Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Faces Growing Calls To Resign

Throughout this week, many prominent lawmakers and organizations have come forward demanding that Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao resign before her recall election this November.

Since being elected as Mayor in the closest Mayoral election in city history in 2022, violent crimes have skyrocketed. In 2023,  burglaries shot up by 23%, with vehicle thefts jumping up by 45% and robberies up 38%. The murder rate also remained high, staying above 100 in a single year for yet another year in a row. With many believing that Thao has not been addressing crime and public safety concerns, and other issues coming up such as continued homeless issues,  the firing of the police chief LeRonne Armstrong, and Thao’s failure in trying to keep the Oakland Athletics from relocating to Las Vegas, residents began calling for her recall last year.

The petition quickly grew this year, and earlier this summer, Thao was slammed with multiple political blows. In mid-June, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters announced that enough signatures have been approved to officially put the recall vote against Mayor Sheng Thao on the ballot, with Thao becoming the first Mayor in Oakland history to ever face a recall election.

Only two days later, her home in Oakland was raided by the FBI, with agents being seen carrying out boxes of evidence. Thao remained out of the public eye during the weekend aftermath, during which, she faced an increasing number of calls to resign. Finally, that Monday, she gave a press conference. There, Thao spoke to the media for the first time since the incidents, claiming she was innocent of any wrongdoing and that ‘right-wing forces’ were behind the entire incident.

Rather than calm down critics and bolster ally support, her remarks were instead viewed  as “unhinged” and “very un-mayoral like.” This caused many close to her to drop out. After her outburst on Monday, her attorney, Tony Brass, quickly resigned as her counsel as her speech had been unplanned. The very next day her Chief Spokesman, Francis Zamora, also resigned. Going into last month, the U.S. Attorney’s office began subpoenaing more documents on Thao for their investigation. Groups such as the NAACP also began asking for her resignation.

The situation in Oakland deteriorated so badly by this week that the Oakland Police Officer’s Association (OPOA), the OPD’s police officer union, announced on Tuesday that they are asking her to resign as Mayor. OPOA president Huy Nguyen said in an announcement that “The union is asking Thao to resign as mayor immediately for a lot of the failures in this city, going from crime, the budget crisis, the distraction of the FBI raid that prevents our ability to function as a city. Every day, our citizens feel the tragedies. That they cannot exit their own home or walk to the streets of Oakland, calling 911 and not getting the services they need.

“Officers are unable to respond to every emergency call or that they have slower response times because the police department is understaffed. We don’t have the resources.”

Thao quickly responded with a video rebuttal that day, saying that “It’s unfortunate that the POA is obviously playing politics. Right now, during this very sensitive time, we need to come together. We see that what we are working on in terms of the comprehensive approach for public safety is working. My budget prioritizes public safety, funds new police academies and has saved 80 police jobs.”

However, the OPOA’s calls for resignation only caused more to come in. One of them was from former City Councilman and her 2022 Mayoral election rival Loren Taylor, who noted on Wednesday that “Oakland would be best served if Mayor Thao were to resign immediately, so that Oakland can move toward safety and prosperity.”

Oakland would be best served if Mayor Thao were to resign immediately, so that Oakland can move toward safety and prosperity, as quickly as possible. Her resignation would save Oaklanders precious time and money that we can’t afford to squander – ensuring new stable leadership… pic.twitter.com/pDA52sJbb1

— Loren Taylor (@lorenmtaylor) August 7, 2024

Taylor added that ” Her resignation would save Oaklanders precious time and money that we can’t afford to squander – ensuring new stable leadership five months faster and saving millions of dollars by avoiding a special election in April 2025.”

It also became a major state issue on Wednesday when Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey also called for her resignation.

“Unfortunately, Mayor Thao’s policies have exacerbated the situation, turning Oakland into a ‘fallen city’,” said Garvey. “Oakland has become particularly lawless under her leadership. I’m calling on Adam Schiff to demonstrate the political courage shown by the OPOA and join me in demanding Mayor Thao’s resignation for the sake of the community’s safety and well-being.”

Overall, Thao is now facing more pressure less than three months to go before the election.

“She had a July where it looked like she may be in the clear for awhile,” explained Alameda County pollster Elena Sierra to the Globe on Thursday. “But ever since Tuesday, so many people have come out against her. Democrats, Republicans, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, Man, Woman, gay, straight. I think Thao just proved the strength of California’s diversity by having everyone go all in against her.

“Polling-wise, she does still have significant support, but it is draining fast. GOP voter support is nil. Black voter support is little. The Asian vote is split. Thao is trying to stay strong through all of this, but wow, this is like another June for her again. Just like any lawmaker, she does not want a recall, and she is fighting tooth and nail against it. But look at her popularity here. It’s draining fast. That is not good for her.”

More calls for her resignation are expected later this week.