D7 Campaign Landscape Transforms Over Night as Reid Exits Race
Last week, D7’s current CM Treva Reid announced that she won’t be seeking re-election as her first term in office ends. The late day announcement on the deadline to submit candidate paperwork triggered Oakland’s rules for candidate qualification—that added an additional five days for other candidates to qualify for the ballot.
Conventional wisdom would have dictated that Reid, with generational name recognition and incumbency, would win out against then-current candidates Merika Goolsby [nee Reagan] and Marcie Hodge. Goolsby is a community activist who works at the Oakland Community Land Trust and sits on the Oakland rent board. Hodge is a former Peralta board member who has run for Oakland office in previous elections. But neither have Reid’s institutional reach, name recognition nor four years of community-connections via her office—and nearly three decades worth from her father, ex-CM Larry Reid. Few can remember a time where the council representative of D7 was not named Reid. The last time someone who did not have that name ran and won in D7, the internet didn't exist.
With Reid’s exit, a competitive and more complex race has emerged, with several new candidates officially delivering their intention to run for the wide-open seat. Reid's exit occurs in the context of D7's low voter turnout. In the 2020 election that gave Reid the seat, less than 20K D7 residents voted [although that was before redistricting].
—New D7 Candidates Have Oakland Gov Connections; Houston’s Are the Deepest
Iris Merriouns, D4 CM Janani Ramachandran’s Chief of Staff and formerly Chief of Staff for Larry Reid, qualified to run for the district by Friday. And two-time Mayoral candidate and current City of Oakland contractor Ken Houston also qualified, per the Clerk's office. Tonya Love, according to the City of Oakland clerk, did not initially qualify, but Love disputes the result and is fighting for the certification this coming week, per her social media statements.
Love Fighting for D7 Candidate Certification
Love, Carroll Fife’s chief of staff and long-time community advocate, turned in her 501 form indicating her intention to run, pivoting from her candidacy in the at-Large race. By Friday the City’s election site had Love as not qualifying to run for D7. But on Saturday, Love published a campaign update on various social media channels, noting that she believes the Clerk has made an error in disqualifying her, and intends to fight the determination this week. The dispute echoes the initial 2022 disqualification of Mayoral candidate Alyssa Victory, whose candidacy was eventually reinstated after intervention and determination from the Secretary of State. Given the City Clerk’s problems with candidate qualification processes in the past, it may be worth waiting to be certain who is in and out of the D7 and other races, however. Regardless, Love appears out of the at-Large race.
Love comes from a community service and local Democratic party background. Love has served on the Measure HH advisory board and is a California Democratic Party Delegate for AD18 as well as Vice-Chair of the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee, and various Democratic party affinity groups. During her time as Fife’s Chief of Staff, Love publicly presented legislation she co-authored to allow for community-led traffic safety mitigations in Oakland's High Injury Network [HIN]—the program is currently being implemented as a pilot project along the HIN in East and West Oakland.
Goolsby, like Love, has a background in local community service. She works at the Oakland Community Land Trust and is a tenant representative alternate board member at the Rent Board. Goolsby has been active in tenant’s rights advocacy and has also worked with ACCE, but is relatively new to the politics scene.
—Merriouns and Houston Have Long History with Reids
Houston a Two-Time Mayoral Candidate with Long History in City of Oakland Contracting Politics
Of the 4 candidates, Houston has the longest and most substantive public facing profile and the most connections with City and local government. Houston established the Beautification Council [BC] in 2014, with stated goal of performing community clean-up. Council member Larry Reid directed some of the first funding to BC in 2016, a $25K graffiti abatement grant.
In recent years, after BC was awarded a $175K Covid Cares Act grant in 2020 through the Oakland state of emergency's more informal process for "micro-cleaning", the company has become a big business. After Cares Act funding lapsed, BC continued working for the City with payment through a state grant project. BC's work relies on per diem hiring of homeless residents to perform the clean up work in support of Public Works efforts. The grant funds come from CalTrans, but are administered through the City of Oakland—which gave the contract to BC in a no-bid process. The contract was recently renewed, with a total cost of about $4 MM from 2022 to currently scheduled expiration in 2025.
Houston’s Beautification Council has the same Coliseum-adjacent address, 8055 Collins Drive, as companies owned and maintained by Len Turner, including Turner Building and Construction and Construction Resource Center—Houston was also a principal in Turner’s companies as late as 2014, but it’s unclear whether he still is. Turner's company is in process for a project that would demolish the building and build an 8 story mixed used commercial building there. The City's Planning website shows that the project was in pre-application last year, but has no further information. Houston identified himself as a co-owner of the Collins building in news reports about a robbery at the site several weeks ago.
Both the Construction Resource Center and Beautification Council received $100K ARPA "community needs cash" grants in May 2022 from the ALCO Board of Supervisors. The grants were proposed by Nate Miley and passed by the Board. The intention of the grants was to supplement "negative economic impacts" due to Covid. Around this time, Beautification Council received the City of Oakland public works grant based on its grant-funded work during Covid.
Len Turner and his brother and partner, Lance Turner, were indicted in the same investigation that sent Larry Reid’s son Taj Reid to jail for bribery and bid-rigging; Lance was acquitted, and Len’s case ended in mistrial. Houston’s name shows up in the investigation as a partner and confidante of the three men, but he was not indicted nor accused of any unlawful actions.
The Collins building itself is a crossroads for government contracts and deal-making. Turner was in negotiations to sell the property to Alameda County as a temporary residence for re-entry of formerly incarcerated residents in 2020 for over $3 MM, well above its assessed value, but although the sale was authorized by the Board of Supervisors, it appears the deal never went through. The building’s address appears in state and local grants, including the Turner-owned Construction Resource Center, which received a $81K Community Development Block Grant through the City of Oakland in 2019. Beautification Council and Turner Construction both received CDBG grants in 2020.
Merriouns Was Larry Reid's Chief of Staff for Over a Decade
Merriouns was Chief of Staff for Larry Reid in D7 for over ten years and had a brief round of ethics and campaign issues about a decade ago in that role. Merriouns was fined by the Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to timely report her statement of economic interest forms during five consecutive years of her employment as Reid's staffer.
Merriouns has a lower profile outside of her service on Council staff, but her Twitter account shows a much more left-leaning pov than the Reids or Ramachandran are known for. Merriouns notably appears to have supported the fight to keep Parker Elementary School and other OUSD schools facing closure in 2022 open, which included a physical occupation of the building. Merriouns also shows a great deal of support for Carroll Fife and Moms 4 Housing. Merriouns was publicly lauded for her successful defense of her 100 year old aunt facing eviction in San Francisco in the late 2010s from an absentee landlord.
—Hodge's Third Electoral Run in Oakland, Previous Mayoral Run Marred by Financing Irregularities and Fines
Hodge is also no stranger to controversy, with questions about her fundraising in previous attempts at City office and her use of district credit cards at Peralta over a decade ago. Hodge has run for Oakland office unsuccessfully three times—a run for Mayor in 2010, and twice for D7 in 2016 and 2020. Hodge was fined by the FPPC for not filing any of mandated campaign finance reports leading up to the 2010 election. After the election, in January of 2011, Hodge filed all of her required 2010 paperwork in hand-written forms that are difficult to read and may be incorrectly filled out. Her murky campaign finances were reported on by local independent media during the election and after. Notably, Houston endorsed Hodge during her 2020 D7 run.
At Large: Armstrong's IAD Issues Build as Wang Outraises Other Candidates With a National-Level Profile
The departure of Love from the At Large race still leaves a huge field of candidates there with higher public profiles and fundraising apparatus, several of which have already raised large cash reserves.
—Armstrong, Well-Funded, Institutionally Supported and High Profile, with Spiraling IAD Scandals on Deck
Former OPD Chief Leronne Armstrong has a lot of support, with the influential Oakland Police Officers Association [OPOA] PR consultant Sam Singer batting both ways—for him directly, and against Thao and aligned Council members, via his current employer, the police union. John Burris, Carl Chan and Cestra Butner have all donated the maximum to Armstrong's campaign. Armstrong has already raised $41K and former state official Sandre Swanson has started a PAC just for his campaign.
So far, Armstrong's firing has worked in his favor of his candidacy, thanks to a report that found that Thao should not have necessarily fired Armstrong over the Internal Affairs Department[IAD] failures in the case of officer Michael Chung. Chung allegedly received improper discipline over a firearm discharge in a Police Administration Building elevator and leaving the scene of an accident in a patrol car, an investigation that Armstrong ultimately oversaw. But thanks to state law, Armstrong was given the opportunity to initiate a non-binding third-party review of the discipline, and the finding favored him, although it did not exonerate him.
Thao maintains that she didn't fire Armstrong over the IAD issues in 2023, but over his commentary about the NSA and its Monitor Robert Warshaw. At events and in press conferences, Armstrong had publicly decried Warshaw, claiming Warshaw "manufactures...false crisis" to keep the OPD under the NSA in the "interest of his own pocketbook". Mayor Sheng Thao says she fired Armstrong because of this and other public statements made while he was still employed at the City on administrative leave. The comments brought into question Armstrong's ability to lead Oakland out of the NSA, Thao maintains.
Armstrong's two previously minor reputational stumbling blocks—his awkward relationship to the NSA, and the accusations of IAD mismanagement—now seem to be merging into one thornier problem. Another Armstrong-era IAD scandal, with more serious implications and more rigorous evidence, has come to light in the past few months. And Warshaw's most current report cast the hope of an expected exit from the NSA, still viable as of a few months ago, as a now distant possibility—with that Armstrong era IAD failure as the proximate cause.
Recanted Testimony Reverses Convictions, Jails Officer, Leaves Botched IAD Investigation in Spotlight
A later IAD investigation in 2022 also under Armstrong's purview, exonerated Officer Phong Tran on allegations of bribing a witness and perjury. The IAD investigation unfolded as a witness in a homicide prosecution investigated by Tran recanted their testimony, which had been key to convictions of two men in a 2011 murder, saying Tran had paid and coerced her to lie about being a witness to the murder. The recanted testimony compelled the courts to vacate the convictions against the men, and release them from prison after nearly a decade. But the IAD's Tran investigation found the allegations were "unfounded" despite the court's decision—a claim that means the violations had not occurred, a not very credible outcome given the dismissal of the convictions. As if the court decision weren't damning enough, Tran was charged in 2023 by the Alameda County DA for perjury and bribing the witness in the case.
The now-visibly botched IAD investigation into Tran triggered a Community Police Review Agency [CPRA]* investigation of the IAD process in 2023. The CPRA investigation found command staff and a lead investigator obstructed the investigation—with severe discipline recommended. According to the East Bay Times, the discipline recommended Deputy Chief, Drennon Lindsay, Armstrong's spouse, be terminated. And Armstrong's discipline would have been suspension if he were still employed as Chief, according to Ali Winston and Darwin Bond Graham writing in the Oaklandside.
Those investigations were referenced by Warshaw this month as the motivation for his decision to find the OPD out of compliance on IAD investigations, a central task required for exiting the NSA and one that the OPD still appeared within reach of satisfying months ago.
—Wang Outraised Armstrong
Despite having a wealth of support, Armstrong is actually in second place for fundraising as of June 30. He raised $41K for the At Large race, but candidate Charlene Wang has outraised him as of June 30 with a $65K haul.
Though Wang is not as well known as Armstrong in Oakland, her reputation and resume at high levels on the national scene may do much to balance the equation. Wang was a Biden administration appointee to both the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency, where she currently serves and has worked on project study for a I-980 conversion, and the 12th st "greenway". Wang’s connections to a currently thriving Biden administration electoral effort may be giving her a current edge in fundraising and support over Armstrong’s local machine politics. But Wang is still a virtual unknown locally.
Rowena Brown is another probable contender in the race, enjoying local support and acknowledgement due to her local staff liaison work in the Mia Bonta administration. Kathina Matoury gained some level of local recognition when a driver crashed into her grocery small business—the association may also give her candidacy some level of notice. Neither have raised much.
No Money Raised in D7 and D5 Races as of June 30
Perhaps because of some level of uncertainty around incumbents, campaign money has so far avoided the D5 and D7 races, according to finance reports. Noel Gallo had been circumspect about his intention to run and had raised no funds by the time reports were due on June 30—nor had his challengers Erin Armstrong, a current ALCO Board staffer and Dominic Prado a Fruitvale business owner. In D7, Reid, Goolsby and Hodge had also raised no funds by June 30.
Gallo loaned himself $15K this week, the first positive finance report for both districts. This makes the East Oakland districts the outlier in what is already appearing to be a record-setter for Oakland election financing in other districts—especially the at-large seat, D3, and Measure Z successor ballot measure and over half a million raised for the Mayoral recall, which has aligned with several campaigns challenging incumbents associated with Thao.
SOS Oakland is "Coal in Oakland" Lobbyist Greg McConnell’s Latest Fundraising Vehicle
SOS Oakland is the latest campaign financing vehicle by Greg McConnell, long a lobbying fixture at the City of Oakland with a wealth of Oakland clients that include the Duong family’s California Waste Solutions. McConnell's last independent expenditure committee, Californians for Safer Streets, was dedicated to the mayoral campaign of Ignacio de la Fuente, who went on to fall out of the ranked choice run off early in the count. About three quarters of the of the $712K in funds raised and spent were from one person, Jonathan Brooks, the financier behind the attempt to bring coal to Oakland, who donated over half a million dollars.
McConnell is taking a broader stance with SOS Oakland in this cycle, backing a legislative slate for November’s election, but it's still not clear in whose favor the PAC will actually act. SOS so far tapped the same pollster that the McConnell group hired for a well-cited poll last year, but hasn't done much else outside of establishing a website. McConnell’s SOS didn’t report much fundraising by June 30th, about 6K. But the org did spend around 22K, most of it circular expenditures to McConnell’s group and its principals. SOS had declined to back a D7 candidate before Reid's departure from the race, interestingly. SOS now backs Houston.
Thao-Run Recall Defense Shows Little Activity by Last Filing Date
Thao’s self-run recall defense fund had only been active for a couple of weeks before the FBI raid of her residence, and then only a couple of weeks more before the June 30 deadline. Regardless, so far the defense committee has raised little money, though funding and spending often ramp up in the two months before the election. Large donations of $1K or more require an immediate 497 report, but none have been posted as of the date of this report.
*shortly after publication, Thao's recall IE, run by Thao, received its first large donation, $10K from the Chair and Founder of the Akonadi Foundation. Delaney's contribution represents the first significantly large independent amount within the 90 day window when all contributions over $1K must be reported within 24 hours.
Measure Z Successor Ballot Measure Fund Spends Over Half a Million on Signature Gathering
So far not much attention has been paid to the Measure Z successor, but if it fails, tens of millions in funding that the OPD has relied on for decades may be lacking in future years. The committee supporting signature gathering for the measure, Oaklanders Together for a Safer Oakland, run by Selina Wilson, the EYODC Director, raised hundreds of thousands from private and public sector, including Clorox, Blue Shield, PG&E, SEIU 1021, Kaiser and Holland Partners. The Committee has virtually exhausted the over $600K raised and spent.
Harbin-Forte Exits Oversight of OUST, Transitions Treasurer Role to Her Sister
As reported by the Oaklandside and this publication, Foundational Oaklanders Unite [FOU] served as the main finance engine for the Oakland recall signature gathering campaign, OUST. FOU has had a rotating group of managers, including current D1 Council candidate Leonard Raphael, and formerly, Tanya Boyce. But the money the organization spent has a single origin, a partner at Farallon Partners, Philip Dreyfuss, who donated over $600K to the group. Dreyfuss was also a major funder of the Price recall. The organization worked almost exclusively in favor of Harbin-Forte's finance committee, OUST until the last day for campaign finance reporting of the quarter, June 30.
OUST started its life under the main Treasurer supervision of a third party accounting company, S.E. Owens. But at some point between May and July, Harbin-Forte took over the Treasurer role. Although the assistant treasurer role currently held by S.E. Owens may be responsible for the bookkeeping, the Treasurer role is legally accountable for the accuracy and legality of the fundraising, spending and reporting.
Harbin-Forte transitioned out of the Treasurer role just a few days ago, and her sister, Gail Harbin, has assumed the role. S.E. Owens is still listed as Assistant Treasurer, a role with no legal accountability for reporting. Meanwhile, Harbin-Forte’s own City Attorney committee is just getting off the ground and reported no funds by the June 30 deadline. A Public Ethics Commission investigation is still open against both FOU and OUST, and Harbin-Forte is still named in a suit to enforce a subpoena filed by the PEC.
Minor Referendum on City Attorney Race in Richardson Finance Profile and Endorsements
Several donors that gave money in opposition to current City Attorney Barbara Parker in her last election in 2020, contributed to Harbin-Forte's opponent, current Assistant City Attorney, Ryan Richardson in this cycle. That’s noteworthy, because Richardson has stated that he intends to continue in Parker’s footsteps. In campaign literature, Richardson says that he is “the only candidate that City Attorney Parker trusts to continue the office’s legacy”. Parker has endorsed Richardson.
Sheet Metal Workers 104 funded Parker’s opponent, former City Attorney Elias Ferrran, in 2020, but is now funding Richardson at the maximum amount for a qualified broad based committee of $1,200. SMW 104 also endorsed Richardson. Robert Wasserman, the former Campaign finance treasurer for Lynnette Gibson McElhaney and current head of the SF BCDC, also backed Ferran, but is now funding Richardson at the max for individuals, $600.
Local developer and landlord Isaac Abid, a co-founder of the cash engine for the Pamela Price recall signature gathering effort, Supporters of Recall Pamela Price, is also a funder for Richardson—he gave Richardson the current max. Abid’s partner at Supporters is Philip Dreyfuss, who nearly single-handedly has been the financial driver behind the Thao campaign ostensibly led by Harbin-Forte. Abid has not participated in the effort to unseat Thao, and sources suggest he opposes it vehemently. His funding of Harbin-Forte's single challenger in another race is worth noting.
Richardson also has endorsements from former Mayor Libby Schaaf and one of Thao's fiercest opponents and recall supporter, Loren Taylor.
Ferran's 2020 campaign was at first a quixotic protest campaign started after he left the attorney's office under a cloud. But it soon gained outsized financial support from building trades organizations, landlord and businesses that appeared more opposed to Parker’s community-focused legal defense agenda than supportive of Ferran's vague platform. The fact that Parker beat Ferran in a landslide, however, with 80% of the vote, may also be weighing on former Parker opponents. Ferran's spouse, Pamela Ferran, is running another independent expenditure committee that was granted only one contribution since its inception in March—a $126K contribution from FOU.
More on other district races, ballot measures and financing in the coming weeks
*the CPRA is an adjunct under the authority of the Oakland Police Commission that acts independently to review IAD investigations and initiate its own investigations of certain allegations of police misconduct. The CPRA is ultimately subject to the control of the OPC.
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