One day after supporters rallied against a recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, the embattled mayor received both good news and bad news.
The purchase of the Oakland Coliseum by the African American Sports & Entertainment Group from the Oakland A’s is now back on track, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
Critics had blasted Mayor Thao and the city when a $10 million payment from the group appeared delayed.
It’s now known that the entertainment group had been in negotiations to speed up purchase of the Coliseum by one year, thus delaying the payment by about two weeks. The agreement now reached would also increase Oakland’s share of the purchase price by $15 million to $125 million.
Also on Monday, the local chapter of the NAACP announced it would support the recall of Mayor Thao.
“The NAACP fervently believes that Mayor Thao poses a serious threat to the well-being of our great city,” Patrice Waugh with the Oakland NAACP said to CBS5. “Her actions and inactions have clearly demonstrated her inability to govern, thus endangering the safety of Oaklanders.”
The Oakland chapter has been somewhat controversial with activists saying it does not represent the values of the national organization.
On Sunday, supporters of Mayor Thao called the recall undemocratic during a rally at a BART station.
“Recalls are actually a threat to our democracy, especially how they’re driven,” said Ray Bobbit, the leader of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, the developer consortium seeking to rebuild the Coliseum. Bobbit said Thao and her team should have an opportunity to see through their policy vision for Oakland. “If you want to run against the mayor, just run against her the next time and see if you can beat her.”
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