Bay Area

Black Businesses May Get Bigger Slice of City Contracting Pie

“I think it is a step in the right direction,” said David Peters, though he thinks the ordinance could be stronger.
“I think we are off to a good start,” said general contractor Mario Wagner, who owns RF Contractors in Oakland.
To the previous ordinance, Taylor made eight changes, several of which are small and technical in nature, including the truck storage requirements for the Local Oakland Local/Small Business Enterprise Trucking Certification Program.

Published

3 years ago

February 18, 2021

Kiki

Councilmember Loren Taylor

Black business owners may get more work with the city of Oakland following a City Council vote Tuesday afternoon.

Councilmembers voted 7-0 for the Local Business Empowerment Through Contracting ordinance, which aims to improve equity in city contracting and help Oakland small businesses weather the pandemic.

The ordinance goes into effect immediately because it passed with six or more votes. Councilmember Sheng Thao was excused.

“This is just the beginning,” Councilmember Loren Taylor, co-sponsor of the ordinance, said before the vote. “We have a long way to go.”

Black-owned firms certified as Local/Small Local Business Enterprises lost $42.9 million in city contracts between 2011 and 2016, according to the 2017 Race and Gender Disparity Study by Mason Tillman Associates. In other words, those businesses were expected to be awarded $42.9 million more, given their eligibility.

Overall, Black businesses lost more than $56 million in contract opportunities over the period covered by the disparity study.

A likely example is Oakland-based Carol H. Williams Advertising. After nearly 35 years in business, Williams has never had a contract with the city, a member of her staff told the council. The staff member called that fact “disturbing.”

Carol H. Williams Advertising has done work for the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Dept. of Defense, New York City and is currently doing work for Kaiser Permanente.

Preceding the vote, several people spoke in favor of the ordinance.

“I think it is a step in the right direction,” said David Peters, though he thinks the ordinance could be stronger.

“I think we are off to a good start,” said general contractor Mario Wagner, who owns RF Contractors in Oakland.

To the previous ordinance, Taylor made eight changes, several of which are small and technical in nature, including the truck storage requirements for the Local Oakland Local/Small Business Enterprise Trucking Certification Program.

Taylor also created a new business certification category called the Small Business Administration-Local Oakland Business Enterprise, and redefined and expanded the meaning of a “substantial business presence” and “local manufacturer” as evidence of a business’ presence in the city.

Previously a business needed only to have one employee working in the city and a 12-month lease to be considered a local business.

The ordinance increases the employee presence to 20% of a company’s staff, or a minimum of 50 employees, which makes it harder for larger companies to out-compete smaller firms in Oakland.

Just before Tuesday’s vote, Ed Dillard, president of the Oakland Black Board of Trade and Commerce, said, “It is a first step, Councilmember Taylor, and it is a monumental step.”

But like Taylor, Dillard thinks much more needs to be done.

Taylor said he’ll be back in later in the year to present more changes. Councilmember Treva Reid co-sponsored the ordinance with Taylor.

Kiki

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

6 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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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.

Published

1 week ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

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.

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”