Lesser-Known Oakland Mayoral Candidates Blast Influence of Money in Politics

Overshadowed in a crowded field of candidates for mayor of Oakland, eight human candidates and one canine joined together today to encourage voters to take a look at everyone running, despite their perceived chances in the rapidly approaching election.

At a news conference in downtown Oakland organized by mayoral candidate and former Occupy Oakland activist Jason “Shake” Anderson, the candidates lamented the lack of attention paid to them by the local news media and more prominent candidates. The primary difference, they said, between their candidacies and those considered the top candidates is the influence of money. One candidate, Saied Karamooz, an Iranian-American technology executive, said he is so opposed to the influence of money in politics that he has refused donations of any kind to his campaign.

Another candidate, Peter Liu, said he is a self-made millionaire but spent only $400 on his mayoral campaign, but despite that he is receiving national attention. Liu said that since he was mocked on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Monday night, he is receiving droves of fan mail and has been trending on Twitter. Liu, who advocates for arming local business owners and increasing surveillance to combat crime, said his political savvy in getting so much attention with so little money shows he can “teach everyone to be a self-made millionaire.”

Write-in candidate Sam Washington said that despite not being on the ballot, he is one of the most visible candidates, with 14 billboards in Oakland. A technology and business consultant, Washington charged that there are “odd and strange rules to keep the rest of us from running,” delivering attention to political insiders but not to candidates like himself. Contractor and community advocate Ken Houston said that the lack of attention to the diverse choices in the mayor’s race is insulting to the people of Oakland.

“They think Oaklanders are stupid,” Houston said. “Oaklanders are not stupid.” He said that the accomplishments of some of the more experienced mayoral candidates, including Mayor Jean Quan, were the result of the work of community organizers like himself, but their work is seldom acknowledged. Electrician and attorney Patrick McCullough charged that the major candidates have “the same mix of ineffective solutions” to problems like crime facing Oakland and lack the leadership to take solutions to their fruition.

McCullough said that leadership in Oakland is top-heavy and that to streamline solutions, he would reduce the amount of administration and upper management in local government. Community activist Nancy Sidebotham said that despite being involved in Oakland politics since the 1980s and being a former member of the Community Police Advisory Board, her candidacy has received little traction because she does not have the backing of donations and endorsements that more prominent candidates do. But those candidates, she said, are now beholden to their donors and allies and will be unable to effectively lead.

Charles Williams, who called himself “the Chief” because he was a “hardcore Navy chief” during his 40 months in Vietnam, highlighted his tough upbringing and military service, which he said made him an expert in law enforcement. Williams said his experience ranges from growing up as a “street kid” in East Los Angeles to riding trains cross-country and eating out of trash cans, as well as learning about counter-insurgency and terrorism in the Navy. Perhaps the biggest long-shot for the next Oakland mayor is Einstein the dog, a candidate who endured tear gas and smoke grenades as police evicted the Occupy Oakland encampment in 2011, an experience that made him realize that Quan was not the progressive mayor she made herself out to be, according to Einstein’s owner, who declined to give his name. While Einstein couldn’t elaborate on his campaign platform himself, he did bark aggressively at the mention of Quan’s name.

By Bay City News