City Government

Post Endorsements: Cat Brooks, Pamela Price and Saied Karamooz for Mayor

Published

6 years ago

October 5, 2018

The Oakland Post equally endorses Cat Brooks and Pamela Price for mayor of Oakland and supports Saied Karamooz in third place on the Nov. 6 ranked choice ballot.

We recommend that voters in November choose either Cat Brooks or Pamela Price for number one and the other candidate for number two—and Saied Karamooz for number three. Do not include an unwanted candidate in your ranked vote—not first, second or third.

Journalist, actor and activist Cat Brooks, who lives in Oakland with her husband and daughter, has become prominent locally during the past few years for her courageous work for social justice—demanding an end to police brutality and accountability of officers who committed sex crimes and their superiors who covered for them.

She has fought for the mayor and city officials to end their indifference as homelessness and displacement skyrocket, calling on our leaders to listen to and incorporate voices of the homeless in fashioning real—rather than symbolic—solutions to this urgent and horrifying problem.

Born in Las Vegas, Nev., Cat Brooks has worked in Oakland for Education Trust-West, as well as executive director of Youth Together and the National Lawyers Guild. She is the co-founder of the Anti-Police-Terror Project (APTP).

Brooks’ platform, fashioned with community participation, calls for building an economy that works for all Oaklanders, “investing in job training programs, supporting cooperative efforts with businesses and recruiting companies to base in Oakland.”

Her website is www.catbrooksforoakland.com
…………………………………
Long time Oakland resident Pamela Price is a civil rights attorney who has spent her entire career advocating for justice for women and she has successfully represented victims of sex and race-based discrimination.

Growing up in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, she was emancipated at the age of 16 and went on to graduate from Yale and the UC Berkeley School of Law.She has won large settlements on behalf of victims of sexual harassment against the City of Oakland and against the California Department of Corrections (CDC).

She was one of only a handful of Black women to ever argue in front of the United States Supreme Court.
Her website is www.pamelaprice4mayor.com

“Oakland is at a crossroads – a time of opportunity and a time of challenge,” Price said at a recent candidate forum held at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland.

“If you want to live in a city without homelessness, you need to vote for a change. If you want to live in a city with clean streets and safe neighborhoods, you need to vote for a change.”
……………………………………
Saied Karamooz has served Oakland as a member of the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission and the president of the Jack London Business Improvement District. He has worked on many progressive causes: Police Accountability, Fight for 15, Stop Urban Shield, Renter Protection, Public Bank and No Coal in Oakland.

Born in Iran, he has lived in the US since 1978. A senior executive at a technology consulting firm and a software company, he directed large multi-national initiatives in Fortune 100 companies. He and his wife currently operate a start-up skincare company.
“Let’s prevent the wealthy, influential, and selfish few from hijacking our elections again,” said Karamooz on his website.

Bamboozling us with fancy words and hollow rhetoric is how politicians trick their way into office each time,” he said. Visit his platform at https ://everyonesmayor.org/speaking-the-truth/.

Despite a well-funded campaign touting Oakland’s success, the city, under the present leadership, has failed to live up to the needs of Oakland’s most vulnerable residents.

A brief drive around our city will reveal how over 6,000 of our homeless neighbors live under the freeways, in tents and cars around the city, where they are chased from here to there by police and city workers.

Piles of garbage and sewage litter city streets and unmaintained city parks, as protesters rally in front of City Hall demanding clean up.

More and more holes in the streets put drivers at risks, although voters passed measures that were supposed to produce solutions.

Meanwhile, real estate speculators are doing fine. Upscale housing, with rents as high as $8,000 a month, are going up all over the city. The present leadership refuses to adequately fund workforce training leading to sustainable jobs, which means that Oaklanders cannot afford to live in these buildings. More importantly, the mayor, who avoids the recommendations of the city’s Department of Race and Equity, has not advocated for, or expressed an interest in, any plans for the aggressive hiring of residents on these projects.

The city’s budget, fashioned by the mayor’s administration, has not come to grips with these urgent issues.

We need a mayor who will work with the community on real solutions rather than seeking to replace City Council members who push to end homelessness through affordable housing, tenant rights, police accountability, and job training funding for low-income residents.

How and Why the Post Recommends Your Votes
The Oakland Post invited community representatives to participate in panels that asked questions of City Council, mayoral candidates and school board candidates to help decide who the Post would recommend. The recommendations we make were based on the track records and experience of the individual candidates, their platforms and responses to the questions asked by the panelists.’

We thank the volunteer panelists for committing many hours to interviewing candidates and discussing endorsements. the panelists included community members who are working for police accountability, a public bank in Oakland, solutions to the city’s homelessness crisis, jobs for Oakland’s most vulnerable residents, affordable housing and an end to displacement.

The panel that spoke with school board candidates included representatives of the Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network (PLAN), school activists, Network for Public Education, professional educators and parents.

The Oakland Post editorial board takes responsibility for its recommendations.

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Activism

S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

4 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.

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Bay Area

Mayor London Breed: State Awards San Francisco Over $37M for Affordable Housing

On April 30, Mayor London N. Breed announced San Francisco has been awarded more than $37.9 million in funding from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) as part of the State’s Multifamily Housing Program (MHP). The HCD loan will provide the final funding necessary for development of Casa Adelante – 1515 South Van Ness, a 168-unit affordable housing project located in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Published

4 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed (File Photo)

By Oakland Post Staff

The HCD loan will provide the final funding necessary for development of Casa Adelante – 1515 South Van Ness, a 168-unit affordable housing project located in San Francisco’s Mission District.

The new development at 1515 South Van Ness Ave. will provide 168 affordable homes to low-income families, formerly homeless families, and persons living with HIV earning between 25-80% of the San Francisco Area Median Income (AMI).

In addition, the project is anticipated to provide family-friendly amenities and ground floor community-serving commercial spaces that preserve the prevailing neighborhood character of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District.

“This funding unlocks our ability to move on building affordable housing units for families in San Francisco at a crucial time. We understand the level of need for more housing that is accessible, and like the state, the city continues to face a challenging budget cycle,” said Breed. “1515 South Van Ness is a good example of what can be achieved in San Francisco when you have strong community partnerships and an unwavering commitment to deliver on critical needs for our residents.”

“From the beginning of my term as Supervisor, I have fought to bring affordable housing to 1515 South Van Ness” said Supervisor Hillary Ronen. “In the interim, the site has been utilized for homeless services and shelter, and I am thrilled that HCD has recognized the value of this development, and we are finally ready to break ground and bring 168 affordable homes to low income and formerly homeless families in the Mission.”

Owned and occupied by McMillan Electric Company until 2015, the City and County of San Francisco purchased 1515 South Van Ness Avenue in June 2019 with the intent of developing new affordable housing.

In November 2020, the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) released a Multi-site Request for Qualifications (RFQ) seeking qualified developers to build affordable housing on the site, and subsequently selected Chinatown Community Development Corporation (CCDC) and Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) in May 2021 to develop the site.

The project is expected to begin construction in winter 2025.

“A strong, long-term push by Mission advocates to make this site 100% affordable is now paying off, with 168 family units that include services and childcare. People of color communities know what they need, and we are excited to be in partnership with a team, consisting of MEDA, CCDC, and MOHCD, that listens,” said Malcolm Yeung, Executive Director at CCDC.

“We are excited to be in partnership with CCDC, yet again, and for the opportunity to develop intergenerational affordable housing in the City’s Mission District,” said Luis Granados, executive director at MEDA.

Increasing housing affordable to lower-income and vulnerable residents is a key priority in the City’s Housing Element which calls for additional funding for affordable housing production and preservation, as well as Mayor Breed’s Housing for All Executive Directive that sets out the steps the City will take to meet the bold goal of allowing for 82,000 new homes to be built over the next eight years.

Tuesday’s funding announcement emphasizes the importance of regional and state collaboration in order to reach our housing and climate goals.

“We are thrilled—not just to bring a project of this size to a community with great need — but to do so with community-based developers and their partners who understand the neighborhood and sensitivities around cultural preservation,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez.

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City Government

Vallejo Continues to Accept Applications for Boards, Committees and Commissions

The City of Vallejo is requesting applications to serve on a number of the City’s boards and commissions. Vallejo residents who are interested in serving on an advisory body are invited to submit an application and supplemental questionnaire for consideration.

Published

4 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Courtesy City of Vallejo.

By City of Vallejo

There are currently openings on the following boards, commissions, and committees:

Beautification Commission(2) terms expire 6/30/28
Civil Service Commission(2) terms to expire 6/30/28
Design Review Board(2) terms to expire 6/30/28
Housing & Community Development Commission(1) term to expire 6/30/28
Housing Authority(1) tenant commissioner term to expire 12/31/24
McCune Collection Commission(3) terms to expire 6/30/28
Participatory Budget Steering Committee(6 members & 3 alternates) terms expire 6/30/25
Planning Commission(2) terms to expire 6/30/28
Surveillance Advisory Board – Districts 1, 2, and 3 Members OnlyDistricts 1 & 3 terms to expire 1/2/25 and District 2 term to expire 1/5/27
Sister City Commission(1) term to expire 6/30/27
Solano Commission for Women & Girls(1) Vallejo representative can be youth or adult. Term to expire 4 years from date of appointment

For City Boards and Commissions, except for the Civil Service, McCune Collection, and Sister City Commissions, the Surveillance Advisory Board, and the Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee, all appointed members must complete and file a Statement of Economic Interests, Form 700, within 30 days of appointment.

All City Board and Commission members must complete AB 1234 Ethics training and file a Certificate of Completion within 30 days of appointment.

In most instances, to be eligible for appointment, applicants must be residents of the City of Vallejo. Information regarding the duties of each board and commission and specific criteria for appointment may be found within each application. With some exceptions, appointments are typically for a term of four years.

The application period will remain open until a sufficient number have been received in the City Clerk’s Office

Interviews with the City Council are tentatively scheduled for the evenings of June 3 and 10. Applicants must attend the interview to be considered for appointment on a board or commission.

Application forms and supplemental questionnaires are accessible in several ways:

The City’s website, located on the Boards and Commissions page
At City Hall, Office of the City Clerk, 555 Santa Clara Street, 3rd Floor, Vallejo, CA
By Email at abrahamson@cityofvallejo.net, or by phone at (707) 648-4527

By U.S. Mail: City of Vallejo, C/O City Clerk, PO Box 3068, Vallejo, CA 94590