” in reference to resident confusion about the sweeping.

The state doubled down on its requirement to get cities and counties to deal with their homelessness crisis at a press conference Monday afternoon. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office released a “model ordinance” that is intended to provide a starting point that local municipalities can use to build from and adjust in creating their own policies on encampments, if they haven’t done so yet.

Newsom said “No more excuses, time to deliver” after the state has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into solving the issue.

Oakland was awarded a $7.2 million grant from the state in 2024 to close long-standing encampments in the city, including camps at Martin Luther King, Jr. and 23rd Street, and Mosswood Park.

Residents at these encampments were offered wraparound supportive services, temporary shelter, and eventually will be transitioned to permanent supportive housing, according to a city statement from last year.

Residents who accepted housing at these three encampments were moved into newly acquired property, formerly the Extended Stay America Hotel in West Oakland, which will first serve as interim housing for up to 150 individuals and couples in 105 units, and in the coming year, will be converted into 125 units of permanent housing.

Walsh said as of May 2, “32 residents of the recently closed Mosswood Park encampment moved into the Mandela House program” and as of May 12, “41 residents of the East 12th Street encampment have already accepted offers to move to the Mandela House.” The city will provide final numbers of how many accepted and moved into housing after the closure operation is over.

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