OaklandDebate Club

Debate, Oakland style. Oakland is one of the West's essential cities, home to about 440,646 people and anchored by Lake Merritt and Temescal. The club brings that civic energy into structured debates on the questions Oakland cares about, from local issues to national ones.

Open

Meetups taking shape

These are planning targets. Read the current details before making travel or attendance plans.

Oakland Debate Club MeetupTarget: January 2027

Upcoming eventsTimes shown in each event’s local time

No events scheduled yet

When the club schedules a meeting or debate, it appears here first.

What Oakland wants to debateVote for the resolutions you want the club to take on

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Housing
Resolved: Our city should allow apartments on every residential street.
More homes near jobs and transit could bring rents down. Neighbors worry about parking, traffic and the character of the streets they chose to live on.
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Transit
Resolved: Public transit in our city should be free to ride.
Free fares could help the people who need transit most and fill more seats. Critics say the money is better spent making service faster and more reliable.
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Economy
Resolved: Our city should not spend public money on stadiums for privately owned teams.
Supporters of public funding point to jobs, visitors and civic pride. Opponents ask why taxpayers should pay for a building whose profits go to an owner.
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Economy
Resolved: Remote work has been good for our city.
It gave workers flexibility and time back from commuting. It also emptied downtown offices and hurt the businesses that relied on them.
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Civic life
Resolved: Our downtown should close its main streets to cars on weekends.
Car-free streets could bring people, events and business into the center. Shop owners and drivers worry about access, deliveries and parking.