City Government

Mayoral Candidates Spar Over Homeless Solutions

Published

7 years ago

September 27, 2018

Speaking at a mayoral forum Wednesday evening at the First Presbyterian Church of Oakland were candidates (L to R): Marchon Tatmon, Pamela Price, Libby Schaaf and Cat Brooks. Photo by Ken Epstein.

Oaklanders who attended Wednesday’s mayoral forum were impressed by the civic dialogue among the candidates, although some felt incumbent Libby Schaaf struggled to respond to the criticisms of her administration.

Sponsored by the TechEquity Collaborative, East Bay for Everyone, and the Northgate Neighbors, the forum was held at the First Presbyterian Church on Broadway in Oakland on Wednesday, Sept. 26.

Nathan Moon of Northgate Neighbors said the goal of the event was to talk about “what’s true about Oakland today, and what we want to be true about Oakland during the next four years.”

Participating candidates were incumbent Libby Schaaf, local activist and radio host Cat Brooks, housing specialist Marchon Tatmon and civil rights attorney Pamela Price. The moderator was Wendy Tokuda, broadcast veteran.

Although there are other candidates in the race, this forum only invited those who had raised the highest number of individual contributions from the community, excluding candidates like Saied Karamooz, who is self-funded.

“Cat Brooks was a shining all-star, as usual,” said Oakland activist John Jones III. “But I would say Marchon Tatmon gets rookie of the year, and Pamela Price has lost no steam from her role as a civil rights attorney.”

Jones said he took pleasure in watching Tatmon’s growth throughout his campaign so far.

Community member Ken Pratt agreed that Brooks was “outstanding,” Tatmon had “upped his game,” and he said that “Libby’s up against the ropes.”

Mayor Schaaf praised what she considers her achievements over the last four years, including the construction of Tuff Shed encampments that house a handful of the city’s homeless residents, the Oakland Promise nonprofit, the Ceasefire program designed to reduce crime and her decision to warn the city about upcoming ICE raids, which angered the Trump administration.

Tatmon discussed his Oakland roots, his dedication to housing Oakland’s unhoused families and his vision for a clean, safe, and economically resilient Oakland.

Nino Parker, founder of the Homeless Green Team, an organized effort to assist homeless encampments in keeping their area clean and safe, said, “In the forums right now, I’m listening very carefully for the mayoral candidates that have the most to offer for the poor and the homeless.”

In her two-minute-response, Brooks delivered a rapid-fire list of the many steps she would take as mayor to address the city’s homeless crisis, including utilizing City-owned abandoned buildings to immediately house Oakland’s homeless neighbors.

Addressing the issue, Pamela Price said, “There’s not a shortage of funds. There’s a shortage of political will” to respond to the homeless crisis in Oakland.

All the candidates supported the Prop. 10 campaign for the repeal of the state Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act that currently forbids municipalities from extending rent control to many residential buildings.

Prop. 10 will be on the ballot in November, along with Oakland’s local elections.

Oakland has ranked choice voting, which means every voter has three votes, ranked in order of preference.

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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

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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.