Oakland Mayoral Candidates Answer Questions at First Public Forum

The three front runners in the 2025 Oakland Mayoral Special election met for the first Tuesday night in Oakland at a forum, answering questions ranging from homelessness to housing.

Following the recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao in November, Mayoral candidates for the April special election trickled in. Former City Councilman Loren Taylor, who lost to Thao in 2022, was one of the first to declare following Thao’s recall, and was an early leader in terms of support thanks to carryover from the 2022 election. Other early candidates included economist Mindy Pechenuk, lobbyist Isaac Kos-Read, and fellow 2022 candidate Derrick Soo.

While the list only comprised of a handful of names going into 2025, the race received a boost in media attention when former Congresswoman Barbara Lee declared on January 13th that she was running. Lee, who came in a disappointing 4th place in the U.S. Senate primary in March 2024 and recently just left her Congressional seat, became the new favorite in the race overnight. As the Congresswoman for Oakland for decades, Lee already has a huge base of support in Oakland as well as a staff already there to help build up a campaign.

However, close to a dozen other candidates did wind up putting their names in by the January 17th filing due day, although only 10 qualified. Amongst the most notable names were controversial Olympic skier Elizabeth Swaney, former Chief of Staff to then-Mayor Thao Renia Webb, and former member of the Oakland Library Advisory Commission and 2022 Mayoral election candidate Tyron Jordan.

After the candidate list was set last month, candidate events were rapidly built up for the April 15th election. This led to the first forum hosted by the Greenbelt Alliance on Tuesday night in Oakland, with Taylor, Lee, and Webb in attendance taking questions from members of the public. The big topic of the evening was crime, with each candidate having much to say on what their plans for their city are over that issue. Lee specifically mentioned support for Measure NN,  which would keep at least 700 officers on the Oakland police at all times, as well as increase fire, police, and first responder funding by raising he parking and parcel taxes.

“I want to make sure that our public safety issues Measure NN becomes the reality of the public safety strategy, a comprehensive public safety approach,” said Lee.

The other two candidates expressed a need for more safety as well.

“We have to get control of the crime and the dirtiness in the street. We all deserve to live in safety and peace,” explained Webb. “This is a little note that one of my students gave me. I hear stories of them telling me that their car got stolen the night before and their teddy bear was in it, and they couldn’t sleep last night. You see the impact that crime has on our city.”

“Oakland has to be clean. It has to be safe. We have to be full of opportunities. That is the core,” added Taylor.

The three different candidates also explained how and why they were running for office. Lee highlighted her decades worth of experience, while Taylor expressed a need for change and Webb said that she fought against corruption while serving under Thao and said she would do so as Mayor.

“I’ll be a hands-on mayor,” said Lee. “I’ll Bring leadership, unify the city and really address the budget issues and really fight for the residents of Oakland. I have focused on local issues in terms of bringing home billions of dollars to make sure that my community benefits from my work on the national and state level.”

“We need new energy, a fresh perspective and a deliberate focus on making hard but necessary choices to get us through this current period,” countered Taylor.

Big issues for candidates

The issue of Thao managed to bring out the ire in Taylor, who lost to her in 2022, and Webb, who was her chief of staff up to the day Thao was sworn in.

“As an Oakland resident frustrated and angry that Mayor Thao was not only failing the city, but demonstrating the corruption, at least that is alleged through her actions, we have to restore trust in government,” noted Taylor.

“When people try to associate me with Sheng I say great go ahead because I’m the one that stood up to her and said, ‘I’m not going to be corrupt and I’m not going to sell out Oakland,” added Webb.

The other big issue of the night was housing and homelessness. One of the more controversial questions was asking for the removal of I-980, which split Oakland up in several decades ago by being built through a black neighborhood. Both Taylor and Lee said they were for the removal, with Webb indicating a no. However, on questions over building affordable housing, candidates answers were vague and didn’t go into many details.

“It’s important for the city to properly engage developers” said Taylor.

Lee, meanwhile, said she wanted to start up a UBI program for homeless people in the city.

“I’d like to look at piloting a project or two here with regards to what other communities have done and that’s providing for universal basic income for unsheltered people who need a job,” explained Lee.

Overall, the forum served as a kickoff to the next two months of campaigning and showed where the top candidates currently stood, with some coming out of the gate with more controversial ideas that could cost them votes in April.

“Lee is still the favorite right now, but her UBI position and banking largely just on her Congressional experience may not exactly win her over to many people on the fence,” said Oakland canvasser coordinator Shawna Williams to the Globe on Wednesday. “But every candidate has issues. Webb is still very closely tied with Thao. Taylor, like you said, has been pretty vague. And going around the city, people aren’t excited like they should be for an election. Thao’s recall and fatigue from the 2024 election is still here. A lot of people here are still not happy Trump was elected either, and are kind of done with voting right now.

“People seem to just want a candidate with a plan that boosts safety and helps struggling people get by. But even that seems to be asking a lot from last night.”