City Government

Post Endorsements: Sheng Thao, Pam Harris and Joseph Simmons for District 4 City Council

Published

7 years ago

October 12, 2018

Incumbent Annie Campbell Washington is not running for reelection in District 4, and seven candidates are campaigning for the empty seat, which represents the Montclair, Dimond and Laurel neighborhoods.

The Oakland Post endorses Sheng Thao, who has worked for five years for councilmember Rebecca Kaplan and is her chief of staff.

The Post also recommends that voters choose Pam Harris, who works in fiscal management for nonprofits, for their second choice and Joseph Simmons, senior pastor for the Greater St. Paul Church in Oakland, for third choice.

Working in City Hall, Sheng Thao has experience developing the city’s budget and has sought ways to secure local funding for public safety, transit and capital improvement.

She is endorsed by elected officials, including Assemblyman Rob Bonta, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín, school board President Aimee Eng and City Councilmember Noel Gallo.

She is also endorsed by the International Association of Firefighters Local 55, National Union of Healthcare Workers, the Black Young Democrats of the East Bay and the John George Democratic Club.

Sheng Thao comes from a Hmong American family, which arrived in the U.S. as asylum seekers in the wake of the Vietnam War. A single mother and domestic violence survivor, she graduated from Merritt College and U.C. Berkeley.,

In an interview on ABC7, she said, “My campaign is a reflection on how I will govern…

Everyone in our community deserves to be part of the democratic process.”

Because she already has experience working on the council she said, “Our district will have a seat at the table on day one.”

Pam Harris is running on a platform of dignity “a city where everyone who wants to live here can afford to be here; equity, a city with “a living wage, union jobs, and economic opportunities for all; and compassion, “shelter and basic services for all who need them.”

She has 25 years’ experience serving in the nonprofit, documentary film, and philanthropy sectors. Over the course of her career, she has worked in youth development, violence prevention, health care reform, LGBTQ rights, racial and socioeconomic inclusion, and fiscal management for nonprofits.

Pam Harris earned a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and a master’s degree in journalism from UC. Berkeley. She lives with her mother, her two children and her wife.

Her endorsements include Assemblymember Rob Bonta, Councilmember Annie Campbell Washington, Mayor Libby Schaaf, the Oakland Police Officers Association and the Sierra Club.

Joseph Simmons stands for “housing security, safe and secure neighborhoods, community beautification, transparent city government, community beautification and local business empowerment and promotion.

“We need to tackle some of the problems that are not being tackled (by) City Hall,” he said.

Simmons says he is deeply committed to help families who are “struggling to keep a roof over their heads.”

“Progress is great, but we need balance in our city,” he said in an interview on ABC7. “While we’re bringing new people in with new businesses, we also need to take care of the people here that we have under the bridges.”

“As the Senior Pastor of Greater St. Paul Church in Oakland for over 20 years, I have been on the front line of every societal problem from beginning to end of life,” he says on his website.

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Related Topics:District 4 Joseph Simmons Oakland Pam Harris Politics Sheng Thao

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Oakland Post: Week of May 7 – 13, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 7 – 13, 2025

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Barbara Lee Accepts Victory With “Responsibility, Humility and Love”

“I accept your choice with a deep sense of responsibility, humility, and love. Oakland is a deeply divided City,” Lee said in an April 19 statement. “I answered the call to run to unite our community, so that I can represent every voter, and we can all work together as One Oakland to solve our most pressing problems.”

Published

2 weeks ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Barbara Lee. File photo.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌,
California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

As a candidate for mayor, former U.S. Representative Barbara Lee released a “10-point plan” last week to reassure residents that she will tackle Oakland’s most pressing challenges.

Now that she has edged out her competitors in the ranked-choice special election with 50% or more of the vote, the former Congresswoman, who represented parts of the Bay Area in the U.S. House of Representatives, can put her vision in motion as the city’s first Black woman mayor.

On Saturday evening, Taylor conceded to Lee. There are still about 300 Vote-by-Mail ballots left to be verified, according to county election officials. The ballots will be processed on April 21 and April 22.

“This morning, I called Congresswoman Barbara Lee to congratulate her on becoming the next Mayor of Oakland,” Taylor said in a statement.

“I pray that Mayor-Elect Lee fulfills her commitment to unify Oakland by authentically engaging the 47% of Oaklanders who voted for me and who want pragmatic, results-driven leadership.”

The influential Oakland Post endorsed Lee’s campaign, commending her leadership on the local, state, and federal levels.

Paul Cobb, The Post’s publisher, told California Black Media that Lee will bring back “respect and accountability” to the mayor’s office.

“She is going to be a collegial leader drawing on the advice of community nonprofit organizations and those who have experience in dealing with various issues,” Cobb said. “She’s going to try to do a consensus-building thing among those who know the present problems that face the city.”

Born in El Paso, Texas, Lee’s family moved to California while she was in high school. At 20 years old, Lee divorced her husband after the birth of her first child. After the split, Lee went through a tough period, becoming homeless and having to apply for public assistance to make ends meet.

But destitution did not deter the young woman.

Lee groomed herself to become an activist and advocate in Oakland and committed to standing up for the most vulnerable citizens in her community.

Lee traveled to Washington, D.C. to work for then U.S. Congressman Ron Dellums after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mills College in Oakland in 1973. Lee later won a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) fellowship to attend the School of Social Welfare, and she earned a Master of Social Work from the University of California-Berkeley in 1975.

Lee later served in the California State Assembly and State Senate before she was elected to Congress in 1998.

After serving in the U.S. Congress for more than 25 years, Lee ran unsuccessfully for California’s U.S. Senate in the 2024 primary election.

Lee joins current Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass and former San Francisco Mayor London Breed as Black women serving as chief executives of major cities in California over the last few years.