Former Oakland city councilmember, LOREN TAYLOR (46) was up by over 3500 votes in his 2022 mayoral campaign, but he wound up losing by less than 700 votes after negative fliers were distributed that depicted Taylor with darkened skin and a menacing look.

A married father of two and an engineer by trade, Taylor says supporters of SHENG THAO (38) resorted to "darkening [his] skin color, making [his] eyes red like caricatures" in fliers that were distributed to the homes of 168,000 voters during the waning days of their 2022 Oakland mayoral contest.

Thao, who won the Oakland mayor's race in November 2022 by only 677 votes, was already facing calls for her resignation when then FBI raided her home last week. Taylor, who is assembling a staff for another run at the mayor's office, reacted to the scandal with a post on X/Twitter:

My heart is breaking for my hometown.

Many Oaklanders lost trust in Mayor Thao a long time ago, but now an FBI raid tied to corruption accusations and her deafening silence in the wake of 15 people shot at Lake Merritt on Juneteenth confirm a complete dereliction of duty. 

Unfortunately, I expect that when we hear from the mayor, we will listen to more “spin” and excuses, but receive none of the answers that Oaklanders deserve. Oaklanders do not feel safe in our city. They do not trust City Hall. And they have no confidence that the mayor or her council allies are prioritizing the best interests of residents ahead of political ambitions.

This past week has not only been a national embarrassment for our city, but it has significantly eroded public trust in our government which makes it nearly impossible for the current administration to be effective moving forward.

#Oakland #LeadershipMatters pic.twitter.com/df3D3RcKdY

— Loren Taylor (@lorenmtaylor) June 24, 2024