{"id":2358409,"date":"2024-10-23T13:22:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T17:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/faith-leaders-support-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-and-urge-no-on-historic-recall-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-10-23T13:27:24","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T17:27:24","slug":"faith-leaders-support-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-and-urge-no-on-historic-recall-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/faith-leaders-support-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-and-urge-no-on-historic-recall-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith leaders support Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and urge \u2018no\u2019 on historic recall &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffaith-leaders-support-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-and-urge-no-on-historic-recall-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2358409&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A coalition of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wow-stop-the-steal-arrivesthe-hour-of-action-video\/\" title=\"WOW! Stop The Steal Arrives\u2026The Hour Of Action[Video]\">faith leaders<\/a> in Oakland has expressed support for Mayor Sheng Thao, urging the community \u200bto \u2062oppose an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/run-from-the-hills-newsom-dismisses-californias-mass-business-exodus\/\" title=\"Run (From) The Hills: Newsom Dismisses California\u2019s Mass Business Exodus\">ongoing recall effort<\/a> against her. During a press conference,\u200b Thao announced a new partnership with the faith community aimed at addressing critical local issues, \u200bemphasizing resource leverage through state and federal grants. Despite this show of support, some East Bay residents have criticized the event as a\u200d strategic move to \u2062counter growing dissatisfaction among voters and officials regarding \u200cher\u2063 leadership. <\/p>\n<p>Notable \u2062community figures, including Pastor Joe Smith and Bishop Lawrence Brandon, called for unity and \u2062patience, stating that\u200d Thao needs more time to \u2064demonstrate her capabilities. \u2062This comes shortly after former Mayor\u2063 Libby Schaaf publicly endorsed \u200cthe recall initiative, citing concerns over Thao&#8217;s ability to address fiscal and public safety\u2062 issues effectively. <\/p>\n<p>The recall, \u200bscheduled for \u2063November 5, is historically significant as it marks the first attempt to unseat a sitting mayor \u2062in Oakland in over a century. Thao, who has attributed the recall effort to external interests, faces \u2062challenges as she navigates the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">tumultuous political landscape amid heightened scrutiny<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Faith leaders support Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and urge &lsquo;no&rsquo; on historic recall<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1761959\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A group of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/oakland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Oakland's\">Oakland&rsquo;s<\/a> faith leaders rallied behind embattled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3113768\/oakland-police-union-calls-sheng-thao-resign-scathing-letter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Oakland's\">Mayor Sheng Thao <\/a>on Tuesday, opposing the massive recall effort against her that has gained traction in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Mayor Sheng Thao \">California<\/a> city.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>But some in East Bay have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ktvu.com\/news\/oakland-mayor-recalls-looms-clergy-supports-mayor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"questioned\">questioned<\/a> Tuesday&rsquo;s press conference as a shameless attempt by Thao to quell a growing chorus of voters and other elected officials who want her out of office.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao visits emergency responders battling the Keller Fire in Oakland, California, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo\/Noah Berger)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Billed as an event to showcase support for her staying in office, Thao surprised attendees by announcing a new partnership with the faith community fueled by state and federal grants.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;With this Interfaith Council, we will leverage as many resources as possible,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Pastor Joe Smith of the Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church told the crowd, &ldquo;We have made it! We were on the menu, and now we have made it to the table.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Bishop Lawrence Brandon of Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church said the group of religious leaders would &ldquo;provide expertise to address the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-richard-burr-explains-guilty-decision-after-voting-trial-unconstitutional\/\" title=\"Republican Richard Burr Explains \u2018Guilty\u2019 Decision After Voting Trial Unconstitutional\">critical issues facing<\/a> our city,&rdquo; which includes supporting &ldquo;housing programs and community hubs that uplift our neighborhoods.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Other speakers, like Pastor Jim Hopkins from Lakeshore Baptist Church and Bishop Greg Payton of St. John&rsquo;s Missionary Baptist Church in West Oakland, focused on the campaign to oust Thao.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The recall of the mayor is not needed and ill-founded,&rdquo; Hopkins said. &ldquo;Oakland does not need chaos. Oakland does not need coal dust in the air.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Payton argued for giving Thao more time to prove herself.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Those of us who love Oakland need to get with our leadership,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t do anything in a year. It will take time. I love Oakland, and we need to get behind our leadership.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Thao&rsquo;s press conference came just a few days after former Oakland Mayor Libby&nbsp;Schaaf announced she would be supporting the recall effort against Thao.<\/p>\n<p>Schaaf criticized Thao in an interview Friday with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kqed.org\/news\/12010065\/exclusive-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-should-be-recalled-libby-schaaf-says\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>KQED<\/a>, saying that over the past year, she has come to believe that Thao &ldquo;is not capable of growing into the job.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am voting to recall Mayor Thao because Oakland can&rsquo;t afford another two years of continued damage to our fiscal solvency and our public safety,&rdquo; Schaaf said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Thao has blamed the recall attempt against her on right-leaning special interest groups and blamed Piedmont hedge fund manager Philip Dreyfuss, who has mostly funded the effort, saying he &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t care about the instability this (recall) will cause for our city because he doesn&rsquo;t live here.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Nov. 5 recall attempt against&nbsp;Thao marks the first time in more than a century that such action has been taken against a sitting mayor in Oakland.&nbsp;The last time a mayoral recall vote occurred was in 1917. It was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n<p>Thao missed the deadline to file a rebuttal to the recall in her own defense, creating a blank space on the ballot where the argument would go. Her spokesman said the rebuttal &ldquo;fell through the cracks.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Thao was elected in 2022 as part of a progressive &ldquo;blue wave.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Calls for her recall began pretty quickly when she fired <a href=\"https:\/\/armstrongforoakland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong\">Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong<\/a>, who&nbsp;is now running for city council. <\/p>\n<p>The calls for Thao&rsquo;s recall have intensified since then amid concerns over public safety, specifically over property theft, drugs, and a homelessness crisis. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\" \"> <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Thao&rsquo;s tenure was thrown into chaos earlier this year when the FBI raided her home and three properties connected to the Duong family, the recipient of a pricey city recycling contract and frequent donors to Thao&rsquo;s political career. <\/p>\n<p>The FBI has not charged Thao with a crime, and she has claimed she is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3193343\/oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-fbi-investigation-recall-vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"not the target\">not the target<\/a> of the investigation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1761959\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1761959\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Faith leaders back Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, oppose recall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2646,"featured_media":2358411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/shengthao.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[38753,43455,33099,37989,32543],"class_list":["post-2358409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-community-support","tag-faith-leaders","tag-oakland-mayor","tag-recall-election","tag-sheng-thao"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/shengthao.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2358409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2358409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2358409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2358411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2358409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2358409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2358409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}