Aaron Clay

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Aaron Clay

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Morehouse College

Law

Loyola University Chicago

Contact

Campaign website

Aaron Clay ran for election to the Oakland City Council to represent District 7 in California. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Clay completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Clay earned a bachelor's degree from Morehouse College and a J.D. from Loyola University Chicago.

Elections

2020

See also: City elections in Oakland, California (2020)

General election

General election for Oakland City Council District 7

Select round: Round 4 Round 3 Round 2 Round 1

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Treva Reid in round 4 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Treva Reid	60.1	10,574	1,915	Won (4)
	Submit photo	Robert Jackson	39.9	7,029	1,667	4
		Aaron Clay	0.0	0	-4,633	4
		Marcie Hodge	0.0	0	0	3
	Submit photo	Marchon Tatmon	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Treva Reid	46.4	8,659	1,309	Won (4)
	Submit photo	Robert Jackson	28.7	5,362	531	4
		Aaron Clay	24.8	4,633	863	4
		Marcie Hodge	0.0	0	-3,228	3
	Submit photo	Marchon Tatmon	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Treva Reid	38.3	7,350	487	Won (4)
	Submit photo	Robert Jackson	25.2	4,831	359	4
		Aaron Clay	19.7	3,770	561	4
		Marcie Hodge	16.8	3,228	454	3
	Submit photo	Marchon Tatmon	0.0	0	-1,775	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Treva Reid	35.9	6,863	0	Won (4)
	Submit photo	Robert Jackson	23.4	4,472	0	4
		Aaron Clay	16.8	3,209	0	4
		Marcie Hodge	14.5	2,774	0	3
	Submit photo	Marchon Tatmon	9.3	1,775	0	2

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,093
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Aaron Clay completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Clay's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a community development professional whose entire career has been spent helping develop and provide resources for underserved communities. I have received global and national awards for creating innovative, large-scale community solar renewable energy projects - projects whose benefits stay in the underserved communities where they belong instead of being carried away to the big utility companies where they usually go.

I practiced law as a real estate community development attorney, representing churches, non-profit organizations, and individuals fighting to save their homes against banks in over 100 foreclosure cases. I represented city and county economic development projects to create community revitalization projects utilizing public-private partnerships using federal tax credit financing. I started and led free community legal clinics through church partnerships for those who could not afford to hire an attorney.

I have also worked in East Oakland serving our children as a teacher, in the Oakland Unified School District, and I serve on the Board of Directors of Youth Uprising, an East Oakland non-profit organization that develops leadership, mental well-being, community connections, educational attainment, and career achievement in East Oakland youth.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Everyone deserves to be housed. I vow to bring more housing to District 7, with the understanding that if we don't focus on affordable housing opportunities, we will continue to push out longtime residents facing difficult economic realities. A strong District 7 provides shelter for every resident, which is why I will renew a focus on affordable housing and transitional supportive housing for our neighbors coming out of homeless situations.
• Oakland spends more on our police force per capita than any other city in the country. I'm proud to see that we're able to have difficult conversations on the realities of public safety today, and realize that it is long overdue to reimagine new solutions. This means creating new programs and first-response systems that address the root causes of many crimes, such as poverty and mental health.
• As a small business owner and public school teacher, it is deeply important to me that our children see a future for themselves. When I look at District 7, I see so many opportunities for inclusive economic development. I am eager to put my background as a CEO and community development professional to work. We can build a vibrant economy that supports job creation and small businesses and serves the people of District 7 - one that builds a pipeline for our children to create opportunities they may not have thought were possible.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

To East Oakland residents, it's become normal for homelessness to be a constant, looming threat over them, their families, and their friends. They think it's normal to walk past piles of trash on every street corner and abandoned cars on every block. They think it's normal for schools to lack basic supplies, to work multiple jobs that could disappear at any time, for life expectancy to be years lower in the flatlands than it is in the hills they look up at every day because of worsening air quality. More than anything, we've allowed it to become normal for them not to expect anything better - or anything at all - from anyone whose job it is to change things for the better. That is, a competent, strong, decisive city government that does something as simple and fundamental as listening to their concerns and taking action that they can see. We need to show the world, but more than that we need to show our own people that when we band together and say we've had enough, we can take charge of our lives and our neighborhoods and give our community the love and attention that will turn East Oakland into the paradise its people deserve.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

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