Change is the central theme of the upcoming November election in Oakland, with three City Council seats open, a race to succeed the retiring City Attorney and a recall of Mayor Sheng Thao sparking a battle over the city’s political fate.
In the midst of that, two council members want to prove they’ve done enough to warrant fresh four-year terms in office.
Carroll Fife, who represents District 3, and Noel Gallo, the council member in District 5, oversaw Oakland’s policies and finances across numerous crises, including a spike in crime during the pandemic and an ongoing budget deficit. They’ll look to convince voters that the city is headed on the right track.
Vying to replace Fife are Warren Logan, a government affairs consultant who served under Mayor Libby Schaaf; Shan Hirsch, a longtime West Oakland resident; Baba Afolabi, an entrepreneur; Meron Semedar, who owns a garment business; and Michelle Hailey, a community housing assistant.
In line to contest Gallo are Dominic Prado, who owns the temporarily closed eatery Tacos El Ultimo Baile on 12th Street, and Erin Armstrong, the senior policy advisor to Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley.
Here’s a look at the races:
District 3
Even as outside pressure led her colleagues to shift political direction, Fife has remained one of City Hall’s most progressive voices in her time representing District 3, which spans West Oakland and the city’s uptown, part of its downtown and a sliver of Adams Point north of Lake Merritt.
When the city saw a crime spike in 2021, Fife’s fellow council members abandoned plans to reconsider the role of police in public safety, and called instead for more cops on the street. Fife didn’t budge from her skepticism toward law enforcement.
The housing crisis has galvanized Bay Area officials around promoting development — even market-rate units — under the mantra that increasing the overall supply of homes could ultimately bring down costs.
Fife still holds deep reservations about whether new high-rises could displace legacy Oaklanders, even amid a personal falling out between her and other organizers of Moms 4 Housing — the prominent activist group she was previously affiliated with.
Fife has, however, changed her tune on not seeking re-election, deciding to run for a second term after saying over the last couple years that she wouldn’t.
“The moment hasn’t changed — the needs of Oaklanders have not changed,” Fife said in an interview.
Most around town believe Fife’s strongest threat politically will be Logan, a former policy director under Mayor Schaaf with hefty experience in urban planning.
Logan worked on the city’s Slow Streets program that closed off vehicle traffic during the pandemic, and he touts the resulting safety improvements as policy work he can replicate on the council.
He has accused Fife of being openly hostile to new housing, telling supporters that the councilmember hates the idea of people moving to Oakland to buy homes.
In a flashpoint of their dispute, Logan says Fife shut down plans to build hundreds of housing units at 1911 Telegraph Avenue. The development was jointly launched by San Francisco real-estate firm Strada and the Black Panther Party’s former chairwoman, Elaine Brown, who has endorsed Logan.
Jesse Blout, a founding partner of Strada, said in an interview the project actually fell apart because the pandemic tanked the real-estate market.
“This was an extremely difficult decision,” Blout said in an interview. “The primary reason for the decision not to move forward was related to the market. The project was no longer feasible.”
The two candidates align on other issue, such as wanting to fund non-police emergency response services, though Logan has gone further on public safety, advocating to change Oakland’s privacy laws so police have more access to camera surveillance. He also wants to make it easier for businesses to receive permits.
The other candidates in the race don’t appear to be running robust campaigns, though it’s possible that Hirsch — a West Oakland resident of four decades — could eventually funnel some ranked-choice votes to Logan. At large, the pool of challengers appears more ideologically opposed to Fife than to Logan.
District 5
If re-elected, Gallo would be the longest-tenured member of the council, amid departures by two of his colleagues. His district spans parts of East Oakland between 23rd and 54th avenues, including the Fruitvale neighborhood and Fremont High School.
Through a lengthy council tenure, Gallo has established a reputation for being light on policy — an report by The Oaklandside last year found he was absent for a fifth of all City Council votes taken in the first seven months of 2023.
But the councilmember is heavy on community work — Gallo’s penchant for picking up trash with his staff and building strong relationships in his district have helped get him elected three times.
His main challenger is Erin Armstrong, who has been Supervisor Nate Miley’s policy advisor for eight years and promises she’s best equipped to build strong coalitions between law enforcement agencies.
On the garbage front, Armstrong touts her work on the county’s Illegal Dumping Task Force as a more “comprehensive solution” than Gallo’s hands-on work.
She also wants to hire a full-time grant writer to raise revenues amid the city’s financial crisis, which has been a particular sore point for Gallo, who warns Oakland is on the verge of going bankrupt.
A third candidate, Dominic Prado, is a prominent taco seller who’s fed up with crime — but his lack of political experience may present an uphill climb to keep up with his opponents’ campaigns.