Consejo Municipal, Distrito 6 — Ciudad de Oakland

Loren Taylor is running for Oakland City Council to bring new leadership that makes a difference to City Hall. He has deep roots in Oakland, and our city’s future is deeply personal to him.

A third generation Oaklander, Loren’s great-grandparents came to Oakland from the segregated South in the 1940’s seeking a better life and an opportunity to serve. His grandparents were WWII vets and church founders, and his mom is a retired Oakland public school teacher. His family taught him to give back, and that’s what his campaign is all about.

Today, Loren is a proud husband, dad, mentor, and entrepreneur. He’s dedicated his professional and personal lives to giving back and solving complex challenges. Loren has given back to Oakland through non-profits: raising $4 million for homeless youth, supporting children exposed to violence, and working to improve community-police relations.

In his professional life, Loren has an engineering background and worked in business to solve tough problems for cities, non-profits, and businesses around the globe: working to reduce diabetes rates in the African-American community in Philadelphia, supporting low-income women in West Africa, working to close the achievement gap among young black men, and increasing cancer screenings for African-Americans. Today, through his own Oakland firm, Loren helps non-profits improve lives in disadvantaged communities.

On the Council, Loren will offer a collaborative, problem-solving approach to bring people together to solve critical challenges like building a future for all, with more job training, new businesses, and neighborhood revitalization, ending the pushing out and pricing out of Oaklanders by building affordable housing, and aggressively fighting to end homelessness. Loren believes these aren’t just policy issues, but moral challenges we must address.

Loren and his wife of 12 years, Erica, met at First Fridays in Oakland. They have two children, daughter Camryn (8) and son Manny (5). Loren serves as a soccer coach and as PTA President at Camryn’s Oakland public school, where he works with parents, teachers, and school leaders to cultivate a school community that helps all kids reach for their full potential.

Loren has also served as a mentor through Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and has been active in creating youth development and education programs through his church. He is also a member of the Shiloh Church, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, and the East Oakland Collective.

Learn more at www.LorenTaylor.org. 

I’m a proud mom and public safety professional with a focus on public policy.

I’ve worked closely with our Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils, managed multi-million dollar projects to reduce crime and delinquency among at-risk youth, served on the Measure Z Public Safety Commission, and co-organized a program to share healthy, home-prepared food with homeless people.

My neighborhood safety plan focuses on removing abandoned vehicles, fighting illegal dumping, addressing blight, and cracking down on human trafficking. I’ll fight to revitalize our commercial corridors, add more community centers with after-school and tutoring programs, and actively promote District 6 as an emerging hub for nonprofits, small businesses, and tech and community startups. My District 6 Homeless Action Plan includes hands-on attention to immediate needs, a weekly homeless count, and better coordination with county, city, and community-based organizations.

My focus is always on solving problems, not fighting with other politicians.

I am proud to be endorsed by Oakland's state legislative delegation: Senator Nancy Skinner, Assemblymember Rob Bonta, and Assemblymember Tony Thurmond.

I would be deeply honored by your vote.

Natasha Middleton

www.NatashaForOakland.com

I have lived in Oakland for over 20 years and in District 6 for almost 9 years.  As a resident and as a mother, I have seen both staggering transitions and stagnation occur in my neighborhood and surrounding areas of the District. We have needed a change for quite some time – and I decided to run for this office because we need someone else to make decisions that will be effective in the long term.

I believe you can judge a candidate by their commitment to public and community service.

My time and service as a Commissioner on the Public Safety Services Violence Prevention Oversight Commission (Measure Z) taught me a couple of lessons:

First, the work we do in service is both important and impactful in our decision-making, which affects the daily lives of the youth and adults who are engaged in programs and receiving services to better their lives; and

Second, the first responders, the police, firefighters and community-based organizations, volunteers and community residents of Oakland continue to do the work to help those in need, while keeping our communities and families safe.

I take the aforementioned lessons seriously with the understanding community members need leadership that stays connected to them on a daily basis.

Not only is this important for District 6, but also for City Council. Our ability to make decisions as a body with fellow councilmembers for the entire City of Oakland rests on our willingness to legislate and work with the Mayor, City Administrator and Staff to make real progress on the issues that challenge us.

I have a strong public policy background and education, and a record of civic and work experience. I have served on several non-profit boards: Family Violence Law Center, Women’s Daytime Drop-in Center, and the League of Women Voters -Oakland.  This service has granted me the understanding of community needs, while also interacting with government leaders and public and private sectors.

As a former Commissioner for the Public Safety Services and Oversight Commission, I interacted with local elected officials, providing oversight and helping to solve problems to make sure that Measure Z funds were allocated effectively.

I work in government now, as a management analyst and policy expert at the Alameda County Probation  Department.

All of these experiences have shown me that we need more consensus-building and rational problem-solving in city government. As a strong leader willing to stand up for my beliefs and my constituents, I know there is a place for confrontation – but not without a sound strategy and objective.

I have worked as a Registered Nurse for 27 years. My life's work has revolved around serving others. as a Registered Nurse I know how to prioritize, react to emergencies, multi-task, work hard, and deal with all kinds of people. As a RN, I deal with people using compassion, and patience. In Oakland, we need new leadershi., I will lead with humility, and every decision will be made with intention, equity and community in mind.

We are living in a time where divisive politics is taking root within local, state and national politics. We need leader that unify our communities and not divide us. The real challenge is to look at the rhetoric and decide which candidate has the values to serve our community verses the person who wants to be in office to weild the power for their own or the corporate interests.