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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I’m voting for Barbara Lee because she is the only candidate who has the respect of all the different constituencies in Oakland that will need to work together to solve Oakland’s current challenges. She has the experience, the wisdom, the gravitas, the connections, the ideas, the energy, the optimism and the determination that we need. People love her and admire her so much — and she’s going to need every bit of that social and political capital that she has built up over the decades, because Oakland, like many other cities, is facing a big budget crisis and thorny problems.?
At a rally for her at the Grand Lake Theatre a couple of Saturdays ago, I got to hear from so many people at different levels of government who are excited about her campaign and are eager to work with her:
- Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas
- Assemblymember Mia Bonta
- Interim Oakland Mayor Kevin Jenkins, who said he gets calls from Barbara Lee at all hours with ideas and questions — he marveled at her energy and the depth of her knowledge of how Oakland works?
Her list of??is very long and comprehensive, but what I think is remarkable that she is endorsed by every member of the Oakland City Council but one (whom she says is an old friend and she wouldn’t name them!) Her main opponent professes to be proud that he is not endorsed by the City Council members, because he claims it makes him “independent” — but he should know that isn’t how things work. He served one four-year term on the City Council, with very little to show for it beyond obstruction and burnt bridges. The reality is that the mayor HAS to work with the City Council and can’t go it alone. I personally feel that a guy with an MBA and so little political experience has no business running the City of Oakland, when we have a candidate with the integrity and proven leadership of Barbara Lee.?
I met her at a house party where she refused to take a seat and remained standing even though it was her 5th event of the day. She told the gathering about all the different sources of revenue she’s working on securing - from the County, the State, from grants, from collecting fees through offices that have been deprioritized and understaffed since the pandemic -- “to get Oakland the money it’s due.” ?I got to shake her hand and talk to her one-on-one, and I expressed my surprise that she was willing to take on this job, and she said she has done many hard things in her life and she’s ready to take on this challenge. She also told me that now that she isn’t flying back and forth between Washington DC and Oakland every week the way she did for so many years (three or four days in DC; three or four days in Oakland each week), she has lots more free time to throw into this.?
People who say she’s too old are thinking about other politicians and have not seen her in action right here and right now. She is a dynamo! Furthermore, this is only to finish out the current term. In November 2026, only 1 1/2 years from now, she will decide if she wants to keep going and we can vote on whether we want to keep her in the job. We should be so lucky!
Sincerely,
Jen V
