Candidate for
Council Member; City of Oakland; District 2

Together, we must invest in the prosperity of Oakland and make local government work effectively for our families, youth, and seniors. Our policy priorities must strengthen our community - when our community succeeds, we all succeed.

As your city councilmember, I will work to:

• Invest In Our Local Economy. Implement a jobs and economic development plan that: (a) best leverages federal dollars to benefit our community, (b) encourages fiscally and socially responsible lending and investments in our local workforce economy, and (c) strengthens Oakland's businesses, homeowners, and entrepreneurs.

• Invest In Our Young People. Strengthen collaborative partnership with the School District to address high truancy and low graduation rates for our young people.

• Invest In Public Safety. Prioritize public safety by: (a) addressing the root causes of crime by instituting a multi-strategy of violence prevention, intervention, and enforcement, and (b) ensuring a properly staffed, responsive, and accountable Police Department.

• Invest In Effective Land Use. Implement a smart long term strategic plan for land use and zoning that will build a more sustainable and prosperous Oakland.

• Invest In Building Our Community. Build community by: (a) making our neighborhoods environmentally just and safe, (b) improving our health, (c) supporting our youth, and (d) ensuring a good quality of life.

We must solve our budget crisis. The City needs to address its budget in a fundamentally different way. The City's budget is currently operating in a vacuum and does not provide any solutions for the continued deficits we will be facing due to these structural barriers. We will be having the same budget conversations year after year, unless we address the structural flaws in the City budget.

We need to implement a vision of smart, long-term growth that includes:

• Fixing our structural deficits to balance the budget's spending and revenue,

• Support our local businesses through successful business development and retention,

• Develop an aggressive business recruitment strategy to come to Oakland, and

• Improve on our workforce development strategies to prepare our residence for new and emerging industries.

We must mandate Oakland development to keep businesses and jobs in Oakland. We must have a concrete comprehensive plan for how to generate revenue for the long term.

Most importantly, by supporting our local workforce, through ground breaking green jobs, the biotech and health industry, and industrial jobs with a career ladder, we have the ability to invest in the growth of our local workforce and economy. This can best be implemented by promoting job training centers partnered with the neighborhoods, businesses, and community groups to support those most in need.

Part of the solution is breaking through the City's budget vacuum and developing a comprehensive plan that partners with the immense amount of talent and skills in Oakland's non-profit sector and business community. They are part of the solution.

Furthermore, by encouraging fiscally and socially responsible lending and investments in our local economy, we can strengthen Oakland's businesses, homeowners, and entrepreneurs. It is imperative the City audit and collect all available revenue. An opportunity is available to secure community reinvestment by regulating local check cashing, money transfers, and pay day loans.

INVEST IN OUR YOUNG PEOPLE

The City's charter strictly limits the role that the City may take in Oakland's educational system. However, the City must prioritize solving Oakland's high truancy rate and low graduation rates. The City must further develop a strong community partnership with the School District and implement real solutions that lift up our young people. We can no longer turn our backs on thousands of habitually truant students who are being failed by California's broken educational system. We can chart a new course by working together and creating a true partnership with the City of Oakland, the School District, community groups, and the business sector to build a pipeline for success that prepares our young people for college and/or careers. To keep the doors of opportunity open, we must strengthen student retention programs and centers that effectively target our most vulnerable communities.

INVEST IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Recent violence in our community highlights the need for us to work together as a community. From developing smart re-entry programs and services so that Oakland's recidivism rates do not continue to climb to implementing the county juvenile justice court so a true restorative justice model for our youth gets them back on track, there are many methods to creating safe public spaces, promoting safer streets, and ensuring a good quality of life for our everyone.

Crime is expensive. In order to provide a safe and sustainable future for Oakland, it is critical to address and solve the root causes of crime. We cannot rely on only one strategy to make our neighborhoods safe. It is vital to address public safety from multiple angles, including providing good jobs and good schools. One example is fixing Measure Y which supports successful violence prevention and intervention programs, so that it is fully implemented and sets out to accomplish its main intent.

We must have a properly staffed, responsive, and accountable Police Department. Most recently, there have been major debates and layoffs regarding police staffing levels and the elimination of community policing services. The violence in our community isn't caused by one person, one city agency, or one failure. The unacceptable violence in our community highlights the need for us to work together. We must reach out to all of the talented members of our community to develop a sustainable model for community policing.

INVEST IN EFFECTIVE LAND USE

For many years, Oakland has struggled to implement a strong strategic plan for land use and zoning. It is important that these plans are consistent with green sustainable development that provides good housing and reliable transit. From preserving existing affordable rental and senior housing to preventing involuntary displacement and foreclosures, it is important to prioritize how we keep Oaklanders in Oakland.

To build a more sustainable Oakland, it is vital to invest in accessible public transportation, pedestrian and bicycle friendly streets, and reasonable parking solutions so we reduce greenhouse emissions and traffic congestion, while supporting our local businesses. Furthermore, our streets should be well lit and maintained while Lake Merritt is kept clean to create a healthy and livable environment.

Most immediately, the Lake Merritt BART Development is a tremendous opportunity to support local businesses, provide local job opportunities, expand public transportation, and building a safe community for our neighborhood.

By building a smart long term strategic plan for land use, we can better finance City projects through multi-jurisdictional partnerships. Whether it's building a retail district or a health clinic, we have the responsibility to build a City that we can all be proud of and that will last for decades to come.

INVEST IN BUILDING OUR COMMUNITY

By addressing many of the systemic barriers in the City of Oakland, we can then better serve our community + from our streets, parks, and libraries. Oaklanders are hungry for community programming, events, and festivals. In these tough economic times, families are looking for safe community events that used to be in existence like the Annual Dragon Boat Race or the Night Market. Instead of eliminating successful community programs due to budget constraints, it is important now more than ever before, to identify and partner with key investors to build a safe and healthy Oakland.