Oakland's Nov. 2 mayoral election is crucial. Our next mayor will face especially contentious problems and tough choices -- about crushing municipal debt, persistent local unemployment and crime, police layoffs, a skyrocketing high-school dropout rate, and more.
Make Oakland Better Now! (MOBN, a local citizen group), has work with local residents to create a list of key questions for the candidates to answer. This will pinpoint where each candidate stands on critical issues.
BUT: How will we know whether the factual assertions in their answers are accurate? Are the candidates speaking truth -- or blowing a little smoke? Oakland Local's fact-checking team of professional journalists and community leaders wants to find out, in time to help voters make informed choices.
MOBN and OL seek support for this fact-checking initiative. Specifically, we'd like to pay three local journalists to vet candidate responses. We'll publish our findings, along with the full text of all candidate responses, on Oakland Local and other community and partner sites who wish to carry the info.
