Is Oakland, California a Liberal City?

In some cases, individual cities can have differing political views than the state as a whole. However, this is not true in the case of Oakland, California. Both the city and state agree in providing full support to the Democratic party and liberal ideals.

Like most cities in California, Oakland is strongly liberal. This is apparent in the city’s voting trends, financial contributions, elected government officials, LGBTQ+ community and support, easy abortion access, and gun laws. Oakland has a strong Democratic majority supporting liberal policies.

Knowing that a city is liberal can be helpful, but there are many different ways to support or represent liberal views within a community. Oakland, California supports many liberal practices.

What Views are Liberal?

To understand how the following practices and views in Oakland make the city liberal, it is important to understand which views and tendencies support liberal beliefs rather than conservative ones. One of the most influential liberal beliefs is that the government should be highly involved in the lives of the people and have enough power to provide this aid to citizens in need. Conservatives prefer a governmental power that is less involved, and simply provides individuals with the liberties and power necessary to care for their own needs.

Generally, Democratic policies support liberal beliefs, and the Republican party has more conservative views. As will be clearly shown, the city of Oakland has a Democratic majority, one of many representations of the liberal views among its residents.

Another large division between liberal and conservative beliefs lies in the subject of religion and its influence on the formation of political views. Liberals can have religious beliefs, but choose to keep them entirely separate from their political views and opinions.

Their religious and political beliefs do not influence one another. Conservatives, on the other hand, tend to have strong foundational beliefs that they apply to the formation of political stances and views. In many situations, a high religious population in an area is a sign of conservative beliefs.

Primarily due to this application of religious beliefs, conservatives oppose the legalization and practice of abortions, same-sex marriages, physician-assisted suicides, and embryotic research. Liberals, on the other hand, oppose conservative efforts to ban these practices and work to keep them legal and easily available to citizens.

To support the strong governmental power they seek, liberals often support high taxes. This is especially true in cases of high taxes on the rich that will provide funding to help the poorer lower class citizens within the community. Conservatives prefer to keep to themselves and solve their own issues, and subsequently, promote low taxes on all classes of people.

Oakland, California is a strong liberal city and exemplifies an incredibly high amount of liberal beliefs and practices. Some of the liberals’ strongest beliefs include a strong and involved government power, low gas emissions, limited use of fossil fuels, efforts against climate change, high taxation, a market system economy, LGBTQ+ rights, strict gun laws, and a universal healthcare system, and legal abortions.

Conservatives support the opposing side to nearly all of these beliefs such as low taxation, a free market economy system, religious values, weak gun laws, low government involvement, and high use of fossil fuels.

Voting Statistics

Recent voting statistics, majorities, and trends in Oakland, California paint a clear picture of the city’s liberal ideals. The Democratic party took a strong majority leader in the last Presidential election with an incredible 79% of the votes! In contrast, the Republican party candidate only received a total of 17.6% of votes cast, a mortifyingly low representation, even for a loss. The remaining 2.6% of participating residents voted Independent.

It comes as no surprise to learn that Alameda county has voted Democratic in every election since 2000. There is hardly a need to explain these numbers, a nearly 80% majority in support of the Democratic party candidate is a strong sign of a highly liberal city. Oakland, California is liberal in voting trends, and also in many other areas as well.

Financial Contributions

The financial contributions to political party campaigns in Oakland, California show an overwhelmingly united Democratic and liberal community. These campaigns received a higher number of contributions and greater contributions in monetary value as well!

In the last four years, from 2018 to 2021, the Democratic party and liberal campaigns in Oakland have received a total of 197,751 contributions totaling $31,024,956 in donated funds. These campaigns averaged a total of $157 per contribution.

The Republican party and conservative campaigns received considerably less than their opponents in both amounts of contributions and the amount of money received. Over the same time span of 2018 to 2021, Republican and conservative campaigns received a total of $2,240,905 from a total of 5,453 contributions. The average amount of money received by these campaigns was $157 per contribution.

Democratic party and campaigns received a total of 192,298 contributions more than Republican and conservative campaigns in Oakland over the same span of time. This clearly depicts the city’s incredibly high amount of supporters. These supporters also donated $28,784,051 more in funds to their liberal and Democratic campaigns than their opponents’ raised for theirs. Oakland, California is an incredibly strong liberal city.

Protection and Support of Legal Abortion Rights

Liberals believe that legal and easy access to abortion is a woman’s reproductive right, and should be protected at all costs. This is a stance that the city of Oakland defends loud and proud.

On May 17th of 2022, the Oakland City Council unanimously passed an act declaring Oakland to be a “Pro-Choice Sanctuary City”. Residents of Oakland and their elected government officials support the protection of legal abortion rights within the city.

The US Supreme Court recently announced in June of 2022 that the Roe Vs. Wade case decision is now overturned. This now means that states have the ability to ban or legalize abortions within their own boundaries when the decision had previously protected the legal right to an abortion for all US citizens.

In response, the Democratic California government declared this a “dangerous attack on the rights of women and others who will lose access to reproductive care.” Governor Gavin Newsom responded by signing a bill that protects doctors and patients from other states that travel to California to perform or receive abortion procedures. This bill protects both parties from potential legal action for traveling to California with the goal of an abortion procedure.

Not only does California intend to protect its own citizens’ and residents’ rights to perform and receive abortion procedures, but they are also supporting and protecting Americans from other states who travel there for legal abortions as well. This is an incredibly bold representation of liberal abortion views.

Elected Government Officials

Libby Schaaf is the current mayor of Oakland, California, and is also affiliated with the Democratic party. Mayor Schaaf has served as the mayor of Oakland since she was first elected in 2015. As a well-known and strongly liberal politician, Mayor Schaff has most definitely delivered liberal views and acts while in office. She is a strong supporter of protecting women’s reproductive legal rights to perform abortions.

“Overturning Roe v. Wade is nothing short of white supremacist patriarchy…Congress must act to enshrine reproductive rights as the law of the land. Until then, Oakland will always defend and protect women’s health and our human rights.”
Mayor libby schaff; oakland, californa

Mayor Scaff is a staunch liberalist in abortion views, and on many other subjects as well. She is known to have referred to Trump’s presidency as “living in hell” on social media. In regards to combat against climate change, Mayor Schaff has gone above and beyond simply her own city, and become a global leader in the fight against climate change.

Her efforts in the office are all to support strongly liberal beliefs, and Oakland continues to support her in elections. Citizens in the city promote liberal views and actions and place government officials in office that will represent these desires well.

Many citizens of Oakland and other neighboring areas were highly offended and unsettled by the announcement of Roe v Wade being overturned. They didn’t simply allow their government to fight against it, many chose to gather in protest as well.

Hundreds of citizens gathered the evening of the announcement in Frank Ogawa Plaza. They came with signs, black clothes, and face paint. This rally shows that the Oakland area’s liberal views do not only extend to governmental leaders but to the thousands of people who elect them as well.

Climate Change

Oakland also supports liberal efforts to combat climate change. The city passed a 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan (ECAP) that includes 40 actions that will be spread across 7 sectors of the Oakland area. This plan was created with the input of over 2,000 city residents collected and applied over a two-year planning period.

Citizens and government-elected officials created this plan through joint collaboration to best reflect the city’s views on the subject and to produce the best results. This new action plan will help the liberal city to join their political allies in efforts to decrease gas emissions and make their city more eco-friendly.