Lateefah Simon reports fundraising windfall a day after entering CA12 race
One councilmember's push for friendlier police uniforms in San Leandro
ELECTION 2024
12TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
—POWER MOVE—It’s quite clear that Lateefah Simon’s decision to run for Rep. Barbara Lee’s open seat was not made in haste. Apparently, Simon has been laying some serious groundwork and here’s the receipts.
—In just 24 hours Simon’s campaign has already raised $140,000 from 320 individual donors, her campaign announced on Wednesday.
—“I knew from the beginning that it would take a village to run this race, but I never realized how big my village is,” an ebullient Simon said.
—Forget about the large fundraising number for minute because this is a show of strength to anybody else coveting this seat. However, the list has shockingly dwindled to only a smattering of lower-tier potential candidates.
—A month ago, I broke down the 10 potential candidates for Lee’s seat and their pros and cons. Simon clocked in at No. 2 behind Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who has now endorsed Simon. So has No. 3 state Sen. Nancy Skinner and No. 4 Assemblymember Mia Bonta.
—No. 5, former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf bowed out early, as did No. 6 Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, who is running for the state Senate. No. 10 Oakland Councilmember Dan Kalb is also running for the state Senate.
—No. 7 Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson was just a wildcard that I threw in based on stature and past performances, as was No. 8 Alameda Councilmember Malia Vella.
—The only other name left on the board is former Oakland Councilmember Loren Taylor, who is reportedly still thinking about a run for Congress…
MORE INSIDE:
What if CA12 is between Simon/Taylor?
‘Dro idea for designing friendly police uniforms
Reparations in Alameda County
New state law could play havoc with local gov’t meetings
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