Our Endorsement Process

Our endorsements reflect Empower Oakland’s mission to create a better future for Oaklanders. We strived for thoroughness and inclusivity as we evaluated candidates’ knowledge, experience, and readiness to deliver measurable outcomes and positive impact. Over the course of four weeks, our committee dedicated more than 250 hours to crafting detailed questionnaires, interviewing dozens of candidates, and thoughtfully deliberating these local races. 

Endorsement Committee 2025

Isaac Abid

Isaac Abid is the founder and managing partner of Lakeside Group, an Oakland based real estate company focused on commercial investment opportunities across Northern California.

Alongside his work at Lakeside Group, Isaac has an eye towards increasing safety and vibrancy in Oakland, CA, his hometown. This includes starting the Downtown Partnership and the Northlake District, as well as sitting on the board of the Oakland School for the Arts.

Isaac graduated from Columbia Business School with an MBA in Real Estate Finance, as well as a Masters of Science in Urban Planning. Isaac also has a BA in Political Science from UCLA.

Isaac Abid Headshot

Isaac Abid

Gagan Biyani

Gagan Biyani was born and raised in Alameda County (Fremont, CA) and graduated from UC Berkeley. He has lived in the Bay Area for 32 years and has founded multiple businesses in the Bay Area, including Udemy, Sprig and Maven.

After spending 5 years outside the Bay, he and his wife decided to settle down in Oakland because they love the people, culture, weather, location and food. He's passionate about bringing his digital marketing experience to help Empower Oakland with its mission to educate Oakland voters.

gagan-biyani copy

Gagan Biyani

Arielle Fleisher

Arielle Fleisher is a transportation strategist with a unique combination of public health, design thinking, and urban planning expertise. With extensive experience in public policy across the private, public, and non-profit sectors, Arielle is dedicated to improving government by bringing innovative approaches and diverse skill sets to government practices. Her primary focus is on transportation, and she has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of the Bay Area's transportation system, including initiatives to make Oakland’s streets safer. 

A committed community leader, Arielle recently ran for the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee. Though she didn't win, the experience underscored for her the importance of civic and community engagement. She's also the founder of the Pandemic Mom's Club, a neighborhood group that blossomed from offering support to new mothers at the height of the pandemic into a vital source of connection and resources. Arielle serves on the Steering Committee for UCLA’s Center of Excellence on New Mobility and Automated Vehicles and is an ITS Senior Fellow at ITS Berkeley. 

Arielle’s strength lies in her ability to bring people together to tackle complex challenges and drive meaningful change. She is excited to bring her policy expertise and passion for improving government practice to Empower Oakland.

Arielle Fleisher

Arielle Fleisher

Jacob Klein

Jacob Klein is an edtech product leader and entrepreneur, who co-founded and led the learning games studio Motion Math (acquired by Curriculum Associates). He currently serves as head of product for TeachFX, building an AI coach to help teachers, and earned a BS and MA from Stanford.

Born in Oakland, Jacob loves hiking with his wife and kids and volunteering in Oakland parks. He served as a Regional Field Director on the 2008 Obama campaign, volunteered for the launch of Swing Left in 2016, and is excited about Empower Oakland's mission to improve our city for everyone.

Jacob Klein

Jacob Klein

Derreck Johnson

A third generation Oaklander, Derreck was raised by a single mom in West Oakland’s Acorn housing projects, one of our most underserved neighborhoods. His mom worked up to three jobs so he could have a better life. She taught him to work hard and selflessly for others, take pride in his community, and keep his word.

Growing up, Derreck saw people rise in the most inspiring ways and fall most tragically. Thanks to his strong extended family and community, Derreck would go on to high school, then Fisk University where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, which promoted brotherhood, service, and community advocacy. After graduation, he came home determined to serve the community that made him who he is. Today, he’s a successful entrepreneur making an incredible difference for Oakland.

In 2004, Derreck opened Home of Chicken and Waffles in Jack London Square. The restaurant would become a pillar of the Oakland community, a way to help Oaklanders who hadn’t been as lucky as Derreck had. While over the years, Derreck has created hundreds of jobs, he’s most proud of the fact that 70 percent of Home of Chicken and Waffles employees were formerly incarcerated people, folks who nobody would give a second chance until Derreck did. Derreck finds nothing more inspiring than helping turn someone’s life around, and seeing them get that first paycheck, that first apartment, or even that college degree.

Derreck Johnson

Derreck Johnson

Raul Maldonado

Raul Maldonado is a Senior Data Analyst at Autodesk, where he develops data models and delivers insights for internal teams across sales, customer success, and developer experience. Previously, Raul worked in data analytics roles at Google and MobileIron, focusing on business intelligence and automation. .

Based in Oakland, Raul is deeply involved in local housing and transportation advocacy. He co-leads East Bay YIMBY, working to advance policies that support diverse, dense housing and tenant protections. A strong supporter of sustainable and equitable transportation, he is an advocate for urban biking and safer streets. He is a member of Empower Oakland’s endorsement committee and is committed to building a more inclusive and accessible East Bay.

Raul Maldonado

Raul Maldonado

  1. The Empower Oakland Endorsement Committee is made up of everyday Oaklanders who represent diverse perspectives, are deeply knowledgeable about Oakland, and are committed to our mission. 
  2. We created detailed candidate questionnaires specific to each race, reflecting the top issues we believe can deliver the well-functioning, just, economically vibrant, and safe city and county that Oaklanders deserve.
  3. All candidates who qualified to be on the ballot were invited to participate by submitting a response to our candidate questionnaire. (You can read all submitted questionnaires in our Voter Guide.) 
  4. For certain races, candidates were also invited to engage in an in-person interview with the committee. (You can watch the interview videos.)
  5. For each Measure, we reviewed the full text, the independent analyses from both the City Attorney and City Auditor, and the official arguments for and against that are included with the full text of each Measure. Additionally, representatives argued for and against each of the Measures to the Empower Oakland Endorsement Committee, (with the exception of the opposition to Measure OO, due to scheduling conflicts).
  6. During endorsement deliberations, the committee took an initial blind vote without discussion. If the initial vote did not pass the 60% threshold, the committee would debate and vote again until the 60% threshold was reached for each endorsement. 
  7. Whenever appropriate, members of our committee recused themselves from votes if they had close personal conflicts with candidates and/or campaigns. 

These endorsements are more than just recommendations – they are a reflection of our vision for a more inclusive, vibrant, and forward-thinking Oakland. We are confident these individuals will work tirelessly to serve our community and drive Oakland forward.

Because everyone
in Oakland deserves better.

Because everyone in Oakland deserves better.

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