Candidates for Oakland District 3 Council Seat Debate at the Z Cafe Showroom Tonight

Live Blogging | Council District 3 Debate | #OakDebates | 6:35pm 

The six leading candidates for Oakland’s District 3 City Council Seat are set to debate tonight in an open forum at Z Cafe, located on Broadway’s Auto Row.  The debate, produced by the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Committee will start at 6:30pm. Paul Junge, the Chamber’s Vice-President and Director of Public Policy will moderate, and the candidates will be presented with a series of questions by a two-person panel – Kerry Hamill, manager of government and community relations for BART, and Kim Winston, senior manager of government affairs for Starbucks Coffee. Questions will also be solicited from the audience.

The District 3 boundaries include the Port of Oakland, West Oakland, Jack London Square, Uptown, Adam’s Point and portions of Downtown, Pill Hill and the lake. There are seven council districts total in Oakland, and one at-large member for a total of eight seats. There are no term limits for the city council members. In fact, West Oakland resident Nancy Nadel has held the District 3 seat since 1996, for nearly 16 full years (4 consecutive terms).

Oakland Council District 3 Debate Begins, Six Candidates Discuss the Issues

Program Starts

A group of about 50 are in the audience tonight, in Z Café’s open “showroom” space and the intersection of Broadway and Webster. It is presumed that Nadel will show her support for candidate Miller-Cole, but according to Derrick Muhammad’s website he also has Nadel’s support. 

Candidate Sean Sullivan appeared in a dapper in a pink shirt and striped suit combo. Also getting the memo, Miller-Cole was in pink. Candidate Muhammad was sporting a striped tie, Larry Lionel Young Jr. looks patriotic with a blue tie and red pocket square, Nyeisha DeWitt is in a tailored black suit and Lynette Gibson-McElhaney appeared in a royal purple colored suit and gold high heels. The candidates are settled on the dais and now the opening statements are underway!