{"id":38097,"date":"2026-08-11T06:41:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T01:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=38097"},"modified":"2026-08-11T06:41:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T01:41:59","slug":"activists-should-leave-self-governing-piedmont-enclave-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=38097","title":{"rendered":"Activists should leave self-governing Piedmont enclave alone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2Fpiedmont-comp.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A city is under fire for the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/10\/us-news\/cancel-piedmont-movement-gains-momentum-in-oakland\/\">unforgivable crime of\u00a0<em>actually working<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This tiny town of 11,000 inhabitants is stuck like a stubborn raisin literally inside the geographic boundaries of Oakland. Piedmont has spent literal generations doing the stuff people across America claim they want from government: strong schools, clean streets, safe parks, working cops and neighbors who show up to meetings instead of just yelling on social media.<\/p>\n<p>Naturally, activists just outside Piedmont\u2019s city limit have decided this intolerable. \u201cIt must be stopped,\u201d they protest.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Jesse Rosemoore is a professional transit planner who\u2019s been hawking \u201cCANCEL PIEDMONT\u201d stickers and shirts. <span class=\"credit\">Instagram\/@jesseseriousdude<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The latest crusade comes <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/10\/us-news\/cancel-piedmont-movement-gains-momentum-in-oakland\/\">courtesy of Oakland\u2019s Jesse Rosemoore<\/a>. He\u2019s a professional transit planner who\u2019s been hawking \u201cCANCEL PIEDMONT\u201d stickers and $10 T-shirts for over a year like some kind of vengeful street vendor.<\/p>\n<p>His big idea? Piedmont is too successful, too orderly, too prosperous, and \u2014 horror of horrors \u2014 too independent.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Attractive homes, high property values, engaged parents and schools that don\u2019t make parents weep? Clearly this is a crisis that demands the nuclear option.<\/p>\n<p>Piedmont has been a charter city since 1923. That\u2019s local democracy, folks: residents elect their own leaders, vote on their own taxes and hold their own officials accountable.\u00a0Residents of Piedmont have the same right to self-determination as residents of Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco or any other California city.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>A large pile of debris from a homeless encampment in Oakland. <span class=\"credit\">MediaNews Group via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But to the cancel crowd, democracy only counts when the voters pick the \u201ccorrect\u201d outcome. Outsiders know better, apparently.<\/p>\n<p>Why let the people of Piedmont live their comfy lives when you can just declare the whole place illegitimate from the armchairs of a neighboring city with its own set of challenges?<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s be clear: Piedmont didn\u2019t get this way by magic or secret hedge-trimming cabals.\u00a0Families, teachers, taxpayers and volunteers put in the time and money. The schools perform. The streets stay clean and safe. People pay attention.<\/p>\n<p>High home prices? That\u2019s what happens when demand builds for a place that works.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Piedmont has spent literal generations doing the stuff people across America claim they want from government. <span class=\"credit\">Nathan Weyland<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Same story in Atherton, Hillsborough and Beverly Hills. Success is contagious.<\/p>\n<p>Rosemoore and company admit Oakland has\u00a0<em>zero<\/em>\u00a0realistic shot at annexing the place. That would require Piedmont voters to agree to it. So the whole \u201ccancel\u201d routine is pure theater \u2014 stickers, slogans and moral superiority without the messy business of actual governance.<\/p>\n<p>Piedmont already has to meet California\u2019s housing targets (587 units this cycle, including lower-income ones). Judge it on whether it follows the law, not on whether its existence offends the sensitivity of people who prefer tearing down to building up.<\/p>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Cali - Morning Report\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia&#8217;s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The cancel campaign confuses resentment with reform. A city that delivers results isn\u2019t a problem to be erased. It\u2019s proof that local democracy can still produce something better than Oakland\u2019s chaos and excuses.<\/p>\n<p>Piedmont isn\u2019t perfect. It just works better than the alternative the stickers are selling.<\/p>\n<p>So hands off. Let the people who live there keep running their town. And maybe, just maybe, take a few notes instead of trying to burn the model.<\/p>\n<p><em>Richie Greenberg is a political commentator based on San Francisco.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A city is under fire for the unforgivable crime of\u00a0actually working. This tiny town of 11,000 inhabitants is stuck like a stubborn raisin literally inside the geographic boundaries of Oakland. Piedmont has spent literal generations doing the stuff people across America claim they want from government: strong schools, clean streets, safe parks, working cops and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/piedmont-comp.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}