Both sides in Oakland mayor recall make final pre-Election Day push
People on both sides of the Oakland mayor recall race made the final push to turn out the votes Friday, with Mayor Sheng Thao and recall supporters holding separate events.
On one side, people talked about living in constant fear.
"Very scared, you know? We can't sleep," said Lisa Trinh, at a recall rally in Oakland's Little Saigon.
On the other side, residents shared stories of positive change.
"For the first time in 17 years, kids came to the door for Halloween. I was delighted," Fr. Aidan McAleenan of St. Columba Catholic Church.
Trinh said this week has been all tricks and no treats. On Tuesday morning, thieves drove a stolen car into her brother's business, Lucky 7 Cigarettes, in Little Saigon.
Burglars destroyed the store front and ransacked the business. It was their third major break-in post pandemic.
"My hand will shake. Very scared, very scared. I can't sleep well," said Trinh, a Vietnamese immigrant who speaks limited English.
With the help of a translator, Trinh explained that she and her family felt helpless. She had been helping her brother, the store owner, who was sick.
"My brother is very ill at the moment, and he needs help. He needs staff. But we can't afford to hire new people," said Trinh.
Recall organizers rallied outside of Lucky 7 to remind voters many businesses have shut down citing crime.
They said Mayor Thao missed an important deadline last year and lost out on million of dollars in state funds to fight retail theft.
But the mayor said burglaries and robberies are down.
Also, Mayor Thao said she revitalized a violence prevention strategy called ceasefire, and that's led to a big drop in homicides. Oakland police reported 71 homicides so far this year compared to 113 homicides in the same period last year.
"In the month of October, we have hadn't a single homicide," said OPD Assistant Chief James Beere.
"Father Aidan hasn't been forced to actually make as many crosses this year as he usually does. And so that's a very strong sign that we're headed on the right track," said Thao in front of Saint Columba Catholic Church.
Father Aidan McAleenan puts up a cross in front of his church for every homicide victim.
"I applaud her in that sense. She actually showed up, which previous mayors never did, to our cross ceremony at the end of the year," said Fr. McAleenan.
But critics of the mayor credited the governor and the CHP for the crime reduction.
"Homicides are not the only crime in Oakland. We have people everyday who are suffering from other crimes. And besides that, people just don't report crimes like they did," said recall organizer and retired judge Brenda Harbin-Forte.
Trinh said no amount of data can change how she felt. She and her brother were thinking about shutting down for good.
"We don't profit very much. Every time the business is hit, we just don't know how we're going to stay open," said Trinh thought a translator.
If the mayor is recalled, the council president would become the interim mayor. Voters would then pick a new mayor in a special election.