Most people will recognize Oakland's newest mayoral candidate not by his own name, but by his former restaurant's.
Derreck Johnson, a gay Black man and former owner and founder of the popular "Home of Chicken and Waffles" restaurant in Jack London Square, announced on Tuesday he is running for mayor of Oakland.
Johnson ran for city council in 2020, but lost to Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan. He came under criticism during the campaign after The Oaklandside reported he lost ownership of the restaurant to bankruptcy in 2017, but continued to claim he was the owner.
Mayor Libby Schaaf, whose term ends this year, endorsed Johnson during his run for city council. She has not announced who she will support during the upcoming campaign.
Johnson, a third generation Oakland resident, said he would be a community-based mayor that is "made for this moment to reverse Oakland's decline."
"If we want a different outcome then we must take leadership with a different experience outside of the system that has failed us," he said during a news conference to announce his candidacy, outside the Home of Chicken and Waffles. He characterized Oakland’s current political landscape as a "broken system" multiple times during the briefing.
Johnson emphasized that his lack of political experience would benefit the city, as he’s someone who’s worked and been a part of the community for "decades."
"I'm running for mayor because if government experience alone was enough to cure all the problems in our city, it would have been cured a long long time ago," he said. "I'm running to be a different type of mayor, one actually from the community."
"We can only see change we desire if the people that we elect in office know how to work with our community to create change."
He added that he could bring everyone in the city together as "one Oakland" that "works for all."
"I have connected people and built bridges my entire life. I know, I can bring that same mindset to city hall and unite our city."
Other people who have announced their mayoral candidacy include Councilmembers Loren Taylor and Sheng Thao, attorney Alyssa Victory, activist Derrick Soo and school board member Greg Hodge. The election is scheduled for November 8.
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