Thao recall takes next step

Group submits 40,000 signatures to Oakland city clerk, What happens if Thao is recalled?; San Leandro names new city manager, police chief; Lots of comings and goings; Swalwell puts on a show

CITY NEWS

THAO RECALL

—RECALL II—Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao (OUST), the group seeking the recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, submitted 40,000 signatures to the Oakland City Clerk’s office on Wednesday afternoon.

—The moved comes seven weeks before the deadline to submit at least 24,664 valid signatures from Oakland voters.

—In a statement to its followers, the leader of OUST, former Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte said the electoral numbers don’t look good for Thao in a fall recall.

—Thao narrowly won the 2022 Oakland mayoral race by way of ranked choice voting, but only secured roughly one-third of the electorate’s first-place votes.

—“Thao is done in Oakland,” Harbin-Forte wrote.

—If the recall of Thao qualifies for the ballot, it will likely be consolidated with the General Election on Nov. 5, and join the countywide recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price on the same ballot.

—OPPOSING THE RECALL—Unlike DA Pamela Price’s campaign to oppose the recall, Sheng Thao is lining up funding sources to help fight off her recallers, according to sources. Labor is expecting to spend at least $500,000 to oppose the recall.

—It’s a smart investment. SEIU Local 1021 spent nearly $2 million to help get Thao elected in 2022 and her ability last month to avoid potential layoffs of city employees by liquidating the city’s half-interest in the Coliseum complex was appreciated.

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