Oakland mayoral election: Top candidates share vision for city, crime and more with ABC7
ABC7 News goes 1-on-1 with top Oakland mayoral candidates to ask the tough questions before April 15.
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The race for Oakland mayor is on, and the top two candidates are making their case ahead of the April 15 special election.
ABC7 News anchor Julian Glover, ABC7 News reporter Monica Madden and ABC7 News Insider Phil Matier talked to those candidates about the issues facing the city, like crime, homelessness, the economy and more.
How will the candidates make things better? That's what we wanted to know.
Instead of a traditional debate, we wanted to provide our audience with more depth. So, we invited the top two candidates who have been polling highest in political polls, and raised the most campaign financing to join us for in-person interviews.
Watch the videos below to see how each candidate answered tough questions.
Barbara Lee
Loren Taylor
Renia Webb
According to Oaklandside, Renia Webb is a former staffer of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao when she was a District 4 city councilmember. Webb served as a witness in the FBI investigation against Thao, her partner, Andre Jones, and David and Andy Duong. She is currently a teacher at Crocker Highlands Elementary. According to Webb's website, her five priorities are public safety, economic revitalization, fiscal responsibility, affordable housing and public health.
Mindy Pechenuk
Oaklandside reports that Mindy Pechenuk is "the follower of the deceased conspiracy theorist and perennial presidential gadfly Lyndon LaRouche." According to her website, she says she is "the only candidate who fully backed and played a leadership role in electing the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump."
Suz Robinson
According to Oaklandside, Robinson is an Oakland resident and serves as the vice president of governance and stakeholder engagement for the Bay Area Council. On her website, Robinson says she has been committed to improving public safety in Oakland since 2017. She says she's been involved in the city's community policing efforts. She has also served as board chair for a nonprofit supporting LGBTQ+ addiction recovery programs and HIV programs. She says she has also volunteered with SF Pride's Community Partner Program.
Eric Simpson
Simpson is a chocolate factory worker and part of the Socialist Workers Party which aims to propose "a working-class way forward out of the dog-eat-dog, crises-ridden capitalist system." Oaklandside reports that Simpson doesn't have a specific answer to fix Oakland's budget but would like to see working people mobilize for a massive federal jobs program and for wages to be protected against inflation.
Elizabeth Swaney
You may remember Elizabeth Swaney from the 2018 Winter Olympics when she competed for Hungary, but now the Olympian is joining the race for Oakland mayor. According to her website, her vision for the city includes "revitalizing the economy, restoring essential city services, promoting sustainable development and supporting the arts and businesses."
Peter Liu
According to Ballotpedia, Peter Liu served in the U.S. Army. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California in 2003 and graduated from the United States Defense Information School. His career experience includes working as an insurance agent.
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