San Francisco – The progressive icon and former American representative Barbara Lee declared the victory on Saturday as the new mayor of Turbe Oakland, a city in the area of the San Francisco Bay that staggers for economic stagnation, crime and lack of housing.
Lee issued a statement on Saturday as elected mayor, saying that his main opponent, Loren Taylor, had called to grant the April 15 race.
“While I firmly believe in respecting the democratic voting process and the ballots will continue to tell … the results are clear that the people of Oakland have chosen me as their next mayor,” he said. “Thank you, Oakland!”
Lee, 78, is a black pioneer that represented the city in Congress for more than two decades before retiring last year after running without success for the United States Senate.
“Oakland is a deeply divided city,” he said, adding that “the call to run” replied so that the community can work together to solve their problems.
Lee was backed by former governor Jerry Brown and other previous mayors of Oakland who said it was the experience experienced and united that the city needed after a divisive retreat from former mayor Sheng Thao in November. Thao was accused of federal bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges in January.
Oakland has around 400,000 residents and is deeply liberal and multicultural, the birthplace of the Panther Negra Party and claimed by former Vice President Kamala Harris as her hometown.
But Oakland is also staggering for homeless tents, public drug use, illegal shows, armed violence and shameless robberies that led Burger of In-N-Out to close their first location last year.
The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has sent the officers of the California road patrol to help combat what he called an alarming and unacceptable increase in the crime. And the city does not have enough money to pay public services.
Despite its great name recognition, the race was surprisingly heated with Taylor, 47, a former member of the City Council of Oakland who promised to boost the police, reduce crime and revitalize the economy of the city.
Taylor said in a statement that “although the result was not for what we worked and expected,” he was proud of the campaign and the bold ideas he presented.
In the campaign, Lee emphasized the need for more community services, as well as more police. Economic development, employment creation and the guarantee of the central city services such as fire hydrants work correctly are among their priorities.
The rest of Thao’s term will end and would be re -election in November 2026.
Lee was first chosen for the United States House in 1998 and became better known at the national level as the only legislator to vote against the authorization of 2001 for the use of military force in response to September 11 attacks.
