Dozens Of Oakland Lawmakers, Business Leaders Urge Rep. Barbara Lee To Run For Mayor In Upcoming Special Election

In an open letter published on Thursday, dozens of Oakland lawmakers and business leaders urged outgoing Congresswoman and former US Senate candidate Barbara Lee (D-CA) to run for Mayor of Oakland, naming her as the best possible candidate in the upcoming special election.

Mayor Sheng Thao, who was narrowly elected in 2022 over then-fellow City Councilmember Loren Taylor, met her Mayoral end last month when she was recalled from office. While the number of reasons can fit an entirely new article, basically it came down to Thao not doing enough on crime, not doing enough on public safety, not doing enough on homelessness, losing the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas, controversially firing the Oakland police chief, having her house raided by the FBI, and having a disapproval rating scratching at 70%.

Unsurprisingly, over 60% of voters voted to recall her last month. But things proved tricky as, thanks to other elections, term ends, and other factors, Oakland is going to have to scramble through several interim Mayors in the coming months while the election is sorted out. Once the new Mayor is elected in April, Oakland will have gone through 4 Mayors in 2 years and 5 Mayors in 4 years.

Multiple candidates have already come out for the April 16th special election next year, which will cover the rest of Thao’s term until 2026. The current frontrunner is Taylor, the very City Councilman who lost to Thao in 2022. Also declared are economist Mindy Pechenuk, lobbyist Isaac Kos-Read, and fellow 2022 candidate Derrick Soo. Other’s who have shown interest include Councilwoman Carroll Fife, Lee, and former NFL star and Governor Gavin Newsom’s podcast co-host Marshawn Lynch.

Lee’s history

While Taylor is the frontrunner, Lee has been widely viewed as the candidate with the most potential support. Lee, a graduate of both Mills College in Oakland and UC Berkeley for her Masters in social work, began her political career while still at Mills in 1972. That year, she joined the Presidential campaign of then Congresswoman Shirley Chisolm and was one of her delegates at the 1972 Democratic National Convention. The next year she got involved with the Black Panthers and subsequently worked on Panther co-founder Bobby Seale’s 1973 Oakland Mayoral campaign. Following that, she became a longtime staffer for Congressman Ron Dellums before finally running for a position herself in 1990.

That year Lee was elected to the state Assembly and served there 6 years before being elected as a state Senator in 1996. During this time, she became known as one of the most liberal members serving in the Capitol in Sacramento, and was shown to be both very anti-war and stubborn on all progressive issues. In 1998, she was elected to the House in a special election. Following being formally elected in later that year, she has remained Oakland’s main representative ever since, with her district largely covering Oakland and most of Alameda County.

In her 25 years of service, Lee has been noted for being one of the most liberal members in the House, with some years ranked as the most liberal member. In 2001, she gained infamy as the only member of Congress to vote against the Authorization for Use of Military Force 2001 (AUMF), only days after 9/11. This decision caused her massive backlash across the nation and still reduces her credibility during votes involving military forces. She has also been a strong anti-gun advocate, argued against National Park funding being taken away from a Black Panther legacy project, has called for massive cuts to the military budget, has opposed the death penalty, and has routinely voted in line with the Democrats each year well above the 90% line. Since President Joe Biden was first sworn into office, Lee has voted in line with his stated positions 100% of the time.

While her name has come up for Senate and Cabinet positions before, her being so far on the left has largely halted her from moving up in politics. including a failed 2018 attempt to chair the House Democratic Caucus over eventual winner Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), which Lee blamed instead on sexism and ageism instead of what other members later said was a radicalism issue. Last year, she entered the U.S. Senate race for Diane Feinstein’s seat, but ultimately came in a distant fourth during the Primary in March. As she had put in for the Senate race in lieu of another term in Congress, Lee is to be out of Congress next month, freeing her up for a potential Mayoral run.

A possible Mayoral run

This led to Thursday, when Lee, who has not committed to a Mayoral run, received a huge boost of support for a possible run when a letter signed by dozens of political, labor and business leaders, urged her to run. Amongst those signing the letter were Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, AFL-CIO Executive Secretary Keith D. Brown, City Councilman Dan Kalb, Former City Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney, City Councilmember Treva Reid, and president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce Carl Chan.

“Today, Oakland is a city that is facing a crisis of leadership. Our city needs someone who can restore integrity to the office of the Mayor, unite us in a time of division, and help us address critical issues around the budget, public safety, housing, and inequity in our Town,” stated the letter. “We need someone who can bring the new ideas, policies, resources and opportunities that the people of Oakland deserve. That person is Barbara Lee.

“Whether we supported the recall or opposed it, we recognize that the challenges facing Oakland date back decades and impact us all — especially in the face of the new administration in Washington, DC. We also know it will take all of us to unite our city and ensure Oakland can once again thrive. That is why we are all coming together — business and labor, recall supporters and opponents, all of Oakland’s diverse communities — to rally behind Barbara, a seasoned, tested and proven leader who has a track record of delivering for our city.

“Barbara has three decades of experience as a state legislator and member of Congress. Before committing to public service, Barbara ran a small business that employed many, and founded and led an East Bay non-profit that provided mental health services for those in need. And she has had the courage to stand alone and vote against endless wars. We know that to solve Oakland’s problems and unlock its powerful potential, it is going to take a unique combination of courage and proven experience. Barbara Lee embodies that.”

While the letter essentially gives Lee an almost instant base of support to work with outside her own support base from her time in Congress, Lee has not responded to the call to run as of Thursday evening.

“Lee is the biggest potential name right now, with Taylor and potentially Lynch the only ones being remotely close in terms of support,” Alameda County pollster Nathan Martin told the Globe on Thursday. “Oakland needs a stable leader, and that’s what voters are going to be looking at. They’ve been burned too many times in the past few years. Crime is bad, homeless is bad, all their sports teams left. They want normalcy up here. They want things to improve. Lee has decades of experience that would prove to be very tempting.”

Lee is expected to give a firm yes or no on running in the coming weeks.