Former Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA), who recently retired from the House of Representatives after 27 years on the Hill, has announced she is running for the freshly vacated Mayor of Oakland, California position. This comes on the heels of Oakland’s most recent mayor, Sheng Thao, who voters recalled in November 2024, facing an indictment filed on January 17, 2025, on federal bribery and fraud charges.

Lee strongly denounced Thao, albeit not by name, after the indictment’s announcement.

The allegations contained in the criminal indictment are devastating.  There should be no tolerance whatsoever for secret pay to play schemes that erode the public trust. Oaklanders expect and deserve leaders who have only one agenda—honest, accountable leadership that serves the…

— Barbara Lee (@BarbaraLee_CA) January 17, 2025

The allegations contained in the criminal indictment are devastating.  There should be no tolerance whatsoever for secret pay to play schemes that erode the public trust. Oaklanders expect and deserve leaders who have only one agenda—honest, accountable leadership that serves the people of Oakland.  Every individual is entitled to constitutional protections and a presumption of innocence, but City Hall must never be for sale.  We need a fresh start in Oakland.  Our local governance and political system must be beyond reproach.  Every Oaklander deserves no less.

Exactly how electing someone who represented Oakland for 27 years constitutes a fresh start remains unexplained.

It bears mention that Lee strongly opposed Thao’s recall.

“Whether it’s two governors or local elected officials, I’ve always opposed recalls, and oppose the recalls on our Nov. 5 ballot,” wrote Lee.

“They’re undemocratic, costly, and chaotic,” she said. “They prevent our officials from governing and deplete badly needed resources from our communities.”

Lee continued: “The voters – through regular elections, not a few billionaires – are the ones with the power to ensure our democratic process remains strong and in place.”

“Now is the time to come together and work to address the real and serious issues facing our communities.”

This makes sense, given the amount and severity of problems that have accumulated in Oakland over the past 27 years. One can only wonder what the politicians allegedly running the government on any level — federal, state, or local — designed to serve the people of Oakland have been doing all this time aside from watching the Raiders, Warriors, and A’s leave town. 

Oh, wait, Lee has been in office all this time? Go figure.

What has Lee accomplished for Oakland in the past 27 years? Despite substantially lower pricing than San Francisco for office space — $51.74 per square foot as compared to San Francisco's $62.20 — Downtown Oakland has, at last tally, a 26.9% vacancy rate for businesses. Crime in the city is so bad that in February 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom sent in the California Highway Patrol to attempt at least lowering the number of robberies and other offenses. One website, after compiling available data from sources such as the FBI, concluded that one out of ten Oakland residents could expect to be the victim of property theft, while one in 28 could expect to be the victim of a violent offense. Where was Barbara Lee for all this? And now she will solve all of Oakland’s problems as mayor? Right.

All the more embarrassing is that Lee will most likely easily win the election on April 15, 2025. A certain addiction to political mediocrity permeates the city Gertrude Stein accurately described when she said, “There’s no there there.” Nor shall there ever be if local voters keep reelecting to different positions the same failures that have dragged them down for years while posing as the people’s champions.