Key Witness Set for Day 11 of Oakland Trial as Parishioners Protest

The federal public corruption trial in Oakland involving former Mayor Sheng Thao, her partner Andre Jones, and recycling executives David Duong and Andy Duong reaches Day 11 on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, with prosecution cooperating witness Mario Juarez — identified in the federal indictment as "Co-Conspirator 1" — scheduled to take the witness stand (East Bay Insiders). Across Oakland on Thursday, East Bay Catholic parishioners protested outside the Oakland Diocese office of Bishop Michael C. Barber over an Oct. 22 White House video (KTVU FOX 2).

Mario Juarez Scheduled to Testify After Former Oakland Officials Address $300,000 Modular Units

Juarez, who entered a cooperation agreement with federal prosecutors, was a central figure in the alleged scheme involving Evolutionary Homes and political influence at Oakland City Hall (East Bay Insiders). Prosecutors expect his testimony after the trial's first 2 weeks to connect recordings, text messages, photographs, and witness accounts before 4 defense teams — including Thao's attorney Jeff Tsai — begin cross-examination next week.

On Thursday, jurors heard testimony from former Oakland Assistant City Administrator LaTonda Simmons (who left City Hall in June 2025) and former City Administrator Jestin Johnson (who resigned in July), with Oakland City Attorney Ryan Richardson observing from the courtroom gallery. Johnson testified regarding concerns over the $300,000 per-unit price tag for Evolutionary Homes modular container housing units — a price previously questioned in testimony by Thao's former chief of staff Leigh Hanson and in late 2023 emails from San Leandro officials, before adding plumbing, electrical connections, and social services (East Bay Insiders).

With 4 days remaining until the November general election, East Bay Insiders also reported that Alameda County voters had returned 190,327 of 983,303 ballots (19.4%), Alameda County youth voters had returned 98 of 1,206 ballots (8.1%), and 14th Congressional District voters had returned 72,296 of 426,494 ballots (17%). In Alameda's mayoral race between Malia Vella and Tracy Jensen, mailers revisited the 2017–2018 City Hall dispute involving former City Manager Jill Keimach (who left in 2018 with a $945,000 separation agreement) and former Councilmember Jim Oddie before a 2019 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury report, while Union City District 4 candidate Vipan Bajwa contacted police and Meta over online threats in his race against Sarabjit Kaur Cheema (CheckCheema.com listed $123,150 in theoretical late-filing penalties from 2020). Form 497 filings on Oct. 29 included $48,500 for Rep. Ro Khanna (17th District), $18,500 for Lateefah Simon (12th District), $9,000 for Liz Ortega-Toro, $8,500 for Scott Sakakihara, $5,900 for San Leandro mayoral candidate Juan Gonzalez, and $5,000 each for Mark DeSaulnier (10th District), Melissa Hernandez (14th District), Buffy Wicks, and Piedmont council candidate Adam Hundt (East Bay Insiders).

East Bay Catholics Protest Outside Oakland Diocese Office Over White House Video

In Oakland on Thursday, parishioners gathered outside Bishop Michael C. Barber's Oakland Diocese office to protest an Oct. 22 White House video showing Barber and 11 other Catholic leaders praying with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office 2 weeks before the midterm elections (KTVU FOX 2). Protest organizer Roberta McLaughlin, Oakland Diocese parishioners Claire Broome and Kristin Collins, and Berkeley parishioner Jim Pawlak said the video implied church endorsement of administration policies and called on Barber to apologize, as 2 other attendees — Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee and Bishop William Joensen of Cedar Rapids, Iowa — had done in public statements.

In an Oct. 27 statement posted on the diocesan website, Barber did not apologize for attending, stating that the Catholic Church has significant disagreements with both major political parties and citing Pope Leo XIV's call to foster constructive dialogue with public authorities for the common good. Parishioners said they plan to send letters to Barber and Pope Leo XIV outlining their concerns (KTVU FOX 2).