A recall effort targeting “progressive” Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has collected sufficient signatures to qualify for the November ballot, organizers claim — though they continue gathering signatures to ensure they withstand any challenges.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday:
The campaign, Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao, known as OUST, has until July 22 to submit its signatures. Election officials then must ensure enough signatures are valid to trigger a recall, a process that could take up to two months. … OUST has obtained nearly 35,000 signatures since it began its effort in February, Brenda Harbin-Forte, a retired Alameda County Superior Court judge and recall leader, told the Chronicle. She said the group had independently verified more than 25,000 signatures, their threshold for putting the recall on the November ballot. … But Harbin-Forte said OUST plans to file only after it tops 40,000 signatures, more than the roughly 39,000 voters who listed Thao as their first choice for Oakland mayor in 2022. The group also plans to demand Thao resign when it files its signatures, she added.
As noted by other sources, Mayor Thao has faced criticism since she dismissed Oakland Police Department Chief LeRonne Armstrong, who opposed the “defund the police” movement and had a stringent stance on crime.
Organizers are cautious about the validity of their signatures. In 2022, a recall effort against George Soros-backed Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón was invalidated by county workers due to an excess of invalid signatures.
Oakland voters have already collected enough signatures to qualify a recall of Soros-backed Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price for the November ballot, according to the Chronicle.
