Loren Taylor (born July 1977) is an American politician who has served on the

Oakland City Council The Oakland City Council is an elected governing body representing the City of Oakland, California. Since 1998, Oakland has had a mayor-council government. The mayor is elected for a four-year term. The Oakland City Council has eight council memb ...

from 2019 to 2023. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, He represents the 6th district, which includes the

East Oakland East Oakland is a geographical region of Oakland, California, United States, that stretches between Lake Merritt in the northwest and San Leandro in the southeast. As the southeastern portion of the city, East Oakland takes up the largest portio ...

neighborhoods of

Maxwell Park Maxwell Park is a neighborhood in Oakland, California located in the foothills of the city. It is geographically bordered by MacArthur Boulevard, High Street, Trask Street, Foothill Boulevard, and 55th Avenue and is adjacent to Mills College, I- ...

Millsmont The Millsmont neighborhood located in the foothills of Oakland, California encompasses the area of East Oakland to the south and east of Mills College. Seminary Avenue is considered the northern border, and Edwards Avenue the approximate southern ...

, Havenscourt and Eastmont. He was a candidate in the

2022 Oakland Mayoral Election The 2022 Oakland mayoral election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the mayor of Oakland, California. Incumbent mayor Libby Schaaf is term-limited. The position is non-partisan. The election was held using instant-runoff voting, the rul ...

narrowly losing by 0.6% to fellow city councilmember

Sheng Thao Sheng Thao (, born 1985) is an American politician serving as the District 4 councilmember and the president pro tempore of the Oakland City Council. She is also the Mayor-elect of Oakland. She was the first Hmong woman to be elected as a member ...

Early life and education

Taylor was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, in 1977. A third-generation Oaklander, he spent his childhood in Oakland and went to high school at

The College Preparatory School The College Preparatory School (CPS or College Prep) is a four-year private high school in Oakland, California. The school's motto is ''Mens Conscia Recti'', a Latin phrase adapted from Virgil's ''Aeneid'' that means "a mind aware of what is r ...

, graduating in 1995. Taylor later earned a

bachelor of arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from Case Western Reserve University and a

master of science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences ...

from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

. He later earned a

master of business administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Engineering and business career

Taylor worked as a

biomedical engineer Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)

and management consultant for businesses and nonprofit organizations. His community involvement included serving as a board member of the 100 Black Men of the Bay Area and the West Oakland Health Center.

Political career

Taylor first ran for public office in 2018 and defeated 16-year incumbent

Desley Brooks Desley Brooks was a politician in Oakland, California. She served as a Councilmember on the Oakland City Council from 2002 to 2018. In January 2011, Brooks was also inaugurated as the vice mayor of Oakland, California. Early life and education ...

and three other candidates earning 64.3% of the vote after 5 rounds of ranked choice voting. Taylor's stated priorities during the election were (1) creating economic opportunities in East Oakland, (2) stop the pushing out / pricing out of Oaklanders, and (3) making government more effective and efficient. Among Taylor's proposals to make government more effective was civilianizing certain police jobs and strengthening the existing Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils

Policy and legislation

Homelessness

* In response to the 68% increase in Oakland's unhoused population, and the explosion of encampments in the city, Taylor partnered with other Councilmembers to enact the Permanent Access to Housing (PATH) plan that seeks to close the racial disparities of homelessness with a multipronged approach around (1) prevention, (2) crisis response, (3) transitional housing, and (4) long-term supportive & affordable housing. * Taylor voted for the creation of a new homeless encampment management policy that would designate high and low sensitivity areas. The homeless would be allowed to camp in low sensitivity areas. The measure was approved in October 2020 by unanimous consent of the city council. * Taylor worked with the Black Cultural Zone, a community development corporation consisting of 20 Oakland nonprofits, to establish the Akoma Outdoor Market one of several programs it runs on a city owned lot in East Oakland.

Public safety

* Taylor coauthored a resolution creating a Reimagining Public Safety Task Force charged with developing the plan to defund the Oakland Police Department by 50% and reallocate those funds to alternative public safety and crime prevention services. * Taylor coauthored a resolution that placed a measure on Oakland's November 2020 ballot to strengthen the Police Commission by retaining its autonomy and independence including during public safety emergencies.

Personal life

Taylor lives in East Oakland with his wife, Dr. Erica Taylor, with whom he has two children. He has served as PTA president, soccer coach, and Boy Scout leader.

References

External links

Loren Taylor's Official City Council Webpage

News coverage of Loren Taylor in the Mercury News

Loren Taylor on NPR's Forum with Michael Krasny (talk show host) discussing Oakland's 2020 homeless encampment management policy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Loren 1977 births 21st-century American politicians American biomedical engineers California Democrats Case Western Reserve University alumni Haas School of Business alumni Living people Oakland City Council members University of Connecticut alumni