Introducing Empower Oakland 2.0
Plus a message from Loren Taylor
Today, we launch the next iteration of Empower Oakland!
We all want a better future for Oakland. A future with safe and clean streets, thriving families and businesses, and effective local government. We believe there’s a clear path to make this future our reality – and it starts with the election this November.
The problem is that most Oaklanders feel under (or even mis) informed about local issues and our elected officials. Our goal is to give you a blueprint for making informed decisions on election day.
We will arm you with two resources:
Weekly newsletter: Most important news and perspectives from the week, with views and opinions on how it should impact decisions at the ballot box.
Voter guide: Comprehensive analysis of individual candidates and ballot measures that makes it easy for you to vote for the future you want.
Message from Loren Taylor:
Last year, we launched Empower Oakland to help everyday Oaklanders better understand and connect with what’s happening in our town. I’ve spoken to thousands of Oaklanders over the years, and the same feedback keeps coming up:
Lack of reliable information. People want reliable, trusted sources of information that aren’t muddied by identity politics or virtue signaling. Facts above anything else, with radical transparency.
Consistent focus on the same core issues. No matter who I speak to across all corners of Oakland, the same issues come up time and time again. People care about public safety, housing, thriving businesses to fuel a thriving economy, clean and well-maintained public infrastructure, and the city budget.
Need for better informed voting decisions. Regardless of who or what you support, it’s pretty much unanimous that what we’re doing isn’t working. People want a clear-cut way to vote for the future they want to see.
Empower Oakland 2.0
I’m thrilled for this next iteration of Empower Oakland!
Our mission has always been to inform and mobilize voters. We initially did this through public forums, speaker events, voter mobilization, and recommended a slate of candidates for the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee ahead of the 2024 primary election.
But to uphold that mission, it’s critical for this next iteration to function independently of any political candidate, including political plans that may, or may not, be in my future. (Stay tuned!)
Said plainly, Empower Oakland will not be my (Loren Taylor’s) personal or political platform. And while I helped launch the organization last year, it has a much broader and more important mandate.
Empower Oakland will continue to be run by volunteers, with the newsletter and voter guide effort spearheaded by Gagan Biyani and Reze Wong. I’ve gotten to know Gagan and Reze in recent months, and their marketing and communications backgrounds will help develop these much needed channels and resources.
I will serve as an advisor and occasional contributor, along with others on an advisory board that represents the diverse nature of Oakland, but I won’t have a day-to-day role.
What can you do?
First, please consider donating to Empower Oakland Committee, the campaign arm of Empower Oakland. Most of Empower Oakland will be volunteer-led so we can put almost all of our funds into data-driven advertising programs meant to reach Oakland voters.
Second, please sign up for this newsletter to stay in touch! And share it with your friends and family!
If you’re interested in volunteering, please reach out to Gagan and Reze by replying to this email. They are looking for founders and operators interested in content creation, web design, and social/digital marketing.
The first newsletter issue will be in your inbox this Sunday. Don’t miss it.
Yours in Oakland love and service,
Loren
Please be sure to include Oakland Report Substack in the newsletter and in discussion of Oakland issues. Thanks and keep going.. https://www.oaklandreport.org/
Second comment stolen from Ian Bremmer... think a good one for this group .......................
"On GZERO World, journalist Brian Stelter told me that the real political divide in the United States today is not between liberals and conservatives, but between extremists and moderates.
Stelter argued that “most people, whether they vote Republican or vote Democrat, denounce political violence” and that “they want a stable political system.” He called these moderates the “great silent majority” but lamented that they are overshadowed by the vocal extremists on both ends of the political spectrum. “I wish it was possible to make the normies, the people in the middle, the moderates, more visible, to make their voices louder.”
“Most Americans,” Stelter added, “have a lot more in common than they realize.” And what they have in common, most of all, is a desire to end this constant political chaos."