Primary Elections Demonstrate First Wave of Progressive Wins for Oakland and Alameda County
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, March 12, 2024
Media Contact: Pecolia Manigo, Political Director, Oakland Rising Action | [email protected]
OAKLAND, CA – Today, the final results of the primary election were announced by Alameda County’s registrar of voters. This primary election saw several progressive wins throughout Alameda County. Thousands of voters heard about progressive candidates and measures through Oakland Rising Action’s voter guide and Civic Engagement Program over the last month.
“This election is a crucial turning point for Oakland and Alameda County voters and residents alike,” said Pecolia Manigo, Political Director at Oakland Rising Action. “The voters who turned out last week elected a majority of progressive candidates and supported critical measures promising to create a smoother democratic process, save taxpayers millions, and reinvest into our communities. That bodes well for November.”
The election results named Nikki Fortunato Bas as the winner of the primary Board of Supervisors District 5 race with 31% of voter support. BART Director Lateefah Simon emerges victorious for the US House, District 12 race with 53% of voter support. These wins advance Bas and Simon to the November General Election to square off against the second place vote getters. Measure B, which passed with 64% of voter support, promises to modernize Alameda County’s recall procedures, streamline recall elections with general elections, and save taxpayers millions. Despite the loss of high profile progressive candidate Barbara Lee for the US Senate seat, many Alameda County voters showed their loyalty to their longtime Congresswoman giving her 24% of their vote.
Oakland Rising Action created a printable and online voter guide and mailed over 38,500 voter guides to infrequent and new voters of Oakland and unincorporated Alameda County in multiple languages. The digital voter guide received over 9,000 views in the last month. Leading up to the election, the organization ran a two-week Get Out the Vote civic engagement campaign in support of Measure B to educate and mobilize voters in working-class, immigrant and BIPOC neighborhoods of Alameda County. They reached out to 6,377 voters through phone banks leading up to the primary election.
Candidates and Measures endorsed by Oakland Rising Action include Nikki Fortunato Bas, Lateefah Simon, and Measure B. The organization will continue to endorse Nikki Fortunato Bas for the Board of Supervisors seat as she advances to the General Election in November – citing her bold and values-aligned progressive leadership and experience as an advocate for working people for over two decades.
“Residents are tired of seeing inaction from their current elected officials,” said Manigo. “Voters tell us they want to see better representation, transparency and accountability in Alameda County. They care about public safety, affordable housing, and funding for city services – and they want their representatives to care too. The collective efforts of community organizing and people-power building has laid the groundwork for this transformation to happen in our county. This is just the beginning, we can’t wait to continue this work into the General Election.”
Less than 50% of Alameda County voters turned out to vote in the primary election, demonstrating the pressing need for primary reform at the Countywide level to ensure that the Board of Supervisor seats accurately reflect the values and interests of their constituents. Through reform we can ensure diverse and inclusive representation of the general electorate and uphold our democratic process so it not only represents a minority of wealthy outside interests.
Oakland Rising Action hopes to reach 60,000 voters in Oakland and unincorporated Alameda County leading up to the General Election in November.
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Oakland Rising Action (ORA) engages in voter education and GOTV operations that encourage working-class residents, immigrants, and communities of color to think critically about voting for or against issues, policies and candidates based on the shared dreams of health, happiness, safety, and opportunity for all. Leading up to the election, ORA’s paid team of outreach workers along with volunteers will hold conversations with over thousands of immigrant, working-class, and BIPOC voters in Oakland and Alameda County’s flatlands. ORA also shares their endorsements with the community through a bilingual printed and online voter guide. Its mailed voter guide reaches low-propensity, BIPOC voter households.
For more information about these races and ORA-endorsed candidates, please visit www.oaklandrisingaction.org
