OAKLAND, Calif.—An estimated 400 Oakland citizens were shut out of an event on Sept. 9 that was organized to receive information from and provide concerns to the city’s mayor and the county’s district attorney regarding rising crime.
Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price—in addition to a number of law enforcement and city and county officials—spoke at a “Community Safety” meeting held at the Genesis Worship Center, a nondenominational church located in East Oakland, with a seating capacity of about 80; the event was livestreamed on the church’s website for those who couldn’t attend.
Supporters waving signs and wearing shirts favoring the district attorney were seen in groups, and some were reportedly allowed access by organizers to the church via side doors, while security prevented all but a handful of residents from entering.
Several people questioned why the event wasn’t held at City Hall or at a larger venue with more seating. Some indicated that staging such meetings at smaller venues has occurred multiple times this year; they assert that it’s standard operating procedure for Oakland officials, who seek to avoid public discourse while creating the illusion of accessibility.
“They really made a mistake there,” Seneca Scott, founder of Neighbors Together Oakland—a nonprofit focused on crafting post-partisan solutions and educating the community about political awareness—and former mayoral candidate, told The Epoch Times. “I think they exposed themselves.”
Neither Ms. Thao nor Ms. Price responded to requests by The Epoch Times for comment. Phone numbers listed for the Genesis Worship Center are all disconnected, and messages sent to the email address provided on the church’s website were returned as undeliverable.
Prior to the event, a rally was held by Neighbors Together Oakland across the street from the church. More than 250 people attended, as speakers highlighted areas of concern and potential paths forward to improve communities and restore public safety.
In the days leading up to the rally, posts on social media and opinion pieces in some local newspapers questioned the organizers and attempted to create doubt with attacks.
Some posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, accused Mr. Scott of making hateful, anti-LGBT statements.
“The event was successful despite an enormous effort from elected officials, including our mayor’s office ... and nonprofit newspapers. They threw everything at us they could trying to make people scared of coming to the event,” Mr. Scott said. “The level of division that they’re forcing on us is fortunately backfiring.”
In response to critics who said the focus on crime and negative headlines is detrimental and that education and rehabilitation should be prioritized, he said that “reality” must be recognized before it can be remedied.
“We’re only showing these negative images to come to an agreement of facts about the urgency of the situation,” Mr. Scott said. “However, there is a beautiful future for us if neighbors and the community can come together to build muti-racial and multi-class coalitions.”
Those negative images include videos that demonstrate criminal activity in neighborhoods throughout the city.
Oakland police statistics reveal crime has jumped 26 percent from a year ago, with violent crime up 15 percent. Home invasions, carjackings, and robberies are all on the rise, with some reporting unsafe conditions across the city.
From young children to elders in the community, residents stood shoulder to shoulder in the street, holding signs saying, “I am a victim” and “I’m tired of living in fear.” There were repeated calls to increase police presence and bring in the National Guard to restore order.
One speaker at the rally spoke of the need for transformative change.
“We’ve got a lot of energy and frustration by residents with what’s going on on the ground,” Loren Taylor, a former Oakland city councilman and mayoral candidate, told The Epoch Times. “We’ve got to channel that in a way that’s productive that has real solutions but also has accountability for our elected officials, our city government, and even for ourselves to be a partner in that.”
Mr. Taylor stepped aside from his District 6 City Council seat to run for mayor in 2022 and lost by less than 1 percent.
He received boisterous applause when he addressed the crowd, and he shook hands and spoke with those waiting in line to hear the elected officials’ discussion, acknowledging their frustration.
“It’s past time to finger-point or make excuses or whatever else,” Mr. Taylor said. “We’ve got too much of that, and it hasn’t gotten us anywhere, so instead we’ve got to focus on real results—turning the passion and energy into action that drives our results.”
Community activists, business leaders, and concerned residents spoke among themselves after being locked out of the meeting, with a diversity of backgrounds and ideas contributing to the discussion.
“It’s very challenging,” Raymond Gallagher, a business owner for 58 years in Oakland and founder of Scott’s—a well-known seafood restaurant located in Oakland’s Jack London Square—told The Epoch Times. “We’re calling on the mayor to start making some decisions. We need action.”
Mr. Gallagher was among those outside the church.
While the block where his restaurant is located is safe, he said his clients travel from across the region, and the perceived danger associated with the city is affecting businesses in Oakland.
“It’s the perception of all of Oakland. ... [The] perception of Oakland is very low,” Mr. Gallagher said.
Having lived in Oakland for 76 years, he said leadership, or the lack thereof, is to blame for the current state of affairs.
“We have a district attorney who doesn’t want to prosecute, and we have no police chief,” Mr. Gallagher said. “You have to have leadership in any organization, and the police have no leader.”
Oakland currently operates with an interim police chief, Darren Allison, after the mayor fired his predecessor, LeRonne Armstrong, in February for allegedly covering up an investigation into a fellow officer.
Inside the church, the mayor worked to calm nerves and address concerns, though many outside, who watched via the event’s livestream, told The Epoch Times they weren’t satisfied and called the event a “photo opportunity” that lacked actual substance.
“I’m a true believer of hope and that we need to somehow give hope back not only to our communities but to our young people,” Ms. Thao told the audience. “I want to acknowledge all the young people in the room. Thank you for showing up.”
Officials didn’t mention the hundreds who had gathered outside the three-hour-long event.
The mayor acknowledged issues related to 911 calls, including some callers being put on hold for long periods of time and others reporting lengthy response times.
“We need to do better,” Ms. Thao said. “Change doesn’t happen overnight, especially system change. By next year, let’s look at the numbers and then have me held responsible for that.”
Bishop George Matthews of the Genesis Worship Center noted shortages in the Oakland police department and a lack of resources that were contributing to the problem and asked the mayor if a state of emergency was necessary.
But Ms. Thao said no such action is needed.
“Calling for a state of emergency right now, when we are doing everything that this would allow for us to do,” she said. “Let’s just call it what it is. It’s political theater.”
Ms. Price’s presentation, several inside questioned her about public safety concerns only to be dismissed and ignored, as ground rules prior to the event required all questions to be emailed to the church for review in advance.
When a question chosen from those sent in advance asked about police being discouraged due to a lack of prosecutions and subsequently choosing to not arrest suspects that would be released the next day, the district attorney responded forcefully.
“I’m not the mayor. I don’t control the Oakland police department,” Ms. Price said. “I have said to them, you don’t get to not do your job because you don’t like how I’m doing my job.”
Confronted with doubts about her performance, she countered that such questioning was out of line.
“It’s racism. It is fundamentally racist for the first time we have a black woman at the head of one of the largest agencies in this county, and some people have lost their minds,” she told the crowd.
The district attorney blamed the media for her predicament, accusing journalists of exploiting victims’ families and their pain by interviewing residents who complained about lack of action, communication, or compassion from her office.
“If you believe the media hype, I went from a well-respected lawyer and businesswoman with 40 years of experience in this community to a bumbling, incompetent idiot who knew nothing about the law or the criminal justice system,” Ms. Price said.
According to flyers at the event, the district attorney has charged more than 7,610 cases, including 58 murders and 2,381 felonies to date this year.
Ms. Price—who was elected in 2022—is facing a recall, with paperwork recently filed with the secretary of state. Organizers of the petition are awaiting her response to the filing, at which point they will be tasked with gathering about 93,000 valid signatures, which would put the issue before voters in 2024.
The move follows the removal of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin under similar circumstances in 2022.
