Poetry slam

Oakland councilmember and Moms 4 Housing co-founder engaged in an epic trash-talking session; Union City places stringent campaign expenditure limits on candidates; Tregub holds thin lead in Berkeley

Oakland Councilmember Carroll Fife was taking it and giving it out at an Oakland committee meeting on Tuesday.

CITY NEWS

OAKLAND

—PLAYING THE DOZENS—Four years ago, a group named Moms 4 Housing commandeered a home on Magnolia Street in West Oakland from its corporate landowner.

—The protest captured the imagination of tenants struggling with exorbitant rents and others unable to purchase their own homes.

—The movement inspired legislation and gave rise to Oakland Councilmember Carroll Fife, one of the guiding members of the Moms 4 Housing movement.

—Those halcyon days have apparently passed.

—At Tuesday afternoon’s Life Enrichment Committee meeting, Fife and a co-founder of Moms 4 Housing named Misty Cross traded barbs on and off for nearly 15 minutes.

—Cross said Moms 4 Housing members went to jail in order for Fife to win a seat on the Oakland City Council in 2020. Cross also accused Fife of trying to evict women from the famed Magnolia Street home.

—Fife, however, did not back down from the tongue-lashing delivered by Cross.

—Fife accused Cross of stealing from the community. Later, Fife could be heard at the conclusion of the meeting saying to Cross, “You want money.”

—Watch the video below. (Runtime: 2:56).

MORE INSIDE:

• CITY NEWS: Union City approves campaign expenditure limits on mayoral, council races

• Hayward still isn’t happy about being forced into district-based elections

• COUNTY NEWS: DA Pamela Price tells Asian Americans how it is

• ELECTION 2024: Berkeley special election results are tightening

• Big name in Albany politics is making a comeback

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