A pro-police shift may also be happening in Oakland, Calif., where Sheng Thao, a Hmong American member of the City Council, recently announced that she would run for mayor in the 2022 election. Oakland, like many cities across the country, has seen a spike in its homicide rate as well as a nationally publicized rash of smash-and-grab burglaries. The city also came into the spotlight during the Stop Asian Hate movement for a series of attacks this past year, one of which ended in the death of a 75-year-old man.

In September, Thao argued for the addition of two police academies. She also has proposed offering a signing bonus for any officer who joins the Oakland Police Department and commits to staying for at least five years. A self-described progressive, Thao not only wants to fund the police; she wants to give them an extra $50,000.

Outside of her views on policing, Thao’s pitch to Oakland isn’t all that different from those of other progressive candidates of color across the country: She says she understands the struggles of poor people because she lived through them herself. She is also for affordable housing, tenants’ rights and labor protections.