City Government
OP-ED: Schaaf’s New Direction for Oakland
Libby Shaaf was elected as Oakland’s new moderate mayor because she offered reasonable substantive, practical solutions to many problems facing Oakland, rather than sniping at her opponents.
The incumbent was too busy congratulating herself for her mediocre results. Others seemed either content to run a popularity contest or they gave rote answers based on their ideologies rather than offer any substantive solutions.
Libby, instead, connected with voters on the issues of crime, education, jobs, and housing. She built a track record as an implementer and problem solver, which helped her assemble a refreshing, diverse coalition of supporters.
After a blizzard of mailings, I reflected on one of my grandfather’s sayings, “Stop telling me what is wrong, tell me how you are going to right it.” Unfortunately, many politicians simply think that being liked equals being able to govern. Hopefully Libby Schaaf’s election could signal an era of substantive politicians.
After serving on the council budget committee, Libby knows that we cannot simply continue to raise taxes to pay for an inefficient and ineffective city government. She has shown a willingness to tell the sacred cows that changes will occur.
For example, reform the police budget by hiring civilian workers to do some jobs that patrolmen are now doing. And there is no reason minor crime is responded to by full-uniformed officers. A simple budget solution is to hire civilians to take a report.
Libby also recognizes Oakland police cannot be an out-of-town force who looks at Oakland as a battleground. Community policing works because the officers become a part of the area they serve, not just a visitor. Having a visible presence in neighborhoods is much more effective than simply responding to 911 calls.
And speaking of which, Oakland spent millions of dollars for an ineffective, dysfunctional computer system. Yet, the previous mayor and many candidates showed no interest to raise these questions, including our auditor.
Libby identified the problem and pushed her colleagues to reform. Libby says she will support quality education plans. She also recognizes that Oakland needs a diverse jobs base, and a diverse housing stock to help attract employers to Oakland. Libby also showed an understanding of the impact city policies and taxes has on everyday citizens.
She came up with reasonable solutions to parking that alleviated excessive ticketing while making more parking available in District 4. Because of her responsiveness and service to District 4, Oakland now has a mayor who will move us in the right direction.
So now we know why Don Perata endorsed Bryan Parker. Once again he got played; the fact that Ruby, Parker, and Tuman’s spoiler strategy of telling everybody to vote for just the three of them didn’t work.
When Ruby got eliminated, the biggest block of continuing ballots from her supporters went to Schaaf. When Parker got eliminated, same thing, the biggest block went to Schaaf, and when Tuman got eliminated, more of his votes went to Schaaf than to the exhausted ballot pile.
Clinton Killian is an attorney at the downtown Oakland law firm Fried & Williams LLP and former public official. He can be reached at ckillian@postnewsgroup.com.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Alameda County
DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland
Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.
Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.
City Government
Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Special to The Post
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.
Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”
According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.
“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”
When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.
At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”
While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.
On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.
“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.
The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.
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