Bay Area
Dave Stewart + Lonnie Murray Team Officially Joins with Elaine Brown’s Dream Team to Purchase City’s Interest in Oakland Coliseum
“Better Together! We are ready and have the money to purchase the City’s interest now,” Brown said. “And we have the will and the history and the legacy to co-develop the property with the A’s, who own the other 50% interest, having purchased it from the County in 2019. A’s president Dave Kaval has expressed his support of this powerful joint venture.”
Editor’s note: Below is the text of a media statement from Oakland & the World Enterprises (OAW), Elaine Brown’s group. The content was edited by Post staff.
This Dream Team’s Proposal is supported by a stellar lineup of the likes of Damien Lillard and Brian Shaw, 100 Black Men of America and Moms 4 Housing, according to the media statement.
The proposal was meant to influence the Oakland City Council to Vote on Proposals, Thursday, Nov. 4, in Its Closed Session and during future council deliberations.
“We found common ground in our vision of lifting up the Black and Brown communities of East Oakland through development of the abandoned Coliseum with Elaine Brown and her team,” Lonnie Murray stated on Tuesday.
Responding, Brown said, “Dave Stewart is committed to the same ideals to which I’ve pledged my whole life since heading the Black Panther Party, and that is why I reached out to him and Lonnie for partnership in purchasing and developing the Coliseum site.”
“Better Together! We are ready and have the money to purchase the City’s interest now,” Brown said. “And we have the will and the history and the legacy to co-develop the property with the A’s, who own the other 50% interest, having purchased it from the County in 2019. A’s president Dave Kaval has expressed his support of this powerful joint venture.”
Dave Stewart
Dave Stewart is a Black man born and raised in East Oakland, a Black man celebrated all over the world as one of MLB’s greatest pitchers, who led the Oakland A’s to its last World Series championship, the statement said.
More, though, Dave is a proud Black man who brought himself up from the streets of East Oakland to a starring role in a game that remains white dominated. He had to be better than the best in the game, and he was, in the tradition of Satchel Paige. And he is ready to put all his resources on the line for his beloved community according to the statement.
Black Girl Power!
Lonnie Murray, CEO of Sports Management Partners, is the only Black woman certified as a player agent by the MLB Players Association. In addition to the constant struggle she wages to bring more Blacks into baseball and create more opportunities for women, she represents, among others, Bruce Maxwell, the first MLB player to kneel during the National Anthem; Bianca Smith, the first Black woman hired by MLB as a baseball coach, and Marly Rivera, the first and only Latina MLB writer, the statement said.
Like Lonnie Murray, Elaine Brown is a strong Black woman who has navigated male-dominated spaces with aplomb. As the only woman who led the Black Panther Party, Elaine’s commitment to Black people, particularly in Oakland, goes back 55 years, according to the press statement.
Presently, Elaine Brown, as CEO of Oakland & the World Enterprises (OAW), is driving its mission to launch and sustain businesses for ownership by Black and other socioeconomically marginalized people, particularly formerly incarcerated people. With co-developer McCormack Baron Salazar, OAW is currently co-developing a 79-unit, 100% affordable housing complex at 7th and Campbell Streets in West Oakland, set to break ground in December, the press statement said.
“Show Me the Money”
“Incredibly, Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan,” according to the media statement, “is working against the Stewart-Brown union to support a proposal from a group that does not offer to pay the full purchase price on signing an agreement, does not have the experience to develop the site, but more, does not have the support of the Oakland A’s as a necessary partner.”
“The Stewart-Brown team is urging the Council not to be swayed by the smoke and mirrors of an ambitious politico who has no real commitment to the Black community,” the statement said.
“In a few days, the people of Oakland will know whether or not its Council is committed to a real community benefit that the Stewart-Brown team offers or will surrender to the personal ambition of one Council member,” the media statement concluded.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of May 22 – 28, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May May 22 – 28, 2024
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Alameda County
District Attorney Pamela Price Will Face Recall Election on November General Election Ballot
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors scheduled the recall election against Alameda District Attorney Pamela Price for November 5, coinciding with the 2024 General Election. The decision comes after weeks of controversy and drawn-out discussions amongst county officials, recall proponents, and opponents, and legal advisors.
By Magaly Muñoz
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors scheduled the recall election against Alameda District Attorney Pamela Price for November 5, coinciding with the 2024 General Election.
The decision comes after weeks of controversy and drawn-out discussions amongst county officials, recall proponents, and opponents, and legal advisors.
Recall proponents submitted 123,374 signatures before the March 5 deadline, which resulted in 74,757 valid signatures counted by the Registrar of Voters (ROV).
The recall election will cost Alameda County $4 million and will require them to hire hundreds of new election workers to manage the demand of keeping up with the federal, state and local elections and measures.
Save Alameda For Everyone (SAFE), one of the two recall campaigns against Price, held a press conference minutes before the Board’s special meeting asking for the Supervisors to schedule the election in August instead of consolidating with the November election.
Supporters of the recall have said they were not concerned with the $20 million price tag the special election would’ve cost the county if they had put it on the ballot in the summer. Many have stated that the lives of their loved ones are worth more than that number.
“What is the cost of a life?” recall supporters have asked time and time again.
Opponents of the recall election have been vehemently against a special date to vote, stating it would cost taxpayers too much money that could be reinvested into social programs to help struggling residents.
A special election could’ve cost the county’s budget to exceed its current deficit of $68 million, which was a driving factor in the three supervisors who voted for a consolidated election.
“Bottom line is, I can’t in good conscience support a special election that is going to cost the county $20 million,” Board President Nate Miley said.
Many speakers asked Miley and Keith Carson to recuse themselves from the vote, claiming that they have had improper involvement with either the recall proponents or Price herself.
Both supervisors addressed the concerns stating that regardless of who they associate themselves with or what their political beliefs are, they have to do their jobs, no matter the outcome.
Carson noted that although he’s neither supporting nor opposing Price as district attorney, he believes that whoever is elected next to take that position should have a reasonable amount of time to adjust to the job before recalls are considered.
Reports of recall attempts started as soon as April 2023 when Price had only been in office three months.
Price and her campaign team Protect the Win have been adamant that the voters who elected her to office will not fall for the “undemocratic” practices from the recall campaign and they are prepared to put all efforts forward to guarantee she stays in office.
Bay Area
Radical Proposal to Limit the Power of Oakland’s Police Commission
Since February 2023, several stakeholders, including the Coalition for Police Accountability, began to work on amending the Enabling Ordinance of Section 604, Article VI of the Oakland City Charter. The Enabling Ordinance was approved by 83.19% of Oakland voters and established the civilian membered Police Commission (the Commission), the Community Police Review Agency (CPRA) and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The recent process to amend was focused on addressing some of the inefficiencies and disruptions that have occurred with the Police Commission and to establish guard rails and procedures to mitigate such issues in the future.
By Coalition for Police Accountability
Since February 2023, several stakeholders, including the Coalition for Police Accountability, began to work on amending the Enabling Ordinance of Section 604, Article VI of the Oakland City Charter. The Enabling Ordinance was approved by 83.19% of Oakland voters and established the civilian membered Police Commission (the Commission), the Community Police Review Agency (CPRA) and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The recent process to amend was focused on addressing some of the inefficiencies and disruptions that have occurred with the Police Commission and to establish guard rails and procedures to mitigate such issues in the future. Councilmembers Dan Kalb and Kevin Jenkins are the authors of this legislation which is still in process.
A counter proposal was presented by Councilmember Jenkins to drastically amend Article VI, Section 604 of the City Charter. The proposal would remove the selection process of the police chief from the Commission and give that power solely to the mayor. Currently, the Commission selects the candidates from which the mayor chooses the chief and presents them to the mayor who selects the final candidate. The proposal also moves the OIG to the Auditor’s Office. These proposals would rob the Commission and the OIG of independence from City Hall which 83.19% of Oakland voters sought in voting for Measure LL in 2016 and Measure S1 in 2018.
Our position is that the issues that have been raised about the hiring of the Chief, the appointment authority of Commissioners, and the scope of CPRA can all be incorporated into the ongoing collaboration of all the stakeholders working on the Enabling Ordinance. Those stakeholders are the two authors, the Coalition of Police Accountability, the Police Commission and the community members who have participated in this extensive work which has yet to be completed and approved by the City Council. The Charter is very clear that the Commission hires the IG and that the IG is supervised by the Commission. The ordinance cannot override that provision of the Charter.
Amending the Charter is not the vehicle that should be used to make amendments. The proposed Enabling Ordinance should be given a chance to effect positive change before making radical and undemocratic revisions.
For further information, please contact the Coalition for Police Accountability by reaching out to Mariano Contreras at puralata1@gmail.com.
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