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Oakland Mayor Thao and supporters rally against recall vote

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao
Sunni Khalid
/
KALW News
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao

Oakland’s embattled Mayor Sheng Thao held a rally with supporters Sunday morning to defend her record and to speak out against a ballot initiative to recall her next month.

Speaking before a group of supporters at BART’s Rock Ridge Station, Thao characterized the recall effort against her as a campaign by wealthy interests to blame her unfairly for Oakland’s ongoing problems with crime and the city’s budget.

Instead, Thao and her supporters listed her accomplishments, including balancing the city’s budget, signing an agreement to redevelop the Coliseum site recently vacated by the A’s, bringing the minor league Ballers to town, and reducing Oakland’s violent crime rate in recent months.

But critics have pointed out her handling of the firing of former Oakland Police Chief Leronne Armstrong, a ransomware attack on the city, as well as her government’s failure to apply for a state grant for police resources.

Among those speaking on Thao’s behalf was former Mayor Jean Quan, who served one term, from 2011 to 2015. She urged the crowd not to be distracted by the recall effort and to give Thao a chance to do more good work.Thao was elected two years ago.

In June, FBI agents raided her home and the properties of Oakland’s largest recycling contractor. The agents seized the Mayor’s phone, as well as one belonging to her partner, Andre Jones, as part of a criminal probe into government corruption.

Thao insists they were not targeting her.

Sunni M. Khalid is a veteran of more than 40 years in journalism, having worked in print, radio, television, and web journalism.