Oakland Pride Features the Whimsical and Political

The rainbow flags were flying as kids, first responders, churches, and businesses took part in the Oakland Pride parade Sunday, September 11. The parade, which featured more contingents than last year, according to organizers, stepped off at 14th and Broadway, making its way up to 20th Street and the site of the festival. At times, there seemed like there were more marchers than people watching, as viewers lightly dotted the street.

First responder vehicles carried placards designating them as legacy grand marshals in observance of the 9/11 terror attacks that occurred 15 years ago.

The festival warmed up as the day wore on and crowds filled the streets.

Oakland Pride spokesman Carlos Uribe didn't respond to a message seeking attendance estimates by press time.

Among the more colorful groups on hand was Verasphere, which was started by longtime San Francisco artist and activist Michael Johnstone. He and his partner, David Faulk, a.k.a. Mrs. Vera, make costumes out of recycled materials and then they and their friends wear them.

"We make people smile," Johnstone said.

Among the politicians on hand were the top two candidates running for the at-large seat on the Oakland City Council. And in separate interviews, incumbent Rebecca Kaplan and challenger Peggy Moore, both lesbians, made their case for why Oakland residents should vote for them.

Moore spoke with the Bay Area Reporter after the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club's Pride breakfast at Geoffrey's Inner Circle.

"I've always really loved the at-large seat," Moore said when asked why she was running. A relatively late entrant into the race, Moore last month resigned her position as senior adviser to Mayor Libby Schaaf to challenge Kaplan, a two-term incumbent with wide name recognition, partly because of her two unsuccessful mayoral runs.

Moore said that she did an "assessment of my skills," and concluded that she could offer "more engagement with people, more engagement with the mayor, and more engagement with the City Council" should she be elected.

She called her approach "completely different" from her opponent's and said trust was a big issue in the race, enveloping issues such as housing and affordability. She said people must have trust in the council as to how the city is handling the police department, which has been caught up in a sex scandal involving a young woman who alleges that she had sex with officers - including when she was a minor - in exchange for protection.

Last week, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley announced that her office planned to file charges against seven law enforcement officers, including five from the Oakland Police Department.

A couple days before O'Malley's news conference, Schaaf announced that the city issued notices of intent to terminate four members of OPD as a result of sustained findings of misconduct related to the sexual misconduct investigation.

Moore said that she intends to run a positive campaign, but that assertion was challenged by Kaplan, who pointed to a survey last month that attacked her and claimed that Moore is "supported" by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), according to a story in the East Bay Express . In fact, Lee did not endorse in the City Council race and sent out her own statement to that effect.

"It's an unusual thing," Kaplan said of Lee's August 30 statement.

Kaplan, speaking near her booth at the Oakland Pride festival, said that LGBT politicians are achieving leadership positions they've never had. She is now chair of the Alameda County Transportation Commission and was appointed to a seat on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, marking the first time in 23 years that the district has had a representative from Oakland city government.

"We'd lose those positions," Kaplan said, adding that she had to get votes from all the mayors of all the cities in Alameda County for the air quality board.

The air quality district may be best known for issuing its Spare the Air alerts, but it also funds projects such as the free Broadway Shuttle in Oakland.

On the council, Kaplan said that she successfully passed a measure to ban coal shipments from traveling through Oakland, and she fought successfully to put a rent control measure on the November ballot, which she said has the support of the labor council and the Democratic Party.

"I helped launch Oakland Pride," Kaplan said, pointing to the crowds of people wandering through the festival grounds.

She also said that three years ago she took action to provide money for LGBTQ youth programs.

"Part of what it means to be active on things is to actually go out and do something," Kaplan said.

Schaaf, in a brief interview at the festival, said that she has endorsed Moore in the race, and that she didn't have anything negative to say about Kaplan, who ran against Schaaf for mayor two years ago.

Schaaf, who again rode her snail art car in the Pride parade, said she "loves" the feel of Oakland Pride "and how everyone turns out."

Pride Breakfast

The fourth annual East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club Pride breakfast was attended by a host of LGBT and ally candidates.

"For me, Oakland Pride is about community building and remembering those lost to hate crimes and HIV/AIDS," said club President Brendalynn Goodall.

The club recognized two people, one LGBTQ nonprofit, and one business.

Cedric Brown, chief of community engagement at the Kapor Center for Social Impact, received the Trailblazer Award. A black gay man, Brown said that through "smaller and transgressive acts, we're pushing the envelope everyday."

Rodney K. Nickens Jr. received the Emerging Leader Award. A recent graduate of UC Hastings College of the Law, Nickens also worked as an intern at the Greenlining Institute and the state Department of Justice.

"I'm inspired by the elected officials in the room," Nickens said, "and young people have a role to play."

Aldo Gallardo, a trans Latina, accepted the Community Service Award on behalf of Genders and Sexualities Alliance Network, also known as GSA Network. Gallardo said there's a "whole lotta work to do" regarding trans equality and other issues.

Finally, the club's Corporate Leader Award went to Airbnb. Cody Enicke, a gay man who works for the company, said that he moved to San Francisco to be himself.

He talked about the short-term rental company's response after the mass shooting in June at Orlando's Pulse nightclub in which 49 people died and 53 others were injured.

"We helped people, hosts cooked meals, and took people to the airport," Enicke said, adding that Airbnb set up at Orlando's airport to help family members arriving in the city.