Ex-NFL Star Hints At Oakland Mayoral Bid

Is Oakland about to go “beast mode”?

Marshawn Lynch, the former star NFL running back and Super Bowl champion, hinted at a possible run for mayor of Oakland on the podcast he co-hosts with his longtime agent, Doug Hendrickson, and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) this week.

“It might be a possibility,” Lynch said of a bid to lead in the embattled East Bay city.

Oakland is in the middle of one of its most turbulent times in decades, fueled by its mayor, Sheng Thao, who is being recalled next month by voters frustrated over crime, corruption, and a reluctance to hold lawbreakers accountable. Thao was also linked to an FBI investigation and had her house raided. She claims she did nothing wrong and has been the target of outside right-leaning groups that want her out.

Thao has been asked to resign by several other groups, including the Oakland Police Officers’ Association, which claimed the city has become an “international embarrassment” under her watch, and the NAACP, as well as Steve Garvey, the Republican candidate running for Senate against Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).

There are problems in Alameda County, too, where Oakland is the county seat.

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