Editorial: Elect these five for Oakland City Council to bring needed change

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With disturbingly high crime rates and startling budget shortfalls, Oakland needs not only a new mayor but also fresh City Council members who will make public safety and prudent financial management their top priorities.

Voters in the Nov. 5 election should elect five new representatives: LeRonne Armstrong for the citywide at-large council seat, Len Raphael in District 1, Warren Logan in District 3, Erin Armstrong in District 5 and Iris Merriouns in District 7.

For years, now, we’ve witnessed the destructive power of the hard-left, union-driven coalition that took control of the City Council midway through Libby Schaaf’s mayoral tenure and stymied many of her more-moderate efforts.

They were able to do that because, in Oakland’s weak-mayor governance structure, the mayor proposes the budget, but the ultimate approval power rests with the eight-member City Council. The mayor has only a seldom-used tie-breaking vote.

Then in 2022, the balance tipped even further after Sheng Thao, one of those hard-left council members, was elected mayor. Suddenly, the mayor and the council majority, both elected with the heavy political backing of the city’s most-powerful labor unions, were in lockstep.

The result was the disastrous budgets of the past two years that have rewarded the unions, ignored the $100 million-plus structural deficit and continued to leave the city with a badly understaffed police force.

Thus, while removing Thao from office is a necessary step, meaningful change also requires reshaping the City Council.

The good news is that five of the eight council seats are on the upcoming ballot. Of those five seats, three have no incumbents running because the current officeholders are quitting.

2024 provides an opportunity for meaningful change. It’s a chance for voters to course-correct, perhaps saving the city from insolvency.

At-large – LeRonne Armstrong

After four City Council terms, two unsuccessful bids for mayor and one for county supervisor, Rebecca Kaplan, who often seemed most interested in rewarding her labor-union backers, is stepping down.

Our top pick to replace her is LeRonne Armstrong, a West Oakland native who in 24 years rose from officer to police chief in his home city — only to be unfairly fired by Thao soon after she took office.

A highly respected arbitrator, examining the original basis for his discipline, cleared the chief of wrongdoing. But that didn’t get him his job back.

If elected to the City Council, Armstrong would bring a much-needed focus on public safety combined with a solid and thoughtful understanding of city finances.

For those looking for a second and third candidate under the city’s ranked choice voting system, we recommend Charlene Wang and Kanitha Matoury.

Wang is an East Bay native who currently works as a special adviser to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Justice. Matoury, owner of Howden Market in Uptown Oakland, understands firsthand the challenges of running a business in the city.

Both bring solid knowledge of Oakland’s finances, prioritize public safety and recognize how badly understaffed the Police Department is.

District 1 – Len Raphael

Dan Kalb, after 12 disappointing years representing North Oakland on the City Council and a failed bid earlier this year for state Senate, is calling it quits.

Raphael, a certified public accountant, would bring critical financial acumen to the council. Raphael has previously run unsuccessfully for City Council and city auditor.

While we don’t always agree with his solutions, we admire that he thinks deeply about how to solve some of the city’s fiscal challenges and bolster the badly understaffed Police Department.

His opponents are bakery owner Edward Frank, who isn’t running a meaningful campaign and has a lot to learn about the city, and Zac Unger, the president of the union representing Oakland firefighters.

Voters should not move Unger from one side of the bargaining table to the other. The city’s labor unions already have too much influence.

District 3 – Warren Logan

Planning consultant Logan worked as policy adviser for then-Mayor Schaaf and as one of the city’s emergency directors during the pandemic.

He brings a solid understanding of Oakland’s issues and finances, is correctly critical of Thao and the council’s use of one-time money to temporarily patch long-term shortfalls, and recognizes the harsh effect that crime is having on businesses.

There are six candidates vying for this seat, which represents West Oakland and much of downtown. Four years ago, incumbent Carroll Fife was recruited by city-worker unions to unseat a more-moderate incumbent. Now seeking reelection, Fife declined to participate in our interview process.

For those seeking a backup candidate under the city’s ranked-choice voting, we recommend Baba Afolabi, the owner of an Oakland sports bar closed earlier this year because of crime downtown, who advocates for long-term budgeting for the city.

District 5 – Erin Armstrong

Erin Armstrong would bring much-needed change for the Fruitvale neighborhood’s council district. She prioritizes clean streets, safe neighborhoods and economic prosperity. “We get the last by addressing the first two,” she says. Exactly.

Armstrong holds a master’s degree in business administration and public policy from Mills College and is a senior policy adviser to Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley. She emphasizes that the city can’t keep using one-time money to balance its budget.

Indeed, she’s far more conversant about the budget than incumbent Noel Gallo, who spent 20 years on the Oakland school board and then the last 12 years on the City Council — and now wants another term.

To his credit, Gallo voted against the recent city budget that failed to address a $100 million-plus structural deficit. But in the past he joined the council’s hard-left coalition in blocking funding for needed police training academies.

Gallo doesn’t seem to have a full grasp of the city’s fiscal crisis and blames city staff for not providing him with good information. After three-plus decades in elective office, he should be a leader. He’s not. It’s time for change.

The third candidate in the race, Dominic Prado, did not participate in our interview process.

District 7 – Iris Merriouns

Treva Reid’s decision to not seek reelection ends 28 years of family representation in a district that now stretches across the southeast end of the city from the airport to the hills. Her father, Larry Reid, retired in 2020 after 24 years on the council. Since then, Treva Reid has held the seat and ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2022.

Enter Merriouns, who served as Larry Reid’s chief of staff and now holds the same job for Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, the most thoughtful member of the current City Council.

Merriouns’ knowledge from more than 25 years of experience in Oakland city government makes her the standout of the four District 7 candidates. She wants to add more police officers, and she stands out in her understanding of the city budget.

The other candidates include Marcie Hodge, who has run unsuccessfully for City Council three times and for mayor once. Hodge had a troubling tenure as a Peralta Community College District trustee, where she made nearly $4,400 of personal purchases on her district credit card.

Candidate Ken Houston is a community activist, construction project manager and two-time unsuccessful mayoral candidate with at-times-overwhelming frenetic energy. The fourth candidate, Merika Goolsby, missed her scheduled interview.