Oakland

Opinion: It Is Fiscally Irresponsible to Delay a Public Bank in Oakland

Published

9 years ago

June 26, 2017

The Oakland City Council this week once again postponed approval of the Public Bank of Oakland Feasibility Study, despite the testimony of many supporters and a demonstration outside City Hall of dozens of paper bills hanging from the iconic Coastal Live Oak tree, symbolizing the fact that the Public Bank will “make money grow on this tree.”

The original resolution was passed last November, seven months ago. It’s now on the agenda for the July 18 meeting, postponed for another month.

It is fiscally irresponsible to keep postponing what will be a huge benefit to the city.

The good news is they had to bring in the big guns to oppose the bank, bringing in City Administrator Sabrina Landreth to present the staff report opposing moving ahead with the feasibility study. Landreth is the highest-ranking staff person in the City.

That’s a compliment to the determination and unity of the bank’s supporters.

The excuse this time was that they want those who will benefit from the bank to pony up some of the cost of the study. That sounds reasonable until you realize that they want money from cities a quarter the size of Oakland and from the cannabis industry.

Harborside Health Center alone has, over the last 10 years, paid the over $5 million in taxes. The cost of the study, $100,000, is only 1/50 of those tax monies.

At this point, it feels as though we’re trapped in some horrible fairy tale where the evil king promises the young hero his daughter’s hand in marriage, if he just kills the fire-breathing dragon.

And when the hero obediently brings the dragon’s head to the king, he laughs and says, “And now you have to clear all my fields of rats, and then you can marry my daughter.”

Oakland can afford to spend $100,000 for this study. In fact, the city can’t afford not to spend it.

Based on the experience of the highly successful public bank of North Dakota, we are losing as much as $186,000 every day that we don’t have a bank.

That means Oakland will lose $5 million between now and the next hearing because of the City Council’s failure of nerve. This is fiscal irresponsibility.

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IN MEMORIAM: Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73

Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73 Caption: Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo. Special to The Post Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love i

Published

2 days ago

June 17, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love in the comfort of her home. To her children, she was royalty, grace, strength, and unconditional love embodied.

Debra Diane Edgar was born on May 28, 1952, in San Francisco, California, to Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar. She was raised alongside her younger brother, Charles Edgar Jr., affectionately known as “Little Brother” or “Lil Bruh.” She also shared close bonds with her older siblings Carol Edgar-Lang, Maryann Edgar Calloway, and Lonnie Lewis Sr.

A proud product of San Francisco’s historic Fillmore District, Debra attended Andrew Jackson Elementary School, where she met her lifelong best friend and adopted sister, Lynn Green, in the fifth grade. She later attended Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School, Roosevelt Junior High School and Thomas Jefferson High School.

Debra’s mother transitioned when she was only 17 years old, and her father transitioned when she was 23. Despite these profound losses, Debra remained grounded through the love and support of extended family and lifelong family friends,

In 1971, she married Harold King. On Sept. 24, 1972, they welcomed their first son, Dajuan Artese King, affectionately called “Pop” or “Poppa.” On Aug. 5, 1976, they welcomed their second son, Dante Dupree King, affectionately called “Tay” or “Taboocoo the Baby.”

After her divorce in 1982, Debra assumed full responsibility for raising her sons.

She supported Dajuan’s passion for football by purchasing sports equipment and attending games faithfully. She supported Dante’s love of music by enrolling him in the San Francisco Boys Choir, Oakland Boys Choir, and the Castlemont Castleers.

Professionally, Debra built an exceptional career. She worked at Blue Shield of California from 1973 until 1994, earning multiple promotions.

She later joined the Oakland Unified School District, initially in a temporary role before being promoted into management within the Labor Relations Department. She retired from OUSD in 2015 after years of distinguished service. During her years at OUSD, she built meaningful friendships with her colleagues.

Faith was central to Debra’s life. During the 1980s, following personal hardship, she joined Love Center Church under the leadership of Bishop Walter Hawkins, where she brought her children regularly. She later became a member of Triumphant: A Church Without Walls Ministries under Pastor Dr. Larry Short, who became a beloved spiritual mentor.

After Triumphant closed in 1992, Debra joined Cosmopolitan Baptist Church in Oakland under the leadership of Pastor Larry Ashley, where she remained for the rest of her life.

At Cosmopolitan, she worked in numerous ministries. She served on the usher board, sang in the choir, participated in the AIDS ministry during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, helped feed and support unhoused community members, and mentored and supported a group of young girls.

After retirement, she cared for older adults in her church community, driving them to appointments, cleaning their homes, managing finances, preparing meals, and helping families navigate funeral arrangements after loved ones transitioned.

Even while battling Stage 4 cancer herself, she continued caring for others.

Debra was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar; her brothers, Lonnie Lewis Sr. and Charles Edgar Jr.; her sisters, Maryann Edgar Calloway and Victoria Stephenson Knight; and her adopted mother, Clara Oliver.

She leaves to cherish her memory her beloved sons, Dajuan King and Dante King; grandson, Tiyler Dajuan Artese King; sister, Carol Edgar-Lang; goddaughters Monique Belle and Ricketa Matthews Jones (Leonard); daughter-in-love Quiona Sullivan; son-in-love Marcel Walker; sister-in-law Delores Lewis; adopted sisters and lifelong friends Lynn Green, Barbara Stephenson Hill, and Sarah Fine; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, great-nieces, great-nephews, extended family members, her church family and dear friends.