Candidate for
Mayor; City of Oakland

I believe we can become a 21st Century Model City. I want to tap the brilliance, the genius and the creativity that exists within the residents of Oakland! With a transparent, inclusive government, we can have safe streets and quality schools; vibrant development and affordable housing; new parks and open waterfront access.

We can make municipal government serve the people of Oakland, to make the city administration effective and transparent, and to ensure that city services are delivered fairly, competently, responsively, and efficiently.

We can reduce the violence that plagues too many neighborhoods and work together with the school district to ensure students are well-educated. We can create wrap-around services including health, mental health, family counseling, and tutoring. We must maximize the potential for young people to learn while addressing the barriers to education faced by too many of Oakland's children.

How can we afford this? By working together, by leveraging existing resources, by creating public/private partnerships. We already pay tax dollars to the city, the county, the state and the federal government, but programs and services aren't coordinated. In a limited dollar environment, we must bring all parties to the table to more effectively utilize resources by leverage, communication and collaboration.

We can create a vibrant and expanding economy and stimulate development. But we need coherent and sustainable development based on a plan and a vision. We can't mortgage Oakland's future to helter-skelter development, which destroys our industrial lands and turns Oakland into a bedroom community for others. Development must be part of a larger vision + a vision for Oakland in 2020, a vision that embraces principals and high ideals.

Let's make Oakland a world-class city for the "green" industry. "Better Homes & Gardens" states that "green" building is the fastest growing phenomena they have ever seen in the home building industry. The solar industry is doubling every 3 years; wind power is doubling every year. There is no question "green-collar employment" has great potential for job growth in California.

My Administration will bring together the brilliance of the community to solve Oakland's problems. It will not be an administration of expedient policy made from on high by insiders, but a participatory one, where people feel they can put forward ideas and be part of the process by which decisions get made and implemented.

I have a thirty-year record of bringing people together for Oakland. In addition to representing your interests and views in Washington, I kept the Port competitive, while developing wetlands; brought jobs and anchored downtown development with Oakland's new federal building; was instrumental in creating the Chabot Space Center.

Let's embrace the diversity which is Oakland's strength and future and ensure that no one, particularly our youth, feels unheard, uninvolved or locked out.

I ask you to join me in making Oakland a magnificent city of the future; a 21st Century Model City!