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Battered voter syndrome
A commentary on the abusive relationship between Oakland City Hall and Oakland voters: on leadership, crime, services, encampments, politics and…
 • Oakland Report
Voter turnout and "strong mayor": equal voices or skewed by districts?
A dialog with an Oakland Report subscriber and the authors of our March 2 commentary, “Oakland voters should reject the inadequate ‘strong-mayor…
 • Oakland Report
Oakland: $34 million property tax increase appears headed for June ballot
Union-sponsored signature campaign collects required number of signatures to qualify; Oakland city council set to formally put the measure on the June 2…
 • Sean S. Reinhart
New taxes: Oakland public employee unions collecting signatures for a new parcel tax
The city council is already counting the money — they added $40 million in hoped-for income to the city budget, assuming that voters will approve the…
 • Oakland Report
Loren Taylor: Oakland needs a council-manager government — or needs to eliminate ranked-choice voting
A former city council member and mayoral candidate explains why he changed his mind about Oakland's form of government.
 • Loren Taylor
Oakland city council tripled the allowed political contributions to its “officeholder funds”
Also: Forever emergencies; opening the door to new police and fire retirement fund board members — Oakland Agenda Watch
 • Sean S. Reinhart
Steven Falk: Oakland Should Return to the Model City Charter
Oakland Charter Reform Project kicks off our charter reform series exploring Oakland’s city charter and how it potentially could change in 2026.
Election results follow long-established voting patterns in Oakland
East Oakland had a disproportionately low influence due very low voter turnout, but slightly favored Lee. West Oakland/Temescal and district 4 dominated…
 • Tim Gardner
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
 • Tim Gardner
Oakland City Council used illegal votes to change city ordinances
In December, the city council relied on tie-breaking votes from recalled mayor Sheng Thao, a violation of city and state law. A lawsuit may be filed…
 • Brenda Harbin-Forte (Ret.) and Seneca Scott
Most ballot measure questions in Alameda County are biased
A volunteer body composed of former Alameda County Grand Jurors started a new rating system to help voters understand which ones are misleading
 • Tim Gardner
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