Political climate is changing as Oakland mayor faces recall, residents fed up with 'progressives': report

The raid comes days after a recall campaign garnered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. (Credit: FOX 2)

Oakland, California, is reportedly headed toward a change in the political climate as residents are fed up with mounting issues such as housing costs, homelessness, and crime.

"The opposition to progressives like [Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao] has been mounting, abetted by the budget crisis, frustration with crime and fallout from the FBI raid," the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao (OUST) submitted its petition in June to have the mayor recalled. Officials in Alameda County confirmed they had met the threshold of 25,000 voter signatures, qualifying the measure for the November ballot.

Mayor Sheng Thao reacts while delivering her first State of the City address at City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)

Steven Tavares, a local politics writer for the East Bay Insiders newsletter, said that the progressive push since 2011 is dying down.

"It was basically carte blanche for progressives," Tavares said about the Occupy movement that occurred in San Francisco in 2011. "But we’re now leaving that golden era." 

CALIFORNIA'S POPULATION EXPECTED TO DECLINE AS FLORIDA AND THE CAROLINAS' SOAR IN 2024: SURVEY

Soon after the recall campaign to oust her from office qualified for the November ballot, the FBI raided her home. Subsequently, Thao's attorney abruptly quit, and her chief spokesperson resigned soon after. 

Fox News Digital previously reported that backers of the recall say public safety and economic vitality have worsened under the politically progressive mayor, and that she should not