Charlene Wang runs for Oakland District 2 Councilmember on April 15, 2025 to represent Oakland Chinatown

OAKLAND — A vehicular assault motivated Charlene Wang to run for Oakland City Councilmember on April 15 in a special election. If Wang is elected in the upcoming election, she will represent Oakland Chinatown and become the only Chinese American member on the City Council.

This is Wang's second campaign to run for the Oakland City Councilmember. In November 2024, Wang ran for the at-large seat and lost in the race as the third top candidate (21.23% votes) behind winner Rowena Brown (29.16%) and former Oakland Police Chief Leronne Armstrong (27.34%).

There are three items on the ballot for the special election in Oakland on April 15, Oakland mayoral race, District 2 Councilmember race and a measure to raise Oakland sales tax for 0.5% to 10.75%.

Voters of Oakland will decide among 10 candidates who will be the mayor for the next two years to fill in the seat left by former Mayor Sheng Thao who was recalled in November 2024.

Six candidates are running for Oakland D2 Councilmember to fill in the seat for the next two years left by former D2 Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas who was elected to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in November 2024 and left the seat in January 2025.

The sales tax measure was proposed in January 2025 by City Council President Bas and three other Councilmembers Kevin Jenkins, Rebecca Kaplan and Treva Reid. If more than 50% voters support the measure, the sales tax rate in Oakland will be up to 10.75% in alignment with rates at other cities in Alameda County including Alameda, Albany, Emeryville, Hayward, Newark, San Leandro, and Union City.

Wang, 34, is the only Chinese American among 6 candidates running for the Oakland D2 Councilmember in the April 15 election. Currently there is no Chinese American member among 8 City Councilmembers to serve 34,000 Chinese residents in the City of Oakland.

District 2 in Oakland covers Oakland Chinatown, Little Saigon, Eastlake, Lakeshore, San Antonio, Crocker Highlands, south and east of Lake Merritt, and part of Jack London District.

Wang is a resident of Eastlake and was born in the East Bay. "Oakland was the formative city of my childhood. My grandparents’ affordable housing provided stability and community for my family. I remember taking the bus, without fear for my safety, to the youth orchestra at Laney [College] and once-bustling Chinatown streets. Their home was also a sanctuary from family violence," Wang said how Oakland Chinatown has connected with her.

Wang holds a bachelor degree from Columbia University and master degree from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, where she served as student body president. She joined public service working at federal government agencies and lived in Washington D.C. for some time before returning to the East Bay and Oakland.

During the Biden administration, Wang was appointed to launch a $4.2 billion Department of Transportation initiative, Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods. "Two projects are being funded in District 2 by this program, including plans to address dangerous highway underpasses in Jack London and Chinatown, and a greenway between Lake Merritt and San Leandro with construction already underway. I’ve worked to reform homeless response systems to take people off the street quicker," said Wang.

Wang was also appointed by the Biden Administration to launch a $4 billion economic development program funding over 350 projects nationwide in which 3 projects were aimed to fight blighted corridors and improve traffic safety in Oakland.

Locally, Wang is an Alameda County Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Sierra Club executive committee member, and formerly served as a board member at the Oakland’s Family Violence Law Center.

Wang said she decided to run for Oakland City Councilmember after experiencing a vehicular assault. Although she called 911 for service, police officers were unable to arrive while witnesses were still available.

"This incident prompted me to look into Oakland’s public safety policies. The more I learned, the more I wanted to be part of the solution," Wang said. "The winner of this election will have just months before a major budget vote. District 2 needs a leader that can dive into policy details and has experience holding government programs accountable. As the only candidate with government experience, I am ready to lead."

"Representation is essential to ensure that our community’s unique needs are not overlooked," Wang urged voters of Oakland to support her in the April 15 election. "I am running to restore community safety. We need regular foot patrols, rapid emergency response, and technology like Flock cameras that can help catch car thieves."

"District 2 is home to Oakland’s Chinatown and Little Saigon communities. Residents and businesses in these communities have been some of the hardest hit by Oakland’s crime. With attacks targeting Asian elders, many people are afraid to leave their homes," said Wang.

If she gets elected, Wang said she would work with Chinatown and Little Saigon businesses to renew economic opportunities. "I'll restore commerce and foot traffic by promoting local businesses, authorizing temporary street markets and events, partnering with private partners like Uber to bring people to Chinatown and Little Saigon, and help expand entrepreneur access to capital," Wang said.