An Oakland City Council candidate who wants to fix the city’s crime and homelessness crises was left to fend for herself when she was robbed of $1,000 in donations by a homeless woman following a campaign event.
Charlene Wang lost the campaign cash after the thief walked off with a donation bag and refused to give it back on Sunday in the beleaguered California city.
Video obtained by KGO showed Wang, 33, and her staff attempting to reason with the woman who appeared to be spiraling.
“I very much tried to have a de-escalatory conversation with her to convince her to hand over the bag,” Wang told the station.
The candidate tried to reason with the homeless woman, but was not successful. Charlene Wang“Offer her a warm meal at the grocery store, even give her money in exchange for the bag but that did not work out.”
The suspect began “getting agitated” and tossing food, leading Wang’s staff to first call homeless outreach, but they weren’t available.
As the woman’s anger grew, she started threatening staffers, leading them to call the police — who were also no help because cops never showed, Wang said.
“They said there were 250 calls ahead of us and they said they would actually come by to take a report afterwards,” Wang told KGO on Monday. “They still have not come by and it still hasn’t happened yet.”
Wang, who worked for the Department of Transportation under the Biden administration, ripped into the lack of assistance from mental health and police services in a statement to The Post.
Police were called to the scene, but never showed. Charlene Wang“We deserved a fast response from police and mental health responders working hand in hand,” said Wang, who currently works in the EPA.
“Our long 911 wait times motivated me to run for office. I’m a survivor of domestic violence and a police officer saved my life. I’m committed to fully staffing our police department because I know what delayed responses can mean.”
The woman who stole the bag should have been offered real services, including a place to stay and a warm meal, she added.
“We also need to help people before they’ve suffered, and gotten worse, on the street,” Wang said.
The Post has sought comment from Oakland police.
The council candidate is running on a platform to rein in “skyrocketing levels of crime” and tackle the out-of-control homelessness in the area. She is one of 10 candidates running for a city council at-large seat this November, according to the Mercury News.
“I can only imagine the trauma she is going through having to live on the streets,” Wang said of the homeless woman, according to KGO.
“I am not angry at her or anything like that, however, I think this is yet another example of first responder service. I was left to fend for myself in essence.”
