Barbara Lee comes alive

Loren Taylor registered another strong performance at a debate that was ignited by the mere mention of Sheng Thao

☕️MORNING BUZZ

—Tuesday night’s highly anticipated debate between Oakland special mayoral election front runners Barbara Lee and Loren Taylor was about 40 minutes old when the fireworks began.

Moderator Dave Clark of KTVU knew the question would raise hackles. “I’m going to step back,” he joked before mentioning recalled, and now indicted, former Mayor Sheng Thao.

“These pay-to-play schemes have no place in Oakland,” Lee said, referring to bribery charges included in the indictments against Thao, “and we need to make sure that the corruption is wiped out of Oakland.”

Lee opposed the recall of Thao last November, but added that she has always been against recalls and never endorses in local races. “Whether you’re against or for the recall, we have to move on.”

She called for a code of ethics at city hall and for greater transparency when it comes to contracting. Most of her comments about Thao has been part of her standard stump speech for most of the campaign.

Taylor followed by referencing Thao’s slim margin of victory over him in the 2022 mayoral election. “I’m just going to start by saying the number 677.”

His followers, who appeared to make up a majority of the audience on Tuesday night, knew the significance of the number. “Sheng Thao’s indictment lays bear what many people suspected in terms of the corruption and bribery that impacted the 2022 election. We would be in a different place had those alleged activities not taken place,” Taylor said.

“We have to acknowledge that 86,000 Oaklanders stood up against the failed leadership, failed policies, and practices of the Sheng Thao administration,” he said, noting the number of voters who supported the Thao recall.

Then the gloves came off for perhaps the first time in this special election when Taylor asserted those who supported Thao’s campaign are now backing Lee’s bid for mayor.

“Unfortunately, those who supported, backed, and propped up Sheng Thao, 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.” Taylor later said the same backers “recruited” Lee to replace Thao.

Lee came alive after a month of candidate forums in which appeared chronically disinterested.

“If we're talking about our labor union brothers and sisters, are we talking about our activists and are we talking about the Oakland Chamber of Commerce? I'm not sure who Loren is talking about, because I put together a strong coalition in the city that is an example of how, as mayor, I will govern,” Lee said to cheers.

“I will not take keep shots against people who support him. That’s wrong,” Lee said. “I’m talking about bringing the city together.”

—More inside:

• Debate night continued: Taylor called city a “drain” on the state and county, Lee disagreed.

• Lee went high, then went low and urged voters not to be deceived by Taylor

• Oakland special election forum set for Saturday afternoon.

• County’s Coliseum deal faces another setback.

• Labor relations between nurses and Alameda Health System don’t sound friendly.

• Campaign finance data for Tuesday.

—411 ON THE 510—Become an East Bay Insiders subscriber today and get FULL ACCESS to the inside scoop every weekday morning at 6 a.m. It’s what the insiders read.

—The story of the East Bay’s public corruption scandal will be told here. SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

On the next episode of the East Bay Insiders Podcast: Interim Oakland Mayor Kevin Jenkins. Keep an eye out for Episode 107 on Thursday.