Oakland Council Candidate Robbed by Homeless Woman

Charlene Wang is a progressive.

A proud progressive. She has worked in Massachusetts to increase public transit options, she worked on Hillary’s campaign in 2016, the Biden campaign in 2020, and she “currently work(s) on environmental justice and civil rights at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with a focus on Native American tribes.”

And now she’s running for city council in her hometown of Oakland because of crime.

And she was just robbed. And the cops still –  days later – have still not shown up.

Wang launched her campaign  for the at-large seat on the council (there are seven by-district spots and the mayor’s job) for one reason: crime.

And now she’s a victim.

“I’m frustrated by the idea that progressives are automatically anti-police, that we don’t care about public safety,” said Wang.  

At her campaign launch in a local park, an as-yet unidentified clearly mentally disturbed homeless woman approached the event as it was finishing up.  The woman then started grabbing purses and knapsacks and one other bag – the bag full of checks from the campaign event.

Note – for those who have not been to such an event, either the attendees pay ahead of time or drop a check on the way out.  If they do not want their name on the finance report, they leave $99 in cash in the bag or vase or whatever.

Wang said the woman grabbed not only her purse but also her mothers and that, it seems, was just not going to stand.  

She and her supporters got her – and, more importantly, her mother’s – purse back as the woman became more and more problematic.  Wang called MACRO, the city’s “The Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland (MACRO) Program is a community response program for non-violent, non-emergency 911 calls. The purpose of MACRO is to meet the needs of the community with a compassionate care first response model grounded in empathy, service, and community.”

Well, no one showed up and as the woman started becoming even more problematic – throwing food from the lunch table and flashing her whatevers – the police were called. Eventually, the woman just wandered off.

Luckily, the bag the woman grabbed had no cash – only checks, useless unless she finds a crooked cashing place in Oakland, oh wait.. actually she told donors to stop the checks. It was about a thousand bucks.

Again, Wang is a classic progressive but she is running specifically because of the city’s crime problem, a problem she just experienced firsthand.

After the theft, she was told that she should expect a response form the police soon – that was four days ago.

“That is the state of the first responders in Oakland,” Wang said.  “And that’s why I’m running.”

Wang cited statistics that showed that Oakland ranked fourth in the country in “crimes per officer,” has a significant recruitment problem, and has suffered from the concept of “defund the police.”

Interestingly, Wang noted an anomaly in city police-related surveys – “do you support the police?” questions mean different things – either you are in favor of defunding the police OR you think the police are not doing enough. Those are two very different opinions that end up being reported – improperly – as the same.

Wang said she listens to “stakeholders” in the “criminal justice” movement, but she is more interested in talking to people themselves – humans, directly, unfiltered by demographics.

And across the city Wang says she gets the following response:

‘We want MORE responsive police.”

As to the unknown woman who stole her campaign fund, Wang noted  that she is probably still out there and she cannot be remanded to “care court” for help because a mere crime victim cannot make that call.

Only a first responder can.

And none of them showed up.  

So she’s still out there.