Oakland special election countdown: high stakes in District 2 race

Meet the six candidates for Oakland's District 2 race: 

OAKLAND - There are high stakes in Oakland's special election on April 15, which includes the mayoral race as well as the District 2 City Council seat that has six candidates vying to fill the remaining two years of former Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas. Bas left office after winning election to the Alameda County Board. 

What area does District 2 cover? 

Although the District 2 city council member will represent neighborhoods stretching from Lakeshore, to Oakland's Chinatown and Jack London Square, the election could have an impact citywide, as the incoming council members will face difficult decisions about how to address the city's budget deficits while also addressing crime, an understaffed police force, fire station closures, and providing social services to the community. 

KTVU reached out to all the candidates on the ballot and received replies from five of them. We asked them, "What do you feel you would bring to the D2 seat that the other candidates would not?" We also asked them about public safety and what their first step would be if they were elected. Their answers are listed in the order they appear on the ballot:

Paula Thomas is listed as a property manager, and did not respond in time for this report. 

Thomas's website is here.

Rev. Kenneth Anderson 

Anderson is Senior Pastor of Williams Chapel Baptist Church, and did not reply in time for our broadcast, but submitted answers by email later. 

"I have worked to address the critical needs of our District 2 community. This includes spearheading the development of senior housing, forging partnerships with La Clínica to enhance healthcare access, and collaborating with Head Start programs to support early childhood education," Anderson said. "My first action would be to convene community stakeholders to identify immediate priorities, such as improving public safety, addressing housing affordability, and enhancing neighborhood infrastructure."

(Anderson's website here)

Kanitha Matoury 

Matoury is owner of Howden Market and the former bar/restaurant Spice Monkey. She says she would bring real-life experience as a small business owner and work to simplify procedures for people to open businesses in Oakland. 

"I came here when I was13-years-old. Navigated going to the Air Force, went to college here, became a mother, marriage, and opened a business here in downtown Oakland for nearly 20 years," Matoury said. "When I tried to open my second business Howden Market, it took me two and a half years just to pull permits and build. By then a lot of people are out of business."

(Matoury website here)

Charlene Wang 

Wang works for the EPA and was previously appointed to the Dept. of Transportation by the Biden administration. Wang is endorsed by former Mayor Libby Schaaf. Wang says her experience in administration and her detailed plans to solve problems in Oakland set her apart from other candidates. 

"I think the thing that really sets me apart is my length of service in public administration. I have spent a decade of my career really focused on public administration and public policy," Wang said. "One of the first things I would want to do is to formalize more assistance from the Alameda County Sheriff's office to help our police department."

(Wang's website is here.)

Kara Murray-Badal 

Murray-Badal has worked on housing solutions and public safety nationwide, and has been endorsed by former District 2 council member Nikki Fortunato Bas. Murray-Badal said she would look for immediate ways to address public safety.

"I have a Master's in public administration from  Harvard as well as an MBA from Wharton, but I also have a lot of community experience organizing and doing community work," Murray-Badal said, adding she would pursue long-term and short-term public safety measures. "What are the ways we can do a stack of public safety, that includes public safety ambassadors like in Chinatown, that includes have more people on the streets so you don't feel like no one sees you.. things can happen, better lighting."

(Murray-Badal website here)

Harold Lowe 

Harold Lowe, is a financial planner endorsed by mayoral candidate Loren Taylor. Lowe says he would bring unique perspectives to the council as an Oakland native.

"Being the only person in this race who's been part of mental health, being the only person in this race who has kids in Oakland Public Schools, somebody who's been in 30 different organizational roles here in Oakland,' Lowe said, adding he would also work to implement immediate short-term solutions to crime problems while working to increase the police force. "Having people who drive on the streets, and we don't have license plates and we're not able to check people who have cars that are tinted and people who have licenses that are expired. We know that 90% of the crime is happening because of people being in cars, so we have to be able to check that. Those are some very tangible things we can do right now."

(Lowe website here)

The April 15th special election will use ranked-choice voting, so voters can select up to five candidates and list them in order of preference.

The special election also includes the Oakland mayoral race and Measure A sales tax (.5%/10yrs).

Jana Katsuyama is a reporter for KTVU. Email Jana at jana.katsuyama@fox.com. Call her at 510-326-5529. Or follow her on Twitter @JanaKTVU and read her other reports on her bio page.