Taylor was born in Oakland,California,in 1977. A third-generation resident of Oakland,he spent his childhood there. Taylor attended Joaquin Miller Elementary,[2] Montera Junior High School and The College Preparatory School,graduating in 1995. [3]
Taylor worked as a biomedical engineer and management consultant for businesses and nonprofit organizations.[5] His community involvement included serving as a board member of the 100 Black Men of the Bay Area and the West Oakland Health Center.[6]
Political career
Taylor first ran for public office in 2018,defeating 16-year incumbent Desley Brooks with 64.3% of the vote after 5 rounds of ranked choice voting.[7]
Following his term in Oakland City Council,Loren founded Empower Oakland,an advocacy organization focused on educating and engage Oakland residents on city issues. [8]
Oakland City Council
Homelessness
In response to the 68% increase in Oakland's unhoused population,and the explosion of encampments in the city,Taylor partnered with other council members to enact the Permanent Access to Housing (PATH) plan that seeks to close the racial disparities of homelessness.[9]
Taylor voted for the creation of a new homeless encampment management policy that would designate high and low sensitivity areas. The homeless would be allowed to camp in low sensitivity areas. [10] The measure was approved in October 2020 by unanimous consent of the city council.[11]
Taylor worked with the Black Cultural Zone,a community development corporation consisting of 20 Oakland nonprofits,to establish the Akoma Outdoor Market one of several programs it runs on a city owned lot in East Oakland.[12][13]
Economic and Small Business Development
Taylor helped secure funding from Google in a public-private partnership to build out a new commercial kitchen for aspiring restauranteurs at the Arroyo Viejo recreation center in East Oakland.[14]
Taylor recruited UC Berkeley Haas School of Business students to advise and partner with Oakland entrepreneurs [15]
Taylor has called for funding three academies a year to bring the police department up to 800 officers within three years and investing in more technology,including license plate readers,drones and voice recognition. [17]
City Budget
Taylor said there isn’t a silver bullet to fix Oakland’s budget crisis and that the city must make “tough,hard,necessary choices”to balance revenue with expenses. He believes the city needs to refinance its debt and reevaluate its pension liabilities. [18]
Homelessness
Taylor said he believes solving homelessness means getting people housed and that he will prioritize fully implementing Oakland’s encampment management policy. [19]
Personal life
Taylor lives in East Oakland with his wife,Dr. Erica Taylor,with whom he has two children.[20][21]
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