Oakland business owners call for state of emergency on crime amid symbolic strike

The public demonstration — while mostly symbolic — allowed restaurant and store owners to join local business leaders in calling for the mayor to declare a state of emergency. Doing so, they say, could help Oakland secure more funding from the state and federal government for additional law enforcement and provide direct cash payments to businesses that have taken financial hits from thefts and robberies.

Some leaders of the city’s chambers of commerce have come to double as anti-crime advocates, with Chinatown Chamber President Carl Chan leading recall efforts against notably progressive Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, who critics say has been too soft in prosecuting crime. Political tensions around crime grew even more tense earlier this month after the city’s leaders failed to apply in time for a state grant that sent millions of dollars to boost crime-fighting efforts in several Bay Area cities.

“I want public safety so that small businesses like mine can be able to work and live in peace,” the restaurant’s owner, Son Tran, said in her native Vietnamese at Tuesday’s event.

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