The campaign of a left-leaning candidate running for city council in Oakland, California, got off to a bad start after a homeless woman appeared to steal a bag full of donations during his campaign kickoff rally over the weekend.
On Sunday, Charlene Wang, 33, hosted an event in a local park to launch her campaign to run for a vacant seat on Auckland City Council. At the end of the event, a woman described as homeless and “obviously mentally unstable” approached the man, California Grove Suddenly, they reportedly began stealing several bags and purses.
“We have launched new social programs for homelessness, education, health care and environmental justice at all levels of government and continue to work tirelessly on behalf of disadvantaged communities.”
Wang was able to retrieve most of her purses, including her own and her mother's, but the homeless woman appeared to be clinging to a bag containing a large number of cheques for donations collected at the rally.
According to the video, Wang and his team tried to convince the woman to return the bag, but to no avail.
“I tried to have a de-escalating conversation to convince her to hand over the bag,” Wang said. Korean“I offered them a hot meal at the grocery store and even gave them money in exchange for a bag, but it didn't work.”
Wang also said: Oakland's Mobile Assistance Community Responder Programprovides “community response to non-violent, non-emergency 911 calls” in the city. Unfortunately, KGO noted, their titular social workers were not available over the weekend.
Finally, fearing that the situation would escalate out of control, Wang decided to contact the police. Unfortunately, they were also unable to act.
“They said they had 250 calls ahead of us and that they would actually come back later to take the report,” Wang told KGO.
The suspect reportedly threw food and, in the words of the California Globe, “made a show of everything,” before leaving with the donation bag in hand.
Wang estimated that the bag contained about $1,000 worth of checks, and he has asked donors to stop paying on the checks, according to the California Globe.
Despite the apparent theft, Wang harbors no ill will towards the suspect: “I'm not angry at her or anything like that,” she insisted.
“I can only imagine the trauma she is going through being forced to live on the streets.”
Wang, who campaigned on promises to reduce crime and help the homeless, said he was frustrated and confused by the silence of Oakland police, who as of Wednesday had still not come forward to investigate the issue, Wang claimed.
“I think this is another example of the service that paramedics provide. Essentially, I was left to fend for myself,” she said.
of New York Post The police department has been contacted for comment.
King's Campaign website Wang boasts about his work on the campaigns of former President Barack Obama and unsuccessful presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as well as his work with homeless people in Massachusetts. The website goes on to say that Wang identifies as LGBTQ+ and has “worked tirelessly to advocate for disadvantaged communities at all levels of government, instituting new social programs for homelessness, education, health care, and environmental justice.”
Despite her left-wing bona fides, Wang is surprised by the association between the left and anti-police sentiment: “I'm frustrated by this notion that progressives are automatically anti-police and don't care about public safety,” she told the California Globe.
“This is the current state of affairs for Oakland's emergency responders and this is why I'm running.”
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