Sheng Thao has really bad luck

San Leandro rent review board hasn’t met for ages; SD7 candidate resumes fundraising haul; Nate Miley’s ‘sexy-type voice’

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao at a candidate forum last fall. PHOTO/Steve Tavares

CITY NEWS

OAKLAND

—CURSED—No matter your view of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, there is no denying she has the worst luck of any elected official in the East Bay. Maybe ever.

—It certainly didn’t start out well. We weren’t even sure she was the legitimate winner of last November’s election for about a month because of the ranked-choice voting controversy.

—Of course, Thao is saddled with Oakland’s seemingly unsolvable issues of crime, homelessness, and a tiring two-decades-long attempt to fully reform its police department.

—But there’s been even more dropped on the mayor’s plate. Thao has had to face down a number of devastating issues. Each potentially devastating to any administration on their own, only one of her own doing, and all within the first four months of her administration.

• Historic two-year budget deficits (See below)

• Firing of Oakland Police Chief LaRonne Armstrong (her fault)

• Blistering ransomeware attacks

• Likely departure of the A’s to Las Vegas

—Each issue is providing the public with hints for how Thao reacts to pressure.

—The mayor’s proposed budget next week is going to be a big tell. She has tied her administration to progressives and labor unions. This budget season is going to be a test for Thao, revealing how she intends meld the left’s wish-list with the realities of a historically debilitating budget deficit and dramatic cuts to city services.

—There were certainly existing vulnerabilities within Oakland’s IT infrastructure, but you never expect a full-scale attack on your information systems. But you also wouldn’t expect the city and mayor’s response to be so weak. There really isn’t a timetable for when its systems will be fully restored.

—The firing of Chief Armstrong is Thao’s own doing. As one of her first big moves, she may have showed an impetuous side that could become her hallmark. Remember that she dismissed Armstrong without much warning to the city’s police commission and then got herself in hot water with the Oakland NAACP, which started hankering for a recall.

—Same may ultimately be said for Thao’s response to the A’s purchasing land for a ballpark in Las Vegas. Her reaction was not measured. There’s no deal in Las Vegas, as of yet. If a glimmer of light still existed for Oakland, Thao is going to take serious heat for her rash response to the A’s.

MORE INSIDE:

• CITY NEWS: Oakland’s massive budget shortfall

• San Leandro’s Rent Review Bored

• More reshuffling in Hayward govt

• Hangar rent increases upset jet-set

• ELECTION 2024: Mo’ money for SD7 candidate

• Miley’s re-election campaign