Barbara Lee, a longtime Democratic politician, is stepping into her new role as mayor of Oakland amid economic chaos and public concern.
After leaving her congressional seat in 2024 to pursue a U.S. Senate bid—ultimately losing to Adam Schiff—she returns to city politics at a precarious moment.
Oakland’s city government is staring down an $87 million budget deficit.
Pensions, insurance, and a shrinking tax base are expected to make matters worse.
The city has become a symbol of urban decline in California, marked by rampant crime, business closures, and general lawlessness.
Oakland voters have made their choice, and now they’ll live with the consequences.
Barbara Lee’s election is not just another leftward lurch—it’s a hard swerve into fantasy economics and failed policies repackaged as “progress.”
Anyone who thinks raising the minimum wage to $50 an hour—equivalent to $104,000 a year—is a sane or sustainable policy shouldn’t be running a lemonade stand, much less a major city.
Hellbound and Down 