With weeks until Election Day, dueling rallies over the effort to recall Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao came face to face in Chinatown.
Ahead of her State of the City address, Thao and supporters gathered to urge Oaklanders to vote no on the recall election, calling the process undemocratic.
"I welcome anyone to run against me in 2026," Thao said. "But do not do this. Do not do this to our town. Do not cause the instability."
Thao claimed she inherited many issues from past administrations and said crime is going down under her leadership.
"The billionaires and millionaires are going to want to tell you that it's not working and that somehow you shouldn’t believe the data, the data that shows that we are saving lives," Thao said.
Meanwhile, at nearly the same time, recall supporters held their own rally in the same spot. They argued public safety, business and the city as a whole are failing under Thao’s leadership.
"We're not going to sit here and allow two more years of destruction and death of people, of businesses, of our communities," Edward Escobar with Citizens Unite said. "It's unacceptable."
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As conflicting calls of criticism and support continue, the city’s finances are under a microscope. Many say there's still too much confusion over the deal to sell part of the Coliseum complex and whether the money from that deal will help Oakland avoid public safety cuts.
"What we want to know is what's going to happen first because we are really in a gray zone," Councilmember Janani Ramachandran said. "We don’t have money that we were supposed to have at this point because the terms of the payment of this Coliseum deal has changed."
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Earlier this year the city passed its budget with a major contingency. Either the city gets the deal done to sell its part of the Coliseum or major cuts will be made to police and fire services.
As of Tuesday, frustrated councilmembers said they're still trying to figure out where the deal stands after several canceled city meetings.
"It's really just a matter of transparency and integrity," Councilmember Treva Reid said. "It is a tough time for the city. Everyone knows that. There is no rosy picture to the reality of the financial challenges."
In a statement, council finance chair Kevin Jenkins explained updates will come at a meeting at the end of the month, saying, "This is sound fiscal management, grounded in accurate data, that will allow the council to make informed decisions on any necessary budget rebalancing."
