City Government

Noni Session Faces Lynette McElhaney in District 3 Race

Published

9 years ago

September 29, 2016

With nearly one month left before Oaklanders head to the voting booths, City Council candidates are ramping up their campaign efforts to reach undecided voters.

District 3 is seeing political newcomer Noni Session campaigning for the seat occupied by incumbent Lynette Gibson McElhaney.

Session is a West Oakland native and the daughter of Major Session Jr. and Carolyn Session.

According to Session, she is running a grassroots campaign on a progressive platform of community empowerment to address her district’s most pressing issues—which include displacement, funding for jobs and police accountability.

She has the endorsements of SEIU 1021, Alameda Labor Council, National Union of Healthcare Workers and the John George Democratic Club.

McElhaney is also a West Oakland native who has served as City Council president for the past four years.

McElhaney has not responded to weeks of requests from the Post for an interview or responded to written questions, and information about her campaign was gathered from her website.

Her platform focuses on increasing community policing and lists a track record of changes that she has helped bring about in Oakland during her tenure as a council member.

Housing affordability is one of West Oakland’s ever-increasing challenges, and the Post asked both candidates how they would address the issue.

“My number one concern is keeping people here and ending Oakland’s housing crisis,” Session told the Post.

Session said she plans to stop the outflow of longtime Oakland residents by vigorously enforcing the renter protection ballot measure known as Measure JJ and has been campaigning strongly to get the measure passed in November.

“We also want to reevaluate the definition of affordable housing, since the average Black Oaklander makes $30,000 a year and the average white Oaklander makes $80,000,” she said. Currently, affordable housing is set for households making up to $110,000 a year.

McElhaney has helped take steps to improve the housing crisis during the past four years, by voting on establishing impact fees on market-rate developments to help fund affordable housing.

She also “led efforts that established dedicated funding for the affordable housing trust fund,” according to her website.

In terms of jobs for local residents and African Americans, West Oakland has been hit particularly hard recently with the threatened closure of its only neighborhood job center.

McElhaney was able to help secure temporary relief to keep the job center open and Session vows to fully fund and reopen West Oakland’s local employment development offices.

“Right now, the city takes some of the federal money for jobs off the top,” said Session. “We could take a lot less off the top for administration to keep these centers open.”

According to McElhaney’s website, she also saved hundreds of West Oakland jobs by supporting Cal Waste Solutions, a locally-controlled recycling company.

Yet McElhaney has not addressed the closing of Alliance Metals in her district, a recycling center which was the sole source of income for many of West Oakland’s homeless.

Where the two candidates differ the most is in their approach to public safety and community policing.

In the wake of the Oakland Police Department’s recent sex-crime scandal and a slew of killings of Black men in the past year, Session calls for strengthening police accountability and to shift residency requirements for officers.

“I would like for an officer who has state power over me to also be my neighbor,” Session said. “It’s important that my own community is empowered to keep my own community safe.”

Meanwhile, McElhaney’s public safety platform focuses on reducing crime in West Oakland neighborhoods by increasing police presence in communities.

On her website, McElhaney cites adding 150 officers to OPD since she got into office and helping get Measure Z passed, which secures $30 million annually to pay for crime reduction services.

Session is pushing for a different approach to help reduce crime in her community— making sure that youth summer jobs programs get funding.

“We need to make sure that the kids who could be a source of violence get the resources and opportunities that they need,” said Session.

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Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

28 minutes ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.

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Activism

Community Celebrates Turner Group Construction Company as Collins Drive Becomes Turner Group Drive

The event drew family, friends, and longtime supporters of Turner Group Construction, along with a host of dignitaries. The mood was joyful and warm, filled with hugs, handshakes and belated New Year’s greetings. Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and a festive display of gourmet cupcakes as they conversed about the street sign reveal.

Published

44 minutes ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

The Turner Construction group members.

By Carla Thomas

It was a family affair on Friday, Jan. 23, at the corner of Hegenberger Road and Collins Drive in East Oakland as community members, local leaders, and elected officials gathered to celebrate the renaming of Collins Drive to Turner Group Drive. The renaming saluted the Turner Group’s 45-plus years of economic development and community investment.

Special guests included former Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, veteran broadcaster Valerie Coleman-Morris, Chevron Senior Public Affairs Representative Andrea Bailey, community leaders Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson and Beatrice “Aunt Bea” Johnson of the Oscar Grant Foundation, and Oakland City Councilmembers Ken Houston, Carroll Fife, and Kevin Jenkins. Members of WEBCORE, the Nor Cal Carpenters Union, the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC), Swinerton and Alten construction companies, activists Elaine Brown and David Newton, and many others joined the celebration.

Inside the event tent, an emotional Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston spoke of his deep connection to the Turner family.

“I grew up on the same street with the Turners,” he said. “When my father passed away, their parents and siblings embraced me like family. This is our city, and it’s an honor to name this street Turner Group Drive because of the love and effort this company and family have given. Many dreams came out of this building. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the Turners.”

Councilmember Kevin Jenkins, whose father once taught the Turner brothers, added, “Len Turner is an amazing person. He’ll help anyone.”

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee praised the company’s legacy, noting its creation of the Construction Resource Center, which trains and mentors the next generation of builders and developers through partnerships across the region. “This is a great day for Oakland and a profound acknowledgment of the Turner Group’s contribution to our community,” she said.

Fife echoed that sentiment: “This is a day for celebrating Black excellence. The Turner Group has poured into people and the community, showing us what’s possible.”

Among the many family members in attendance was the Turners’ 92-year-old patriarch, whose presence underscored the strength of the family’s legacy.

A touching highlight of the event came when Coleman-Morris was honored for her lasting mentorship of LaTanya Hawkins, now program manager of the Construction Resource Center. In 1979, Hawkins, then a fourth-grader, wrote Coleman-Morris a letter seeking advice. Coleman responded with words of encouragement that inspired Hawkins to pursue her dreams. The two stayed in touch for decades. On stage, they embraced as Coleman reflected on “the power of small acts of kindness to change a life.”

Coleman-Morris also shared reflections on leadership and community spirit, saying, “If we change the way we look at things, the things we see will change.” She then recited the Serenity Prayer, reminding the crowd, “We are a powerful community, we just need to believe it.”

Company leaders Len and Lance Turner closed the ceremony with words of gratitude and humor. Len thanked his mother, wife, family, legal team, and longtime supporters including Carson, Geoffrey Pete, and the late Dorothy King of Everett & Jones Barbecue. He also acknowledged the challenges the company had overcome, saying, “Without all of this support, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Through Turner Group Construction and the Construction Resource Center, the Turners have created new opportunities for underrepresented groups in the construction industry and continue to inspire the next generation of builders.