An Oakland City Council candidate who wants to fix the city’s crime and homelessness crises was left to fend for herself when she was robbed of $1,000 in donations by a homeless woman following a campaign event.
Charlene Wang lost the campaign cash after the thief walked off with a donation bag and refused to give it back on Sunday in the beleaguered California city.
Video obtained by KGO showed Wang, 33, and her staff attempting to reason with the woman who appeared to be spiraling.
“I very much tried to have a de-escalatory conversation with her to convince her to hand over the bag,” Wang told the station.
“Offer her a warm meal at the grocery store, even give her money in exchange for the bag but that did not work out.”
The suspect began “getting agitated” and tossing food, leading Wang’s staff to first call homeless outreach, but they weren’t available.
As the woman’s anger grew, she started threatening staffers, leading them to call the police — who were also no help because cops never showed, Wang said.
“They said there were 250 calls ahead of us and they said they would actually come by to take a report afterwards,” Wang told KGO on Monday. “They still have not come by and it still hasn’t happened yet.”
Wang, who worked for the Department of Transportation under the Biden administration, told Fox News Digital the lack of response from mental health and police services was “unacceptable.”
The Post has sought comment from Oakland police and the Wang campaign.
The council candidate is running on a platform to rein in “skyrocketing levels of crime” and tackle the out-of-control homelessness in the area. She is one of 10 candidates running for a city council at-large seat this November, according to the Mercury News.
“I can only imagine the trauma she is going through having to live on the streets,” Wang said of the homeless woman, according to KGO.
“I am not angry at her or anything like that, however, I think this is yet another example of first responder service. I was left to fend for myself in essence.”
