Oakland Candidates Share Their Vision for the City’s Early Childhood Ecosystem

"We Are The Ones We've Been Waiting For," mural by Jessica Sabogal, 20th St and Telegraph in Oakland.

Election Day is on November 8! To help the OSSS community make informed decisions about their elected officials, we asked each candidate running for an office representing Oakland about their vision for Oakland’s Early Childhood Ecosystem. With the goal to raise awareness of ECE as an important issue, our collaborative developed a questionnaire based on “Early Childhood Education Matters in Oakland: An Informational Guide for Elected Officials and Candidates.” 

***Please scroll down to see candidate responses***

We asked candidates for Oakland Mayor, Oakland City Council, OUSD School Board, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, and California State Assembly these questions:

• What forms of early care and education have you or your family participated in, and how have you supported ECE in communities you have served?
• What is your understanding of the different early care and education options available to families in Oakland and how they relate to K-12 education?
• What are your ideas for recruiting, retaining, and equitably compensating early childhood educators as part of Oakland’s economic development strategy?
• Given a wide range of early childhood funding needs, how will you center Oakland parent and family leadership in budget and policy decisions?
• ​What are three priorities in  your vision for supporting Oakland’s young children, their families, and the workforce who takes care of them? 

Out of the 33 candidates who received the questionnaire, 21 candidates responded! Many put a lot of thought into their responses and we appreciate the time they took to reflect upon these questions. Notably, both candidates for Alameda County Board of Supervisors for District 3, Rebecca Kaplan and Lena Tam, as well as the majority of OUSD School Board candidates completed the questionnaire. For candidates who become elected officials, the OSSS collaborative will continue the conversation to build an equitable, racially just early childhood ecosystem for Oakland’s children, families, and educators/providers. 

We’re excited to share their responses with the OSSS community and hope that this information will be a resource for you!

Ballots have already been sent to Oakland voters. Make your voice heard by registering to vote, choosing your way to vote, and tracking your ballot. 
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Want to know your City, County, and State Assembly Districts? Look them up here:

• City of Oakland Districts 
• ​Alameda County Board of Supervisors Districts 
• California State Assembly Districts

Candidate Questionnaire Responses
Note: All candidates who were sent the questionnaire are listed below. Candidates who submitted a response have a linked document. ​

Oakland Mayor
Ignacio De La Fuente
Gregory Hodge
Tyron Jordan
Peter Liu
Treva Reid
John Reimann
Seneca Scott
Loren Taylor
Sheng Thao
Allyssa Victory Villanueva

Alameda County Board of Supervisors
​D3: Rebecca Kaplan
D3: Lena Tam

State Assembly
D14: Buffy Wicks
​D14: Rich Kinney
D18: Mia Bonta
D18: Mindy Pechenuk

​Oakland City Council
D2: Nikki Fortunato Bas
D2: Harold Lowe
D4: Nenna Joiner
D4: Janani Ramachandran
D6: Kevin Jenkins
D6: Kenneth Session
D6: Nancy Sidebotham
D6: Yakpasua Zazaboi

OUSD School Board
D2: Jennifer Brouhard
D2: David Kakishiba
D2: Maximino Orozco
D4: Pecolia Manigo
D4: Mike Hutchinson
D4: Nick Resnick
D6: Valarie Bachelor
D6: Kyra Mungia
D6: Joel Velasquez