Special to the Post

District 4 Councilmember Janani Ramachandran formally announced her support for Iris Merriouns, Oakland City Council candidate for Oakland District 7. The seat is being vacated by current District 7 Councilmember Treva Reid. Merriouns currently serves as Ramachandran’s chief of staff.

“At a time when Oakland’s leadership is suffering, we need bold leaders to step up to the plate to confront these challenges. Iris has been invaluable to my leadership on the Council thus far, and I would be elated to continue partnering with her as a colleague to take on the demanding work that lies ahead,” says Ramachandran.

Merriouns is a longtime District 7 resident and community advocate, and previously served as chief of staff for former District 7 Councilmember Larry Reid for more than 20 years.

Ramachandran went on to say, “Iris knows D7 like the back of her hand — from the hills to the flats, the community knows and recognizes “Ms. Iris” as a force to be reckoned with, and as a true driver of courageous Oakland policy.”

Given the many vacancies on Oakland City Council, with six out of eight Councilmembers either retiring, running for re-election, or running for other offices, there are only two Councilmembers guaranteed to be in office next year: Ramachandran and District 6 Councilmember Keith Jenkins. Ramachandran hopes to be joined by leaders who believe in the need for fiscal responsibility as the Council continues to battle historic budget deficits, real government transparency, and the necessity to listen to community voices.

Because incumbent Councilmember Reid decided to not seek re-election, the filing deadline for the District 7 race was extended to Wednesday, Aug. 14.

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