In past elections, Oakland school board races have attracted deep-pocketed donors who’ve put up hundreds of thousands to support their favorite candidates or oppose others.
These independent expenditure committees — groups that can spend unlimited amounts on the election but are prohibited from coordinating with candidates — often represented charter schools and supported candidates open to “school choice” and other policies friendly to charters. On the opposite side was the Oakland Education Association, the teachers’ union, which often spent big to support candidates who were more aligned with school workers and district schools.
In 2020, when incumbents on the board chose not to run and the districts 1, 3, 5, and 7 seats were all open, wealthy people and powerful groups dropped large amounts into a few independent expenditure committees, which then paid for mailers, web ads, TV commercials, and other voter outreach.
This time around looks more like 2022, when some of those power players sat out. Still, there are some familiar names. Families in Action for Quality Education, a nonprofit parent advocacy group, formed Families in Action for Justice in 2021. The group is a 501(c)4, a particular kind of nonprofit that can engage in political campaigns, and it has endorsed Benjamin Salop in District 1, Dwayne Aikens in District 3, Patrice Berry in District 5, and Clifford Thompson in District 7. According to the candidates’ filings, they’ve each received $1,200 from Families in Action for Justice, which is over the $600 limit they’re legally allowed to receive. This was a mistake and the group is in the process of taking back $600 from each of the candidates to stay within the rules, said Kimi Kean, the CEO of Families in Action.
As a 501(c)4, Families in Action for Justice is not required to disclose its donors, unlike political action committees.
Families in Action previously had a political action committee called the Families in Action for Justice Fund, which evolved out of a group called Power2Families that launched in 2020 to support charter-friendly candidates. That year, the committee received money from individuals like Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, Stacy Schusterman, an oil heiress and philanthropist, and Arthur Rock, a Silicon Valley investor. The Families in Action for Justice Fund is no longer active.
The Oakland Education Association Political Action Committee has been the most consistent player in recent Oakland school board elections. This year, the teachers’ union PAC has raised more than $179,000, including a large donation from the California Teachers Association ($97,000) and smaller donations from its membership. OEA represents OUSD teachers, nurses, counselors, substitute teachers, and social workers.
The union’s political action committee endorsed and gave $1,200 directly to Rachel Latta in District 1, VanCedric Williams in District 3, and Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez in District 5. Independently, the OEA committee has spent $61,876 supporting Williams, $47,331 supporting Latta, and $27,354 in support of Ritzie-Hernandez. The money has gone primarily to mailers and digital ads.
Hilaria Barajas, a third-grade teacher at International Community School who has been canvassing for Ritzie-Hernandez, said she supports candidates who have a direct connection to school families and staff and who will make decisions with them in mind.
“I want somebody on the school board who is familiar with the day-to-day happenings at the site level. People who are teachers, former teachers, or have family or a connection to a site,” she said. “When you’re separated from what’s going on at the site, it’s easy to make decisions that can have negative impacts on the day-to-day happenings.”
The California Workers’ Justice Coalition, the political fundraising arm of SEIU Local 1021, has spent $7,456 each in support of Latta, Williams, and Ritzie-Hernandez. SEIU Local 1021 represents school paraprofessionals, teachers’ aides, cafeteria workers, and front office staff.
Empower Oakland, a new political advocacy group, has spent $2,403 supporting Salop, $3,136 on Dwayne Aikens, $2,403 on Berry, and $2,403 on Thompson.
The Committee for California, which received $14 million from former Governor Jerry Brown’s gubernatorial campaign in 2019, has spent $46,264 in support of District 5’s Berry.
Other groups that have historically contributed to the school board races, like GO Public Schools and the California Charter Schools Association, haven’t gotten involved this year.
A new group called Champions for Quality Education PAC received $50,000 from Families for a Vibrant Oakland, an independent expenditure committee set up by Abundant Oakland. Abundant Oakland is an organization launched by Jesse Pollak this summer to advocate for structural change in Oakland’s housing, infrastructure, and government. Champions for Quality Education has paid $1,537 for campaign literature supporting Aikens in District 3.
According to its filings, the leaders of Champions for Quality Education include Kean, Hae-Sin Thomas, who led the Power2Families PAC and is on the Empower Oakland endorsement committee, and Maribel Gonzalez, the former ED of GO Public Schools Oakland and current executive director of Contra Costa County Charter Coalition.
Here’s how much the candidates have raised on their own.
District 1
Latta, a mom and nurse midwife, has raised $$31,125, including $1,200 donations from Oakland Rising, the National Healthcare Workers Union, SEIU 1021, OEA, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Just over half of Latta’s contributions came from Oakland, and 48% came from outside of Oakland.
Salop, a student at UC Berkeley, has raised $7,058, including $1,200 contributions from Families in Action for Justice and the Empower Oakland Committee. Sixty-eight percent of Salop’s donations came from within Oakland.
Read more about the OUSD District 1 race here.
District 3
Aikens, a nonprofit executive director, has raised $11,856. Around 54% of his contributions came from outside of Oakland. Empower Oakland and Families in Action for Justice have given Aikens $1,200 each.
Incumbent Williams, a teacher, has raised $31,000. Individual contributors include the Oakland Rising Committee, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, SEIU 1021, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, OEA, and other unions. About $10,750 came from within Oakland.
Read more about the OUSD District 3 race here.
District 5
Ritzie-Hernandez, a nonprofit leader, has raised $9,219. Committees that have contributed directly to Ritzie-Hernandez’s campaign include the Alameda Labor Council, Oakland Rising Committee, SEIU1021, and OEA. About 49% of her fundraising came from within Oakland and 51% came from outside of Oakland.
Berry, also an officer at a statewide nonprofit, has raised $51,918. Berry has also received donations from Empower Oakland, the Sheet Metal Workers Union, and Families in Action for Justice. Roughly 49% of this money came from contributors in Oakland.
Read more about the OUSD District 5 race here.
District 7
Thompson, a teacher and the incumbent in District 7, has raised $7,850, of which $3,600 came from Oakland. Families in Action for Justice and Empower Oakland donated $1,200.
Domonic Ware, an organizer and activist, hasn’t filed any financial disclosure forms and doesn’t appear to have raised any money for his campaign.
Read more about the OUSD D7 race here.
This story was updated after it published to include information about a new political action committee called Champions for Quality Education.
