San Francisco – A progressive icon and former American representative Barbara Lee declared victory on Saturday as a new mayor of Oakland in difficulty, a city in the San Francisco Bay region in shock from economic stagnation, crime and homelessness.
Lee published a declaration as an elected mayor on Saturday, saying that his chief opponent, Loren Taylor, had called to concede the April 15 race.
“Although I firmly believe in terms of the democratic voting process and the ballots will continue to be counted … The results are clear that the inhabitants of Oakland elected me as your next mayor,” she said. “Thank you, Oakland!”
Lee, 78, is a black pioneer who represented the city at Congress for more than two decades before retiring last year after having run without success for the American Senate.
“Oakland is a deeply divided city,” she said, adding that she “had answered the call to run” so that the community could work together to solve its problems.
Lee was approved by former governor Jerry Brown and other mayors of previous Oakland who said it was the experienced and unifying presence the city that the city needed after a division of the former mayor Sheng Thao in November. Thao was charged with federal corruption, fraud and conspiracy in January.
Oakland has around 400,000 inhabitants and is deeply liberal and multicultural, the birthplace of the Black Panther party and claimed by former vice-president Kamala Harris as a hometown.
But Oakland is also in shock from homeless tents, public drug consumption, illegal slideshow, armed violence and cheeky flights that prompted in-n-out Burger to close its first location last year.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has sent bus patrol officers to California to help fight what he called an alarming and unacceptable crime increase. And the city does not have enough money to pay public services.
Despite its high recognition by the name, the race was surprisingly heated with Taylor, 47, a former member of the Oakland municipal council who undertook to strengthen the police, reduce crime and revitalize the city’s economy.
Taylor said in a statement that “even if the result was not what we worked and hoped”, he was proud of the campaign and the daring ideas he presented.
On the campaign track, Lee highlighted the need for more community services as well as more police. Economic development, job creation and the guarantee of the city’s basic services as well as the fire terminals are working properly are among its priorities.
She will finish the rest of Thao’s mandate and would be in re -election in November 2026.
Lee was elected for the first time to the Chamber of the United States in 1998 and became best known at the national level as the only legislator to vote against the 2001 authorization for the use of military force in response to the September 11 attacks.
