350 Bay Area Action endorsed Sheng Thao in 2022 based on her strong climate positions and her demonstrated commitment to opposing coal in Oakland.

As soon as she was elected, her opponents began calling for a recall. The leader of the recall effort was Brenda Harbin-Forte, who is now running for City Attorney. 350 Bay Area Action has endorsed Ryan Richardson in the City Attorney race, largely because Harbin-Forte has refused to pledge not to take money from coal developers. It turns out that an independent expenditure committee backing Harbin-Forte has taken $24,000 from coal developers Vikus Tandon and Jon Brooks.   

It also turns out that the primary source of funding for the recall effort has been Richard Dreyfuss, who is part of a hedge fund, Farallon Capital Management, which has invested $2 billion in coal worldwide.  

It’s clear that the fingerprints of coal are all over this recall effort.

We believe that Sheng Thao should be allowed to serve out her term as mayor. She can make a case to the voters, based on her record, whether to be re-elected in 2026.  Distracting Oakland with a recall campaign with funding from coal interests is disruptive to the city and could lead to a disastrous coal export terminal in Oakland.

Vote No on the recall of Sheng Thao!

Website:  https://www.oaklandersdefendingdemocracy.org/

Finally, here at 350 Bay Area Action we also object to the increasing use of the recall, almost always backed by large donors, in attempting to undermine voter’s choices. We believe that recalls should be predominantly used for issues of gross violations of public trust, ethical or legal, and not for post-election political strategy.