{"id":486650,"date":"2026-10-06T07:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T07:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/486650\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T07:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T07:26:15","slug":"who-are-the-oakland-candidates-challenging-mayor-barbara-lee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/486650\/","title":{"rendered":"Who are the Oakland candidates challenging Mayor Barbara Lee?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee is running<\/a> for a full term in this year\u2019s election. Compared to the crowded special election in 2025<\/a> to fill out the remainder of Sheng Thao\u2019s term after her recall, Lee faces a much smaller field of candidates this year. None of them have matched her in terms of fundraising, endorsements or governing experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Lee\u2019s opponents are undeterred. All of them have ideas for how to make the city a better place to live, if they can convince voters to give them a chance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Oaklandside spoke with Brenda Grisham, Mindy Pechenuk and Julius Robinson to learn what their priorities would be if elected to run the city. The candidates are presented in alphabetical order.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brenda Grisham, victims rights advocate<\/p>\n

\"\"Brenda Grisham. Credit: Courtesy of the candidate. <\/p>\n

Grisham is probably best known for her work as a victims rights advocate, work she began after her son, Christopher LaVell Jones, was killed in 2010 outside the family\u2019s East Oakland home. Police never solved<\/a> the killing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Grisham has worked as an executive officer in the Violence Prevention Coalition<\/a>, a network of groups that focus on public safety problems in Oakland. She is on the executive board of Family Support Advocates, which has worked with the Oakland Police Department on training for how officers interact with families affected by violence. Grisham has collaborated with participants in Oakland\u2019s Ceasefire program, worked with victims of human trafficking, and has served as a counselor through the organization Love Never Fails.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She is the founder of the nonprofit Christopher LaVell Jones Foundation, and has advocated for gun control legislation<\/a> in the nation\u2019s capitol for the past 13 years. And she is also a business owner who has run several companies, including a financial services firm, located on International Boulevard.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Grisham led the campaign to recall District Attorney Pamela Price<\/a>, who was accused by Grisham and other detractors of failing crime victims<\/a> and mismanaging the DA\u2019s office. That campaign succeeded, marking the first recall of a district attorney in Alameda County history. More recently, Grisham has been an advocate for Flock Safety<\/a> automated license plate readers, urging leaders in Oakland and Alameda County to adopt and maintain these surveillance systems.<\/p>\n

Grisham said she has known Barbara Lee for a long time and believes Oakland needs someone with a different style of leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not running against each other,\u201d Grisham said. \u201cWe both have something to offer Oakland, just on a different level.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Grisham said her leadership style involves being out in the community talking to people. As examples, Grisham said she\u2019s worked extensively with people who are homeless and victims of sex trafficking, which helps her to see what they need: comprehensive care from community-based organizations. Yet in Grisham\u2019s view, some of these organizations are not currently being held accountable, which means vulnerable people sometimes fall through the cracks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Grisham said if elected she would meet with city staff and discuss how to get Oakland on the right track. This would include making sure community-based organizations have the resources to do their jobs and are getting work done.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to implement some things to hold people accountable, because if they\u2019re not doing their job, we need to find somebody who is going to do their job,\u201d Grisham said. \u201cOur fiscal healthiness is at stake here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Grisham\u2019s biggest priority is public safety. Grisham said she wants OPD staffed with the full 700 officers mandated by Measure NN<\/a>, and believes the city needs many more. She thinks the city needs to take a broader approach to public safety, and to rethink some of its strategies. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to work a little bit closer with the city council, who implement the policies because that\u2019s their job,\u201d Grisham said. \u201cI want us to be a team. And I want them to be a team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grisham said she thinks Barbara Lee is doing a great job bringing in philanthropic dollars<\/a>. As mayor, Grisham said, she would go further, creating a department dedicated to raising money for the city through state and federal grants. She would also make sure departments were using money from tax measures appropriately.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Grisham is opposed to Measure EE<\/a>, which would change Oakland\u2019s governing system to create a \u201cstrong mayor.\u201d She doesn\u2019t believe the mayor should operate like a CEO who decides everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As mayor, Grisham said, she would introduce budgets that focus more attention on the infrastructure needs of other parts of Oakland outside of the downtown area. She said she believes that adding bike lanes that take away parking spaces ends up harming businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited about the people here in Oakland, they are just wonderful,\u201d Grisham said. \u201cMy campaign is about the people; I\u2019m not running against nobody, I\u2019m running for the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grisham\u2019s campaign website. <\/a><\/p>\n

Julius Robinson, former banker<\/p>\n

\"\"Julius Robinson. Credit: Courtesy of the candidate. <\/p>\n

A former banker who first moved to Oakland roughly 40 years ago, Robinson previously led corporate social responsibility for MUFG Union Bank<\/a>, where he helped ensure that financial services reached low- and moderate-income communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was also chairman of the bank\u2019s foundation, which dispensed tens of millions of dollars to small businesses, first-time homebuyers and others. Robinson said his organization worked extensively with community-based organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped sustain some businesses in Oakland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robinson said he\u2019s jumping into politics because he\u2019s concerned about what he sees as an economic reversal in Oakland\u2019s fortunes in recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a strong misstep in terms of economic development and promoting businesses to come to Oakland,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cWe\u2019ve really kind of lost our mojo in that regard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As an example, Robinson said city leaders have failed to properly manage some of Oakland\u2019s critical real estate assets, such as Jack London Square and the Coliseum. If Oakland were a corporation, Robinson said, there would be a \u201cshareholders\u2019 revolt\u201d among residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Permitting in the city still takes too long, Robinson said. The more the city can shorten the time it takes to approve permits for new developments, the faster Oakland can build projects that will bring more money into the city\u2019s coffers, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be staffing to the max in those areas,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cGive the people there the materials they need in order to make the engineering decisions that advance these projects and developments in the city.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robinson said he is eager to use his experience in the financial realm to attract economic investments to Oakland. He would also serve as an \u201cambassador to business\u201d and talk with private equity firms and investors about opportunities in the city. Robinson said he would also meet with companies and encourage them to relocate to Oakland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would be calling on my former partners to think more critically about how those resources could be directly applied to stimulate affordable housing and capital back into Oakland to support its economic growth,\u201d Robinson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robins has drafted a 100-day fiscal accountability plan<\/a> to implement if he\u2019s elected. This would include publishing a transparent baseline about the city\u2019s finances, including revenue and expenses, the structural deficit, overtime spending, vacancies, major contracts and long-term pension obligations. As part of the plan, departments would publish performance measures and priorities, and assign officials to be held accountable for meeting results. And Robinson said he would launch a public accountability dashboard that would let residents track progress toward these goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bedrock of Robinson\u2019s plan is improving public safety. He agrees that OPD needs at least 700 officers to meet the Measure NN<\/a> requirements. Acknowledging that the department is shedding officers faster than it can replace them, Robinson said he would work with Oakland\u2019s police union and leadership in the department to find ways to make the best use of the available police. One idea he has is to hire civilians to handle more of the desk work, so sworn officers can spend more time on the street.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robinson said he would pour more money into OPD, but hastened to add he\u2019s not looking to create a police state. \u201cIt\u2019s giving the police the right amount of resources and technology to do their jobs more effectively,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Homelessness, on the other hand, shouldn\u2019t be solved by more spending, Robinson argued. Instead, he believes Oakland should look at how other cities have successfully reduced their homeless populations and adopt their cost-effective solutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He\u2019s critical of how the city has approached illegal dumping, noting that the use of drones<\/a> to spot trash piles \u201cseems like closing the barn door after the horse is out.\u201d Robinson would focus more energy on collecting on fines issued to illegal dumpers<\/a>, as well as other unpaid taxes and fines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When it comes to governing, he said he\u2019d work collaboratively with the city council, whether or not the \u201cstrong mayor\u201d ballot measure passes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the power is in how you use your authority, how you\u2019re able to influence and incentivize people to do the right things,\u201d Robinson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robinson has pitched himself to voters as a dramatic change from the status quo, and he emphasized during his interview with The Oaklandside that the hallmarks of his administration will be transparency and accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will not have to ask the question, \u2018Where does the money go? Why are we doing this?\u2019\u201d Robinson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robinson\u2019s campaign website<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Mindy Pechenuk, an educator and GOP activist<\/p>\n

\"\"Mindy Pechenuk. Credit: Courtesy of the candidate. <\/p>\n

Pechenuk is a Republican activist and educator and a self-described student of the \u201cAmerican System of economics,\u201d a school of thought<\/a> emphasizing more centralized control of the economy developed in the 18th-century United States. She ran<\/a> unsuccessfully for mayor last year and for the at-large city council seat in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pechenuk said she\u2019s running for mayor again because she wants to restore Oakland as a great and beautiful city, a status she believes was lost due to decades of failed leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t sit by and let Oakland be destroyed,\u201d Pechenuk said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To accomplish that goal, Pechenuk said, she would cut red tape so people can obtain permits for various kinds of development projects within 30 days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She wants to entice manufacturers to come to the city. She says this will open the door to creating apprenticeship programs for youth and the unemployed. Pechenuk is excited by Tesla\u2019s robotaxi project<\/a> in West Oakland; the Prometheus Project\u2019s lease<\/a> of warehouse space, also in West Oakland; and a proposed data center downtown<\/a>, saying these developments promise to bring economic fortune to Oakland. Campaign videos<\/a> she\u2019s created using AI show a gleaming Oakland of the future with hi-tech factories and labs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to rebuild almost all of Oakland; we need to rebuild East Oakland, West Oakland,\u201d Pechenuk said. \u201cI was in Chinatown, and, oh my God, it\u2019s just turned into hell.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She also wants to \u201ccut out a lot of this environmental nonsense\u201d that she claims hinders development. Pechenuk supports construction of the coal terminal that\u2019s been proposed in West Oakland; it\u2019s been opposed by city leaders and community and environmental groups for over a decade. In July, she issued a press release saying the coal terminal would \u201cship up to 12 million tons of coal annually and other dry goods, supercharge Port activity, create construction and long-term jobs, and generate critical revenue for a city drowning in a $265 million deficit.\u201d<\/p>\n

As in her previous campaigns, Pechenuk has vowed to eliminate \u201cdrug cartels\u201d and said she would enlist the help of the federal government to do this work. She wants OPD to increase the number of officers to 800. To give police more leeway, she said the civilian-led Police Commission, an independent oversight body, needs to be restructured.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said she wants to revamp the city\u2019s approach to homelessness by focusing on treatment for drug addiction and mental illness first and foremost. To pay for treatment programs and an expanded war against drugs, Pechenuk said she would hire an outside auditor to make sure Oakland is spending its dollars appropriately.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pechenuk dismisses the philanthropic money that Lee has raised, saying that it doesn\u2019t scratch the surface of Oakland\u2019s problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need money for little projects \u2014 we need money to rebuild the city from the top down,\u201d Pechenuk said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pechenuk said she is not a fan of Lee\u2019s proposed \u201cstrong mayor\u201d system, and she is urging residents to vote against Measure EE<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even though she is a Republican who embraces Donald Trump, Pechenuk said she doesn\u2019t believe it would be difficult to forge relationships with political leaders in a strongly Democratic city, arguing that she can sit down with anybody.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is, what are you going to do to develop Oakland in the American way, back to the 21st century, where every Oaklander has a good standard of living, their children are well-educated, the city is thriving and building again, and we become a great beacon on the hill?\u201d Pechenuk said. \u201cIf you\u2019re willing to have that conversation, and not a war of ideologies, I can work with anybody on the council.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pechenuk\u2019s campaign website.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Correction: the American System has its origins in the economic program advocated for by Alexander Hamilton in the 1700s.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tread more about the Nov. 3 election<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThe highs and lows of Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee\u2019s record<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSeptember 28, 2026Sept. 29, 2026, 10:50 a.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Where\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tWhere do Oakland mayor and City Council candidates stand on Flock, AI, and homelessness?<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tOctober 5, 2026Oct. 5, 2026, 2:13 p.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Why\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tWhy are so few people running for office in Oakland this year?<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tOctober 1, 2026Oct. 1, 2026, 5:20 p.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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