Mark Rendón Receives Unanimous Endorsement from the Oakland Education Association

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oakland, CA – September 17, 2026

The Executive Board and the Representative Council of the Oakland Education Association (OEA) gave their unanimous endorsements for Mark Rendón for State Assembly, AD-14. Watch Rendón’s endorsement interview with the OEA here.

Rendón has strong ties with the OEA, as he taught in the Oakland Unified School District for 29 years and was an active union member. He was an elected leader and served in various capacities, including site representative, secretary, and treasurer. He spoke fondly of the historic 1995 strike in Oakland with the core demand of smaller classroom sizes. “While we didn’t win that demand at the time, the state of California later passed a bill mandating smaller class sizes. We contributed to that political pressure,” Rendón said.

The endorsement from the Oakland Education Association along with the recent endorsement from the Richmond Progressive Alliance points to profound discontent among organized labor and progressives with the incumbent Assemblymember, Buffy Wicks (D). Their memberships and resources will also boost Rendón’s grassroots campaign significantly.

Assemblymember Wicks, in contrast, does not appear to be actively campaigning on the ground for re-election. Neither she nor representatives from the AD-14 office were present at the recent Solano Stroll festival, whereas Rendón advertised his campaign in a booth with the Alameda County Green Party.

About Mark Rendón for State Assembly:

Mark Rendón is a longtime public educator, who taught music for 29 years as part of the Oakland Unified School District. An accomplished political organizer, he is running for State Assembly in AD-14, which includes Piedmont, Berkeley, Richmond, El Cerrito, and San Pablo. His campaign is focused on CalCare, single payer healthcare for Californians, social housing, free lifelong public education, a rapid transition to renewable energy, and divestment from genocide.

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