By Magaly Muñoz, Post Staff

At a special City Council meeting in City Hall Tuesday afternoon, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao laid out her current and future plans for community safety.

For some time, public safety has been a major issue in Oakland. City leaders and business owners have been critical of the city’s lack of initiative in responding to their concerns.

Thao reflected on the initiatives she has implemented during her first ten months in office. She mentioned the increased investment in the Mobile Assistance Community Responders (MACRO) program, which sends trained mental health professionals to non-violent mental health and non-criminal situations.

She also highlighted the additional funding for six new police academies and the expansion of foot patrol police throughout the city.

Mayor Sheng Thao several initiatives that include more community policing. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Her new efforts are to enhance 911 police dispatching, add 300 new license plate readers, and put community ambassadors, security personnel, security cameras, and other additional infrastructure in high-traffic areas of the city.

Thao said she’s been listening to the community’s concerns and understands that things like violence prevention and community safety contribute to the overall improvement of the city.

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“I know we have work to do, but we can only do it if we all come together,” Thao said.

The mayor also committed to investing in homelessness and housing issues in Oakland and to collaborate with as many officials and communities as possible to combat the housing crisis.

According to a 2023 article by Business Insider, Oakland ranks among the largest cities in California with the highest cost of living, with rent averaging about $2,700 per month and four-bedroom homes priced at approximately $900,000.

One of Thao’s initiatives involves collaborating with other Bay Area mayors to place a housing measure on the November 2024 ballot to expand the construction of affordable housing throughout the region.

The plan also includes $200 million for creating affordable housing units over the next two years, $53 million in state grant funding to construct 1,000 new affordable housing units, and preservation of 134 affordable units through Oaklands’s Acquisition and Conversion to Affordable Housing program.

As businesses struggle to stay open, Thao affirmed that she’s committed to revitalizing the city’s tourism. She has partnered with Visit Oakland and Activate Oakland to reinvest in the commercial areas to promote economic recovery from the effects of the pandemic.

This plan includes launching “Five after Five,” a pilot program to allow parking in the 19th Street Garage from 5:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. for only $5, Thursday through Saturday, to bolster Oakland’s nightlife, concert venues, and weekend shopping.

“All of these investments we’re making in Oakland are contributing to making more businesses stick here in Oakland, more businesses expanding in Oakland, and more businesses coming to Oakland,” Thao said.

Thao took responsibility for missing out on the Organized Retail Theft Prevention Grant, stating, “I own that, the buck stops with me.” She declared that she is fast-tracking the recruitment of a grants coordinator and bringing in more grant management expertise. Additionally, she announced plans to upgrade and modernize the city’s grant management software tools.

Thao concluded her address by saying she’s “up for the challenge” to make Oakland a better place to live. Her final words were, “Let’s unite for Oakland. Let’s fight for Oakland. This is our city. This is our fight, and this is our future. Thank you all so much for joining me.”

Despite the extensive commitments Thao made in the agenda to ensure Oakland’s safety and success, people questioned her absence during the public comment, bypassing the opportunity to hear community feedback.

“You need to be here to listen; you gotta listen to what we’re saying,” Edwin Escobar said. “Hear us because we need you to do your job. People are dying; businesses are closing. This is real; the struggle is real.”

Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas said that the city officials have been working and will continue to work to give the community the basics, making sure that everyone from kids to seniors feel safe and that businesses feel like they have a place to thrive.

“We have to do better because we all deserve a stronger and safer, more united Oakland,” Bas said.

Magaly Muñoz

A graduate of Sacramento State University, Magaly Muñoz’s journalism experience includes working for the State Hornet, the university’s student-run newspaper and conducting research and producing projects for “All Things Considered” at National Public Radio. She also was a community reporter for El Timpano, serving Latino and Mayan communities, and contributed to the Sacramento Observer, the area’s African American newspaper.

Muñoz is one of 40 early career journalists who are part of the California Local News Fellowship program, a state-funded initiative designed to strengthen local news reporting in California, with a focus on underserved communities.

The fellowship program places journalism fellows throughout the state in two-year, full-time reporting positions.

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