An unlikely Oakland mayor is fighting for political survival amid a billionaire-backed recall

Amid a mysterious FBI investigation and a Silicon Valley-funded recall, Thao is seeking to reassure voters that the city is getting better

The Oakland mayor, Sheng Thao's political rise was precarious from the start.

For progressives, her narrow victory in 2022 affirmed their city's radical, leftist roots. By electing a daughter of Hmong refugees and a domestic violence survivor who promised to advocate for the city's most vulnerable residents, it seemed Oakland had defied the tech billionaires and venture capitalists who were working to transform the political landscape in neighbouring San Francisco.