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Click the link below for Newsletter Communications from District 4
Click HERE for Newsletter Communications from Councilmember Sheng Thao
District 4 Community Development Block Grant Board Meeting will take place Friday, March 27, 2020 at 4:00 PM PDT. The Meeting will be accessible via https://us04web.zoom.us/j/103474025. The meeting ID is 103 474 025.
Councilmember Sheng Thao - your District 4 representative - is excited to host the annual “Local Heroes” celebration on Saturday, February 22, 2020. We have Local Heroes that we work with throughout our community here in District 4, and this event celebrates and uplifts these community leaders and advocates.
The Measure W (Vacant Property Tax) Implementation Ordinance will be heard at the November 5th City Council Meeting.
This Measure has been a big topic in District 4 and currently the Administration is putting forth language that, I believe, honors the spirit of Measure "W". The language goes after the speculators who are sitting on vacant land for profit, but provides exemptions for adjoining parcels for use as yard space, low income households, land that is unbuildable, and others.
Your voices are important and have been heard by me and the Administration. Thank you so much for stepping up and making sure this tax is equitable and works for all of Oakland.
If you have questions please reach out to my office at District4@Oaklandca.gov.
Additionally, the Finance Department is available to answer questions in person Monday through Friday at 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 5432 between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM. You may also contact the Finance Department at 510-238-3084 or vacantpropertytaxinquiry@Oaklandca.gov
Sheng Thao was elected November 2018 to the Oakland City Council, representing District 4 with 11,736 votes. She is the first Hmong American woman to be elected to City Council in the State of California and the first Hmong to be elected in the City of Oakland. Sheng Thao is the daughter of Hmong refugee parents from Laos. Sheng was born and raised in Stockton and is the 7th of 10 children. She is a domestic violence survivor and as a single mother, Sheng put herself through college while working and raising her son. She graduated as Valedictorian from Merritt College and transferred to U.C. Berkeley, where she earned her degree in Legal Studies. During her time at U.C. Berkeley, she helped established the Bear Pantry, a food access program for students with families who could not afford to buy healthy food.
In her first year in office Councilmember Sheng Thao fought for more resources for Oakland’s unhoused community, won funding for marginalized and underrepresented youth, helped add transparency to the budget process, fought for wildfire prevention policies, including undergrounding utilities in high fire severity risk zones and ensuring the city prioritizes wildfire prevention, helped passed policies to incentivize immediate increase in housing options in Oakland, created equity programs and incentives for the changing cannabis industry, and more.
Sheng has been appointed by her colleagues to serve in a leadership position as the Chair of the Rules and Legislation Committee, and is a member of the Finance, Public Works, Education Partnership and City/Port Committees. Sheng has also been appointed to be a representative for the City of Oakland at the Alameda County Transportation Commission. Sheng lives in Oakland’s Laurel District and enjoys spending time with her 13-year-old son, Benedict, who is an avid cellist. They enjoy biking through Joaquin Miller Park, a world-famous park in her district, and camping in the Stanislaus and El Dorado forests with her family. Sheng continues to speak throughout California around her experience as a survivor of domestic violence and her road to becoming California’s first Hmong Woman Councilmember in hopes to inspire, bring awareness, educate and support others.
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