Oakland’s Mayor Wilson Faces Primary Challenge

Oakland Mayor Lionel Wilson is facing a challenge from Wilson Riles Jr. and five other candidates in today’s mayoral primary election in this city of 350,000.

Riles, 36, son of the former California superintendent of public instruction--the first black ever elected to statewide office--hopes to deny Wilson a majority and force the incumbent into a runoff.

Wilson, 70, an attorney and former Superior Court judge, hopes to repeat the 1977 victory that made him the city’s first black mayor.

Divisive Battle

The battle has local politicians in fear that it could divide black residents and weaken their power base. The city’s population is 47% black, and 15% belong to other minority groups.

Wilson’s campaign slogan is upbeat: “Let’s Keep Up the Good Work, Oakland.” Riles’ literature is aggressive, proclaiming, “Mayor Lionel Wilson has taken good care of his friends. But has he taken good care of you?”

Riles, a former Peace Corps volunteer and city councilman, contends that the mayor has turned his back on liberals as well as the low- and middle-income “flatlanders” who elected him, favoring instead big business and wealthy residents of the Oakland hills.

Riles’ claim that Wilson has lost touch with the community irritates the mayor: “Wilson Riles says a lot of things; whether they’re true or not is open to question.”

Financial Resources

The mayor assembled a campaign war chest of about $250,000 compared to Riles’ estimated $60,000.

Riles said he has tried to counter the mayor’s bankroll by distributing leaflets in various neighborhoods and through use of a phone bank supplied largely by local unions.

Riles also is counting on dissatisfaction among lower-income residents and voters who registered last year to vote for presidential candidate Jesse Jackson and a local nuclear freeze initiative.

No matter who wins, governing Oakland won’t be easy.

The city has a teen-age unemployment rate of 50% and is plagued by a violent gang drug war.

Economic Problems

It is also struggling to revitalize its economically depressed downtown while fighting a regional trend by corporations to move from expensive city headquarters to cheaper suburban sites.

The city has encouraged businesses to hire local residents, but Riles believes a mandatory local hiring program should be instituted this year if a voluntary system does not improve. He points to figures for the past 15 years showing that only 40% of employees in downtown Oakland are local residents, although the city has added a new high-rise hotel, convention center and offices.

Businesses should have an opportunity to meet the goals of the voluntary program, Wilson argues. He admitted that success so far has been slow. Wilson says a mandatory program would frighten businesses away from the city.

Although the mayor favors making developers take on black business partners, Riles prefers that builders work with nonprofit organizations that could develop programs for the poor.

Concern Over Drugs

They clash over ways to solve the city’s drug problem. The incumbent said he has pulled together a task force of law enforcement agencies throughout the area to battle the problem.

Riles argues that education is the only way to stop drug use, suggesting that a proposed $4-million state grant to help Oakland clear up a backlog of drug-related court cases would not address the problem.