Blue state activist urges voting out progressives who are 'asleep at the wheel' on crime
Ex-Oakland Democratic mayoral candidate rallies community to stop theft, lawlessness
Oakland activist opens up on push to save city from 'phony woke progressives'
'Neighbors Together Oakland' founder Seneca Scott shares his efforts to fighting back against progressive policies as crime surges in Oakland, California, on 'The Bottom Line.'
A former Democratic mayoral candidate in Oakland, California, is fighting back against progressive, liberal policies he claims have ruined the city and led to a rising state of crime.
"Right now, a lot of people don't have hope. But one thing that we know for sure about Oakland’s neighbors, is that we're resilient," activist and nonprofit founder Seneca Scott said Tuesday on "The Bottom Line." "We have a lot of talent and we can rebuild our city again once we're able to get the current group of ideologues out of office who are managing our decline of our city right now."
Hundreds of lawn signs distributed by Scott’s nonprofit, Neighbors Together Oakland, are currently posted outside homes expressing their desire for a "safe, livable city."
Smash-and-grab robberies and reports of assaults on retail and restaurant employees have been soaring across the Bay Area. According to reports from Oakland police, the city’s entire violent crime category increased 21% between this same time period from 2022 to 2023. Motor vehicle thefts are also up 51%.
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"It's mentioned that we're leading the nation in car theft," Scott pointed out. "When you have over 12,000 [stolen] vehicles total, that's 12,000 neighbors who can't get to work. And these things absolutely contribute to the cycle of poverty and failed businesses."
Progressive policies have created a "very vitriolic and negative political environment," activist Seneca Scott said Tuesday on "The Bottom Line." (Getty Images)
Additionally, the city's police department is facing a shortage of about 100 officers, which law enforcement said has resulted in delayed 911 response times and some calls from business owners being diverted altogether.
"We're putting the onus and the responsibility on us to first work with each other to build a multi-racial, multi-class coalition of neighbors, to both educate people on the continuity of failed policies," Scott said.
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"But most importantly, let people realize that they're the ones who ultimately elect the people, and for the first time in Oakland, violent crime has reached the neighborhoods of the elite," he continued. "Rather than point the finger at people and cast blame, we'd rather use the moment to say: 'Look, this is what happens when you vote on luxury politics that you don't see the consequences of, and now you have to see the consequences that the people and the policies that you've been supporting while [you’ve] been asleep at the wheel of our democracy.'"
The residents of the Democrat-led city "don’t have a lot of time" left to voice their crime concerns, the activist noted, with the general election exactly one year away from this week.
"So one year from today, Oakland will be deciding on our future. And we aim to make sure that only the candidates who are doing right by neighbors and Foundation of Oakland members, receive the support of voters," Scott said.
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Though Scott lost his mayoral run in 2022, he has expressed no plan to run for Oakland mayor again and said he’s focused on residents practicing "self-help" to elect city leaders who will address crime.
"What's more important to me right now is organizing the community, making sure that we've highlighted many talented people who would be a very good lawmaker," Scott explained. "But first, we have to give people the political will and courage to run against what has become a very vitriolic and negative political environment, largely due to the progressive[s] who, again, avoid debate because they can't defend the indefensible. Look at what's happened in our city."
FOX News’ Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.