2025 Oakland Mayoral Debate

Barbara Lee and Loren Taylor squared off in a substantive debate—laying out their distinct approaches to restore Oakland's growth and stability

Last evening, Empower Oakland and Black Action Alliance hosted a mayoral debate in Oakland between leading candidates, former congresswoman Barbara Lee and former city council member Loren Taylor. The debate was hosted by Dave Clark of KTVU and broadcast live. A full recording is available.

Both candidates recognized the deep challenges Oakland faces in its finances, crime, homelessness and economic recession. And they agreed on the preeminence of public safety as a foundation for Oakland’s future. But they painted a distinct picture of the causes of Oakland’s troubles and its path to rejuvenation.

Taylor opened his remarks by stating that Oakland is broken—a consequence of years of corruption, mismanagement, and self-dealing that needs to be treated with urgency.

We have to be honest with ourselves. Oakland is broken. We have a lot of things that need to be fixed and need to be fixed immediately. If we don't respond with urgency, we could lose more residents, lose more businesses, lose more revenues, driving us closer to bankruptcy, and we could ultimately lose the most important thing, which is our ability to control our own destiny.

Taylor emphasized his decades of on-the-ground experience in Oakland, his command of the city’s operational details, and his political independence from narrow interest groups and intrenched political powers—allowing him to make the hard and smart decisions that would restore trust, investment and growth in the city. He promised to deliver accountability in government and publish quarterly dashboards of the city’s performance. And he proposed to eliminate taxes for small businesses with less than $1.5 million in revenue.

Lee insisted that the city was not broken, but in crisis—one that she implied was caused by division in the city, and that would be solved by a leader who brings people together.

We have got to stop this division in this city. And that is what has taken place over the last many, many years. I don't believe the city is broken. I believe we're in a crisis, and I know that we need leadership that can lead us out of this crisis. We have to work together.

Lee promised to unite the city’s divided political factions to solve the city’s problems. She noted she was a leader who has delivered billions of dollars of funding to the city from federal sources, and emphasized her relationships with local, state and city leaders—connections that she argued were critical to win external financial support. She also pressed for raising the sales tax and aggressively pursuing city service fees and fines. She argued she uniquely had the vision to lead the city out of crisis.

On public safety

The candidates largely agreed that Oakland needs more than 800 sworn officers to improve community policing and foot patrols. Both agreed that improving public safety was a foundation for everything else the city wanted to accomplish.

Lee said she’d strengthen MACRO as a mental health intervention, bolster police technology, boost and integrate Ceasefire into OPD, and crack down on police OT. But she did not say how she’d pay for the extra officers and services, only that getting even to 700 “would be difficult, but we have to get there.”

Taylor would prioritize 911 response, and bolster violence prevention through community based organizations that demonstrate results through performance-based accounting. He said he had a plan to pay for the extra officers, including using the savings from reduced overtime, and through public/private partnerships with local corporations.

On the budget

Taylor emphasized trimming city spending as a necessary path to balancing its fiscal deficit, restoring trust in the city’s stewardship of resources by clearing it of corruption and mismanagement, restoring public safety, and subsequently creating the public capacity and private will to invest in the city.

For example, he proposed to eliminate taxes on small businesses with annual revenues less than $1.5 million. He also noted that the city has untapped opportunities to restructure its debt, highlighting that the city pays $130 million a year in interest payments alone on pension debt, and that a refinancing that debt could save Oakland $20 million a year.

Taylor noted that achieving his plans will demand hard choices and performance accountability.

We have kicked the can down the road so long that there is no road left to kick it down.

What we have to do is make hard choices. You have to look your friends and your allies, others in the eye and say, that's a great idea. We do not have the resources for that.

We have to increase efficiencies, focus on those gaps where we are wasting redundant effort and not having our eyes on the ball.

[Public Safety] is core because we're not going to attract business and investment if we're not safe.

And we will have goals, milestones to achieving those goals, we will have under my leadership performance dashboards published on at least a quarterly basis so that you can hold me accountable as well as the rest of the departments

Lee promoted the expansion of city services, including direct rent payments to teachers and parents in need, expansion of mental health services and homeless services, and public safety. To pay for the present deficit and proposed service expansion, she intends increase fees and taxes, and to seek county, state and federal and philanthropic funding. She even argued the city could even collect revenue from encampment code enforcement, though she did not provide details of how that would work in practice.

We need to raise revenue, and I do support the sales tax initiative. That would bring in between twenty to thirty million dollars, raising revenue.

The city failed to raise and collect revenues, code enforcement, fines, business taxes, parking tickets. Revenue has got to be collected, even revenue from encampment code enforcement.

We must engage in outside investment. I want to use my leverage to bring businesses into Oakland, philanthropy into Oakland, so that we can increase our revenue and have Oakland open again.

And of course, that means we have to address the public safety issues

On leadership

Lee defined herself as a unifier of warring political factions in Oakland, and a person with national connections to get outside philanthropy and government resources into the city.

Now, as your congresswoman, I hope I've delivered on my promise to deliver billions of dollars for our city, and now, if I am so fortunate for you to elect me as mayor, I'll use that same grit and determination and persistence.

This moment demands the ability to bring different sectors of our community together to get the job done to help solve this crisis.

Yes, that's what it takes to actually address the priorities of this city, but also to use the leverage and the influence that I have.

Taylor defined himself as a person of the people, with multi-generational roots in Oakland, and the track record and clarity to solve problems.

We need a new approach and we need new leadership. We need leadership that has been on the ground for decades, working with community addressing our toughest challenges.

Leadership that has brought officers on the ground like I did in District 6, 48 additional officers in District 6 [where] we actually saw during my tenure a reduction in violent crime by eight percent when the rest of the cities saw an increase.

We need leaders with experience working with affordable housing developers, community, the city staff, bringing more housing, like I did in District 6. We added more than 800 units to affordable housing to the development pipeline.

And yes, we need new leadership that recognizes it is unacceptable for us to have parents walking their children through homeless encampments on their way to school.

Returning to growth

The greatest distinction of the evening was in their strategy for returning Oakland to growth.

Taylor emphasized that Oakland needed to step up as a city, and carry its own weight before it seeks bailouts from others.

We are a drain on the state of California. The mismanagement, the corruption, the self-dealing—folks are ready to support Oakland even more heavily if we can effectively deliver, if we can manage our resources, if we can make progress. We have to improve how we operate, how our budgets are allocated, and that will help to engender more support from our friends in DC and the state and beyond.

Lee responded strongly in the opposite, arguing that Oakland is owed money by state and federal governments, and the city has not been aggressive enough in extracting it.

We're not a drain on Sacramento or Washington. We pay taxes. They owe us. We have to have a mayor that has a vision and we can pick up the ball and go to Sacramento and say: “You owe us. We paid taxes.” We have been missing in action. We need leadership who's going to be at the county saying you owe us this money.

The hot zone

The debate was a wholly respectful, thoughtful exchange, but it got testy at a couple moments related to indicted mayor Sheng Thao.

Taylor jabbed Lee for supporting Sheng Thao throughout the recall, and argued she was still carried by those same interests who prioritized themselves over the people of Oakland.

Those who supported and backed and propped up Shang Town, they don't want me to be mayor because they know I am not going to give in.

I am not going to prioritize them over Oakland residents. Oaklanders have to be centered in the decision making.

Lee pushed back:

I'm not sure who Loren is talking about, because I put together a strong coalition in this city that it's an example of how as mayor I will govern. I will not take cheap shots with people who support him.

Later, Lee speared Taylor as an incumbent Oakland politician with personal culpability for the mess we’re in now:

I also want to remind you that many of these decisions that were made that brought us to this crisis occurred by his votes when he was under city council. We have to be clear about how this budget deficit and how this Duong contract and how all of these votes took place that brought us to this point.

Taylor countered:

Yes, I was on the council when some decisions were made and I was able to protect the interests of Oaklanders while on the council. I did not support either of the last two budgets that were passed while I was on the council. And I am proud of my record going against business-as-usual politics—those decisions that were not in the best interests of Oaklanders.

Political legitimacy

Taylor emphasized his legitimacy as a leader stems from people themselves, with over 80% of his support coming from individuals in Oakland. He noted he has the detailed operational expertise and political independence to make hard decision that serve the interests of residents instead of narrow interest groups.

Oakland needs fresh energy, new leadership, someone who is unencumbered by the existing establishment—those who have a vested interest and have been having their way in our city, guiding decisions, not in the best interests of Oaklanders, but in their own interests.

It is absolutely critical that we have someone who understands the details and is able to hit the ground running.

He noted his long-term commitment to delivering lasting changes through accountability and institutional reform.

I, as mayor, will need to hold people accountable. I will be able to look and see, are you doing a good job, make sure that we implement the systems in place that will last long beyond my tenure as mayor.

And yes, I am committed to running again to being mayor for six or ten years if the electorate sees fit to do that, not simply only working the last 18 months of Sheng Thao’s term.

Lee emphasized her legitimacy came from endorsements of various groups and former politicians.

I know for a fact that [leadership] requires collaboration and cooperation. And I'm very proud of the fact that seven former mayors, city administrators, virtually all of our city council members, and many neighborhood organizations have endorsed Barbara Lee for mayor because it takes bringing people together to get the job done.

We need people to stop the talking and do the work. And I’m prepared to do the work.

She argued she uniquely brings the vision for the city, and the relationships to bring in outside help.

We're in a crisis, and we have to be able to work with our allies and work with people in Sacramento in Washington with the county with East Bay Mud with East Bay Regional Park District.

I know one of the comments was that I was a flash from the past, but I'm really proud of my past. And we need a flash with some light shown on this city because it's a beautiful city

Tags: Mayor, Elections