In the waning days of Oakland’s special mayoral election, the Alameda County Democratic Party is crying foul over the use of its logo on a mailer from Loren Taylor’s campaign.
On Sunday, Igor Tregub, chairman of the party’s executive committee and a member of the Berkeley City Council, sent out an email saying Taylor’s use of the logo was unauthorized.
“We have demanded of the Loren Taylor for Mayor campaign to cease and desist immediately from any further unauthorized and improper use of the Alameda County Central Committee Logo or materials,” according to Tregub’s statement. “BARBARA LEE is the Alameda Democratic Party’s sole endorsed candidate for OAKLAND MAYOR in the April 15 special election.”
A consultant for Taylor’s campaign said the logo was used to reinforce a statement on the mailer touting the fact that he is a member of the party’s governing board.
“This really shows the absurdity of insider politics,” said Trishala Vinnakota. “Oakland voters are smart enough to know that this is another petty, dirty attack on Loren’s campaign designed to invoke fake outrage by the local political establishment to protect the status quo.”
A spokesperson for his main political rival, Barbara Lee, predictably disagreed.
“This is yet another example of a pattern of misinformation and plain lies from Loren Taylor and his supporters,” said Bilen Mesfin. “Oakland doesn’t have time for fake ads, fake headlines, and fake endorsements. We need a leader who is ready to govern on day one – and that’s Barbara Lee.”
Lee and Taylor appear to be the two front-running candidates in the special election to replace former mayor Sheng Thao, who was removed from office in a November 2024 recall election and subsequently indicted on federal corruption charges.
There are eight other candidates on the April 15 ballot.
