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Progressives Win in School Board Elections – Oakland and Richmond

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Jemela Smith-Folds

The Oakland Unified School District recently grabbed  headlines when progressives won three out of four open seats on the school board, for the first time in years giving a major voice on the board to public school advocates who say teachers and families deserve to have a say whether their schools are allowed to stay open and how the schools are run.

In Oakland it was grassroots teachers who worked through their union, parents and families and community members who helped elect the new school board members in Districts 1, 3 and 5,

They faced down campaigns fueled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in corporate and billionaire donations that flooded into the races.

Occurring at the same time but with not so much publicity, progressive candidates made an astonishing clean sweep on Nov. 3 in West Contra Costa school board elections., defeating candidates who had more money  and were supported by real estate interests and others.

Winners in the West Contra Costa County Unified School District (WCCUSD), which includes Richmond, El Cerrito, Pinole and Hercules were  Jamela Smith-Folds (Area 1); Otheree Christian (Area 2); Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy(Area 4); Lelie Reekler (Area 5); and Consuelo Lara, who won the Area 1 seat on the county board.

In an interview recently with radio station KPFA host Kitty Kelly Epstein were two of the spokespersons of this movement: United Teachers of Richmond (UTR) union and political action leader Francisco Ortiz and newly elected county board member Lara, who discussed strategies and hard work that yielded such a major victory.

In previous elections, those with big money had frequently won in Richmond, utilizing tactics that allowed them to win all of the seats, said Ortiz. but this time, big money did not call the shots.

Fundamental to winning victory were the solid community backing for the candidates and strong solidarity of the teachers’ union and community organizations.

The approaches they used:

  • “We started early.” Trying to organize against those who outspend you requires more organization and more time to build unity, he said.
  • “We raised money from the community,” he said . Grassroots fundraising takes time since money is not coming from those who are used to bankrolling campaigns.
  • “We did a thorough endorsement process,” to find candidates with a strong base and track record in the community, according to Ortiz.
  • “Once we picked the candidate, we elevated them through social media and interviews,” he said. “They showed they were really working as a team and were going to work collaboratively.”

The five winning candidates had the kind of community support individually that lent strength to their coalition:

  • Smith-Folds was formerly a teacher in the district. She is an active community leader and parent advocate throughout the Hercules community.
  • Christian is a youth minister. He is past president of the Iron Triangle Neighborhood Council and past president of the Richmond chapter of the NAACP.
  • Gonzalez-Hoy is a former educator and past president of United Teachers of Richmond.
  • Reckler is an active parent and past president of the PTSA and worked on bond programs to help rebuild the schools.
  • Lara, who served a term on the school board and is now moving to the county school board, is a retired teacher and was encouraged by community leaders to run for the position.

Lara said she was interested in working at the county level to increase the numbers of Black and Brown teachers and implement distance learning without the digital divide.

“These are issues not just in Richmond” but all the 18 districts in Contra Costa County, she said.

“All of advocacy is about building relationships,” said Lara. “Many of those who make up the county board are potential friends and allies,” she said.

Summarizing the lessons of the winning campaign, Ortiz said, “We followed the money and revealed to the public what we found.”

“We did not want school board seats to be bought by corporations,” he continued. “They may had the money but the individuals we chose were experienced in public education.”

“Our candidate had community accomplishments, and we had great endorsements and there was a clear message. This was a movement that won over voters.”

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Oakland Post: Week of July 2- 8, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 2 – 8, 2025

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Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

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By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable.  Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

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WATCH: NNPA Publishers Pivot To Survive

7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=9oZc5Sz0jQQ&feature=oembed

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