City Government

Mayor Libby Schaaf’s Administration and Her Allies Block Funding for Construction Job Training

Published

8 years ago

June 15, 2018

By Desley Brooks | District 6 Council- member

In Part I of this article, Councilmember Brooks wrote that “The Council, Mayor and Administration have once again failed to deliver for our residents who are being left out of this boom economy,” basing their opposition on a legal argument.
Councilmembers Rebecca Kaplan and Noel Gallo voted last week for spending city money to support construction job training for Oakland workers.

It is this kind of “analysis” and “opinion making” around our status quo workforce system and reliance on the Workforce Investment Board that has delayed real workforce investment, kept 20 percent of African Americans and 11 percent of Latinos unemployed and continues to move generations of disenfranchised old Oaklanders out of Oakland through gentrification and displacement.

I had my staff contact the Regional Director of the Department of Labor, who is responsible for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), to ask two questions:

When a municipality spends non-WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act) monies on job training, does it need to get approval from the Workforce Investment Board (WIB)?
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) states that it is the vision of the WIB to have one comprehensive plan, but is it mandated that there be only one plan?

The Regional Director replied as follows: “Non WIOA monies are not subject to those restrictions. and the ‘vision for a comprehensive plan’ does not restrict municipalities from funding whatever job training they want.”
Amid a worsening homeless crisis, record displacement and Black youth unemployment over 30 percent, Mayor Schaaf, the City Attorney and their allies on City Council would rather play politics than propose a better solution to meaningfully address this crisis in our community.

The jobs legislation was modeled on policy the city passed years before to spend millions of public dollars directly to artists. Instead, the “Percent for Job Training” legislation failed with no counter solution. The legislation had proposed to invest over $6 million per year to successfully train, place and retain Oakland’s long disregarded Black and Brown women, youth and formerly incarcerated communities into career jobs.
This is especially frustrating because the City’s own data backs up stories I hear every day from constituents clearly showing that our community desperately needs major investment in job training and career development with room for advancement.

So, what do we do when innovative measures are stalled by months of political gamesmanship by Mayor Libby Schaaf’s administration and her allies? What do we do when there continues to be a pattern that mainstream media still has not connected the dots on where Mayor Schaaf fails (many times intentionally) to implement Council ideas and policy?

If you haven’t followed the lack of follow through by the Administration, readers should look at two recent articles where Mayor’s Schaaf’s administration has continued to fail to provide leadership to implement Council policy (especially ones I have pushed for) and failing to spend nearly $8 million in funding to help stabilize and invest in Oakland’s neediest communities of color.

Oakland Failed to Spend $2.2 Million on Anti Displacement and Homeless Assistance
Oakland drags its feet in helping equity pot startups

The East Bay Express reported on Schaaf’s administration sat on millions to address the homeless crisis for over 11 months during a time when the city’s homeless population has been swelling and long-term residents, many of whom do not have the incomes to sustain high rents and skyrocketing home prices, are driven from the city.

The SF Chronicle shows that despite some of my Council colleagues and my efforts to push for innovative equity approaches to protect and support poor and working families, the mayor’s administration stalls implementation of our policy, the result, Oakland’s low-income communities of color are left out or pushed out.

Back to investment in jobs, as a token, the Mayor did offer $275,000 in one-time funding for job training, preparation and placement, a fraction of the over $6 million needed per year.

Mayor Schaaf’s proposed $275,000 would train and place an estimated 40 people versus the proposal authored by myself and Councilmember Gallo would support 900 to 1,000 people per year.

With Black youth unemployment and dropout rates at over 30 percent and Summer upon us, it is especially appalling that Mayor Schaaf would commit less than five percent of what we’re asking.
It is past the time to pass this legislation and deliver equity on jobs!

Please join me in calling on the City to support working families like they do artists. We shouldn’t have to struggle with Oakland’s status quo administration that would rather criticize innovation, sit on millions of dollars or throw pennies at systemic problems.

To get involved in this effort to win a “Percent for Jobs” please email me directly at desleyb@gmail.com.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

6 days ago

December 25, 2025

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

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.

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Black Arts Movement Business District Named New Cultural District in California

Located in the heart of District 3, the BAMBD is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most important centers of Black cultural production — a space where artists, entrepreneurs, organizers, and cultural workers have shaped generations of local and national identity. The state’s recognition affirms the district’s historic importance and its future promise.

Published

1 week ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Carroll Fife celebrates major milestone for Black arts, culture, and economic power in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

Oakland’s Black Arts Movement Business District (BAMBD) has been selected as one of California’s 10 new state-designated Cultural Districts, a distinction awarded by the California Arts Council (CAC), according to a media statement released by Councilmember Carroll Fife.

The BAMBD now joins 23 other districts across the state recognized for their deep cultural legacy, artistic excellence, and contributions to California’s creative economy.

“This designation is a testament to what Black Oakland has built — and what we continue to build when we insist on investing in our own cultural and economic power,” said Fife.

“For years, our community has fought for meaningful recognition and resources for the Black Arts Movement Business District,” she said. “This announcement validates that work and ensures that BAMBD receives the support it needs to grow, thrive, and continue shaping the cultural fabric of California.”

Since taking office, Fife has led and supported multiple initiatives that strengthened the groundwork for this achievement, including:

Restoring and protecting arts and cultural staffing within the City of Oakland.
Creating the West Oakland Community Fund to reinvest in historically excluded communities
Advancing a Black New Deal study to expand economic opportunity for Black Oakland
Ensuring racial equity impact analyses for development proposals, improving access for Black businesses and Black contractors
Introduced legislation and budget amendments that formalized, protected, and expanded the BAMBD

“These efforts weren’t abstract,” Fife said. “They were intentional, coordinated, and rooted in a belief that Black arts and Black businesses deserve deep, sustained public investment.”

As part of the Cultural District designation, BAMBD will receive:

$10,000 over two years
Dedicated technical assistance
Statewide marketing and branding support
Official designation from Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2030

This support will elevate the visibility of BAMBD’s artists, cultural organizations, small businesses, and legacy institutions, while helping attract new investment to the district.

“The BAMBD has always been more than a district,” Fife continued. “This recognition by the State of California gives us another tool in the fight to preserve Black culture, build Black economic power, and protect the families and institutions that make Oakland strong.”

For questions, contact Councilmember Carroll Fife at CFife@oaklandca.gov.