Oakland City Councilmember Treva Reid Is Not Seeking Reelection

Oakland City Councilmember Treva Reid announced Friday that she is not running for reelection this November.

In a statement, Reid said that she has been balancing her work as a council member with her role as primary caregiver for her mother, who now needs additional support.

“This decision came after much prayer, processing with family, and wise counsel,” Reid said in a statement.

Reid has only served one term on the council. She represents District 7, which comprises deep East Oakland, including the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, part of the Hegenberger Corridor and the Castlemont, Iveywood and Brookfield Village neighborhoods. Her father, Larry Reid, represented the district from 1997 to 2021.

Ried’s announcement means that the deadline for candidates to enter the District 7 race, which was Friday, has been extended to this coming Wednesday. State law requires an automatic five-day extension when no eligible incumbent files for reelection.

Before the announcement, three people had already filed initial paperwork to run for Reid’s seat. They include LeRe Garrett, whose LinkedIn page says they run a music talent and management organization; Merika Goolsby, a farm manager at the Oakland Community Land Trust; and Marcie Hodge, a nonprofit executive director and former Peralta Community College trustee. Hodge ran unsuccessfully for Oakland mayor in 2010 and for the District 7 City Council seat in 2006, 2016 and 2020.

When reached by phone on Saturday, Hodge said Reid’s departure creates an opening for new candidates from the district.

“We really need someone to really go in and commit, you know, full time, to offering ideas on how to resolve a lot of the challenges that District 7 faces,” said Hodge, who added that reducing crime, blight and homelessness are her top priorities.

Reid is the third incumbent council member, alongside Dan Kalb and Rebecca Kaplan, to announce they won’t run for reelection this fall.

Two other council members, Carroll Fife and Noel Gallo, are up for reelection this year. Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas is running for a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

If Fife and Gallo are not reelected and Fortunato Bas wins her race for supervisor, it would mean a major shake-up for the council. All but two members of the eight-person body would be new to the council come the new year.