City council candidate's fundraising money stolen by Oakland homeless woman: "I had to rely on my own resources"

They say no good deed goes unpunished.

During her campaign kickoff event on Sunday, an Oakland, California, City Council candidate who is running on a platform of addressing the city's homeless crisis and "skyrocketing levels of crime" had a bag full of donations stolen by a homeless woman. To make matters worse, she said the police never showed up when she called 911.

Charlene Wang, a candidate for the at-large seat in the California city, stated that a homeless woman grabbed a bag containing approximately $1,000 at Clinton Square Park around 4 p.m. Despite her team's attempts to recover the bag through confrontation and pleading, the woman ultimately escaped with the stolen goods, according to Wang.

The video depicts Wang pleading for the woman to return the bag, but the homeless individual becomes enraged and declines to relinquish it.

Wang politely requests the orange bag from the woman. In response, she says, "When I'm done, y'all want me to take the s--- out so y'all can snatch it and run."

A homeless woman, wearing two hats, a toggle coat, and untied sneakers, becomes agitated and threatens a volunteer while shouting incoherently.

Another volunteer with Wang offers to give her $100 in exchange for the bag, but she declines and demands the money first.

Wang's team attempted to contact homeless services on the weekend, but they were unavailable. As a result, they contacted the police, who did not respond despite having 250 other calls to attend to.

"Wang stated to Planet Chronicle digital that the absence of response from both mental health and police services was unacceptable. He pledged to increase the number of police officers and enhance mental health services to reduce response times and ensure individuals receive the necessary assistance."

Wang stated to ABC7 that the police informed her they would return later to submit a report, but she maintained that this did not occur.

"Wang tried to de-escalate the situation with her by offering her a warm meal and money in exchange for the bag, but it did not work out."

"I can only imagine the trauma she is going through living on the streets. Although I am not angry, I believe this is another instance of first responder service. I was left to fend for myself."

The Oakland Police Department (OPD) has been contacted by Planet Chronicle Digital for a comment.

If elected, Wang aims to address the escalating problems of housing costs, homelessness, and crime in Oakland.

Wang, a former Biden-Harris administration official in the Department of Transportation (DOT), is running in a nonpartisan election and will not have a party affiliation listed on the ballot.

"At the Federal Highway Administration, I assisted in launching a pilot program that provided construction job training to individuals returning from prison. Such programs significantly reduce the likelihood of reoffending and are vital components of public safety, as stated by Wang to Planet Chronicle Digital."

Wang aims to tackle public safety, lower the cost of living, and implement a new strategy for homelessness, which includes providing housing, social services, and jobs through the Oakland Corps program, with the goal of transforming the lives of homeless individuals.

Wang intends to allocate funds towards technology and manpower for the police force in Oakland, which has one of the highest violent crime rates in the country despite having an unusually small police force with a significantly lower number of officers per capita compared to the national average.

Wang's website states that he plans to tackle the rising crime and gun violence rates by combining technology with community policing through investment.

In May, the OPD reported that violent crime rates decreased in the first half of the year, with a 33% overall decline. Specifically, burglaries dropped by 50%, homicides fell by 17%, assaults decreased by 7%, and rapes were down by 21%.

According to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Oakland Report, the Oakland Police Department (OPD) is not accurately comparing crime figures for Oakland, California, and therefore, its perceived decrease in crime is misleading. The publications claim that the OPD is comparing incomplete 2024 crime tallies to complete 2023 crime tallies, which has historically resulted in underreporting when comparing the two years in this manner.