Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao says she has no regrets after being overwhelmingly being recalled by voters.
With 100% of the precincts reporting, voters approved her ouster 65 -35%.
“I know there’s a lot of frustration in regards to crime being on the rise because of the pandemic,” she told KRON last night as the votes were still coming in. “We know the city is suffering through a huge deficit because of the pandemic. Many of these things are things we inherited and I get that people are frustrated. But again, it was through this millionaire who was able to collect the signatures and actually put out false facts out to the community.”
She’s referring to hedge fund executive Philip Dreyfuss who largely funded the $760,000 effort to recall her, according to Local News Matters.
She maintained her controversial firing of Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong was the right thing to do, reminding voters that the department is under federal oversight.
She pointed to zero homicides in Oakland in the last seven weeks, something she says hasn’t happened in decades.
“So I’m really proud of the work that we’re doing. Again, I’ve been in office less than two years and we are already turning the city around,” she said to NBC Bay Area.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price was also recalled by a similar margin.
Thao will remain in office until the vote is certified by the city council. She was a source of pride for the Hmong American community as the first mayor of a large city.
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