The ballot battle over whether to recall both Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price turned into more than just a political debate Tuesday.
As recall supporters rallied and called for businesses to strike in support of their effort, the scene turned into a screaming match after recall opponents showed up.
Resign or recall was the message as the group of Oakland business owners shut down their businesses to gather for the recall rally at city hall. The crowd represented a mix of business owners, individuals running for office, and recall supporters looking to oust both Thao and Price.
"We need to bring the attention to how severe and drastic the situation is," said Edward Escobar of Coalition for Community Engagement/Citizens United. "Businesses are not succeeding. They are barely surviving."
Then, a handful of Thao's supporters and members of her reject the recall campaign showed up. Within minutes, confrontation overshadowed political conversation.
One of the confrontations involved Ray Bobbitt, founder of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group – the group purchasing the Oakland Coliseum – and a strong supporter of Thao.
"One of the reasons why I approached him when I heard my name was, 'Hey, man, maybe we could have a conversation. You want to let me speak and give a perspective?' But that clearly wasn't accepted," Bobbitt said.
Thao's stop the recall campaign issued a statement about the business strike rally, saying in part, "This is an example of the sort of chaos the recall campaign seeks to create…The mayor is working on the most significant investment and opportunity for East Oakland in our lifetime. Foot traffic is up in downtown Oakland. These attempts to divide Oaklanders need to stop.”
The business strike organizers claim more than 200 businesses participated in the strike on some level, hoping to send a message that Thao has failed to lead, made Oakland more unsafe and should be pulled from office.
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The group declined to give NBC Bay Area a verifiable list of businesses on strike, claiming concerns of retaliation by Thao or her supporters.
Ali Albasisery closed his five Oakland businesses for a portion of the day. He said the city has become more dangerous under Thao and disputes city data showing crime is down by more than 30%. He said the truth is business owners have been forced to stop reporting crimes.
"Insurances are kicking us out of their policies," Albasiery said. "All my five stores, they have been broken into almost four times this year. I have not reported it to the police department. I have not reported it to the insurance."
Not all businesses feel crime is going unchecked. Richard Fuentes, owner of Fluid510, credits Thao with making the city safer and said he understands progress takes time.
"I’m just glad to see that the city is moving into the right direction," Fuentes said. "Not as fast as I would like it, but it is moving into the right direction. That’s why I believe that the initiatives the mayor has implemented, we should continue to do that for the next two years."
