2024 Oakland Rising Action Progressive Primary Election Voter Guide
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.
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.
Vote this primary election: Tuesday, March 5th 2024
Download Printable Alameda County Voter Guide
Better Governance for Alameda County
Alameda County needs better governance to ensure all residents have what we need to be healthy and safe. The current Board is composed of Supervisors who give vast amounts of funds to the sheriff to lock people up and criminalize our communities while denying funding the structures that keep us safe – healthcare, affordable housing, jobs with thriving wages, and mental health support. Additionally, they have taken limited action to curb the eviction crisis that is pushing out working families, our most vulnerable county residents. This is no longer acceptable!
This election offers a big opportunity to change how the Board of Supervisors represents our neighborhoods and distributes our public money to services and programs to serve us. With Alameda County recently announcing a budget surplus, we need leadership that believes in co-governance and equitable democracy to prioritize a transparent and accountable budget process so that we, the voters and residents of Alameda County know where our services and programs are being improved to serve our needs.
This is why Oakland Rising Action has created this Alameda County voter guide and endorsed two progressive candidates to bring new leadership to the Board of Supervisors: Jennifer Esteen for Board of Supervisor District 4 seat and Nikki Fortunato Bas for Board of Supervisor District 5 seat.
Oakland Rising Action Steering Committee
We Support Elected Leaders Who:
- Fight for bold, progressive systemic change
- Prioritize economic, racial, and environmental justice
- Possess a clear racial analysis and understand the roots of systemic oppression
- Center low-income folks, people of color, immigrants, formerly-incarcerated neighbors, and other disenfranchised communities
- Champion a community-investment budget, that takes us beyond recovery from the COVID crisis
- Advocate for just development, tenants, long-term residents, workers, and unhoused neighbors
- Bring a community-driven perspective on safety, focused on prevention and police accountability
- Take a collaborative approach to politics with advocates and organizers strongly rooted in flatlands neighborhoods
Alameda County Board of Supervisors Endorsements
As an accomplished registered nurse, devoted mother, and esteemed community leader, she currently serves as the Vice President of the Alameda Health System Board of Trustees and is a member of the Eden Municipal Advisory Council. She has dedicated her career to delivering compassionate care to the most vulnerable, with experience as a psychiatric nurse at the San Francisco General Hospital Psychiatric Emergency Room. Esteen’s diverse experience in organizing positions her as a champion for Alameda County and its constituents. From her work as a psychiatric nurse to her former position as Vice President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1021, her unwavering dedication to Bay Area residents is evident.
We support Jennifer Esteen because of her fearless, progressive, and transformational leadership, which places racial justice at its core. We believe we can work with Esteen to advance county policies on improving healthcare, increasing job opportunities, investing in affordable housing and improving our justice system.
To learn more about Jennifer Esteen and her campaign, please visit her official website at www.JenniferEsteen.com.
Bas’s leadership and commitment across decades of experience positions her as a champion for Alameda County and its constituents. From her work as Executive Director of East Bay Alliance for Sustainable Economy to her current position as Oakland City Council President, her deep belief in governing with residents and equitable democracy is evident in her principled partnerships with community organizations and the accomplishments we have won together. She has dedicated her career to advocating for workers, low-income communities and small businesses. As an elected official, Bas has numerous accomplishments including:
- leading efforts to help secure $350,000,000 for up to 2,400 housing units for homeless and working families;
- establishing a $14,000,000 Fund to assist low-income housing insecure tenants to purchase homes;
- expanding violence prevention and anti-sex trafficking programs; and
- launching Fire Department mobile crisis teams to address mental health and 911 calls.
We support Nikki Fortunato Bas because of her progressive, values-aligned leadership, which places economic justice at its core. We believe that we can continue to work with Bas to advance county policies on budget transparency, tenant protections and economic recovery for workers and small businesses.
To learn more about Nikki Fortunato Bas and her campaign, please visit her official website at www.nikki4supervisor.com.
Alameda County Ballot Measures
Yes on Measure B to save millions of dollars on special recall elections and to protect democracy.
Measure B is a positive step toward good governance of our county elections process. Measure B is a charter amendment to improve the county’s recall procedures that the majority of the Board of Supervisors approved to be on the ballot. The current Alameda Charter Section 62 which describes how a recall is to be conducted is unconstitutional and unfeasible to implement. Measure B would simply align our county charter recall procedures to state election law like every other county charter in California.
Specifically, Measure B would:
- Update unconstitutional components of Section 62 of Alameda County Charter
- Clarify Signature Gathering Procedures for Recalls of County Officers
- Clarify Pre-signature gathering procedures on filing and reviewing petitions
- Clarify Signature Verification Procedures
- Aligns any recall election with general election
- Gives the power to Board of Supervisors to fill vacancy due to recall of an elected official
Oakland Rising Action supports Measure B because recalls must not be abused by a minority of voters who disagree with progressive policies. Recall elections cost taxpayers millions of dollars, almost three times the cost of a regular election. We believe that our taxpayer dollars must be invested in community programs and services NOT special recall elections.
Alameda County, let’s get our election procedures in alignment with the rest of California and get refocused on improving our county for all.
Endorsements Driven by Grassroots Leaders & Our Values
Oakland Rising Action’s endorsement process is community-led by
- working-class, immigrant, and people of color leaders;
- flatlands voters;
- people born and raised in Oakland; and
- progressive policy experts.
Our Oakland voter guide and endorsement process identifies candidates who most align with our values, vision, and strategy for our city. We then get out the vote in Oakland’s disenfranchised communities through education, mobilization and turnout. Fundamentally, we are shifting power to make Oakland a city that champions equity and centers residents most impacted by systemic racism, poverty, environmental hazards, policing, and mass incarceration.
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Oakland Rising Action is a member of the Working Families Party (WFP). WFP is building a multiracial party of working people to transform our state and country. We’re a party that fights for workers over bosses and people over the powerful. We want an America which realizes the promise – unrealized in our history – of freedom and equality for all.
CA WFP has endorsed federal, state, and down-ballot candidates that represent progressive values that are core to transforming California into a state that prioritizes working people and our most vulnerable communities.
Visit WorkingFamilies.org/Candidates to see our 2024 endorsements.
Interested in becoming a member of WFP? Click here.
The 2024 primaries are happening now! Learn about our sister org Bay Rising Action’s endorsements on Ballot Ready today:
Change the face of Oakland and Alameda County politics and donate to Oakland Rising Action today!
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