This year, however, Oaklanders are engaged in a costly and divisive political fight over a recall against our mayor, Sheng Thao, and highly financed City Council races. Surging from San Francisco, the donors – mostly drawn from real-estate, finance and tech sectors – are using non-profits and political action committees to shield their identities from public disclosure. Most notably, the hedge fund partner Philip Dreyfuss, who contributed heavily to the successful bid to recall San Francisco’s district attorney Chesa Boudin in February, has bankrolled the efforts to recall Thao and local district attorney Pamela Price.
As in many other cities, the residents of Oakland who want to maintain basic social services and invest in a safe and thriving city are being overrun by big money in politics. Disparities in campaign finances work against Thao – she raised about $117,000 to prepare her defence, but the other side has raised at least $600,000. The political action committees connected to the efforts are also drawing scrutiny after concerns that the donations used to fund these campaigns might be from unaccounted sources. Oakland’s political process is being challenged by openly funded unaccountability in government activities that is exposing how moneyed interests can manipulate the political process. Local and national political leaders have denounced the campaign as undemocratic and anti-community.
And, like the multi-million dollar campaign contributions discussed above, a political action committee called Abundant Oakland, backed by other organisations and individuals – including the real-estate developer Phil Tagami, controversial for his close association with Mayor Libby Schaaf – is funding moderate candidates who they hope can shift the city’s politics ‘to the centre’ towards a more ‘pragmatic’ approach to addressing ‘local problems’. All this spending aims to alter the outcome of elections and has helped open up a larger discussion about how money shapes public policy – as well as the integrity of elections – in Oakland, following closely on what has happened in neighbouring San Francisco.
Source: The Guardian
