WI: Bobby Seale Wins Election for Mayor of Oakland?

In 1973 Bobby Seale, the Black Panther leader, ran for mayor of Oakland against the incumbent, and for a while it looked as if he would win. The campaign attempted to mobilize every resource from the BPP nationally and concentrate it in Oakland, and the plan after a victory was to try and turn Oakland into a sort of example city, what local administration could do to liberate black people and reject capitalism, etc.

What if Seale had won? If he had been successful in helping shape Oakland into the sort of community that the BPP had wanted, what would it look like? What would be the consequences of this victory nationally?
 
In 1973 Bobby Seale, the Black Panther leader, ran for mayor of Oakland against the incumbent, and for a while it looked as if he would win. . .
And yes, people somehow forget, the Black Panthers were all about elections. You'd still have most of the items of the city budget locked in, pensions for retired city workers, existing contracts for companies providing goods and services to the city, etc. You'd have a police union to deal with.

I'm assuming the Panthers would also win a majority or near-majority on city council?
 
Top