Government
Rebecca Kaplan, Incumbent Oakland City Councilmember At-Large Seeks Re-Election
This is the second in a series of three, profiling the three candidates who are running for the Oakland City Councilmember At-Large position.
Rebecca Kaplan, who has served as the At-Large representative to the Oakland City Council since 2008, is running for re-election to continue to work on three major issues: homelessness, police accountability, and environmental injustice, especially in East and West Oakland.
Kaplan is the first openly LGBT elected official in Oakland where she was elected president of the City Council by a unanimous vote in 2019 and is running for re-election against Derreck Johnson and Nancy Sidebotham.
Born in 1970 in Ontario, Canada, Kaplan did her undergraduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and went on to attend Stanford Law School while living in Oakland while in school. She and her partner, Filmmaker and Advocate Kirthi Nath, currently live in Jack London Square.
She was involved in advocacy for prisoner rights, against mass incarceration, and worked as a tenant’s rights attorney. Kaplan helped put Oakland’s “Just Cause Eviction” on the ballot in 2002 and got it passed. She is currently a civil rights attorney.
Kaplan’s first elected office was as a trustee on the AC Transit Board of Directors. She served in this capacity for seven years during which time she spearheaded the Free Shuttle Bus in downtown Oakland that runs from Grand Avenue down Broadway to Jack London Square.
Kaplan ran for mayor of Oakland in 2010 and 2014.
In regard to strategies about homelessness in Oakland, Kaplan promises to “replicate what works” having already collaborated to establish two “dorms” one at the Henry Robinson Multiservice Center and another dorm in Rockridge on the site of the California College of the Arts. She firmly believes that “Tuff sheds don’t work.”
She states that 80% of the homeless people are from Oakland and the homelessness is caused by financial displacement and foreclosure or have otherwise been “pushed into homelessness.”
She is proud to have worked with the Urban Strategies Council in 2019 to train civilian mental health workers, before the “Defund the Police” movement.
As for police accountability, in addition to the aforementioned training for civilians, which removes this function from the police, she advocates for an independent Police Commission.
On the November 2020 ballot, she is collaborating with Youth Vote to get Measure QQ on the ballot, which would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local school board matters
Kaplan is endorsed by Pastor J. Alfred Smith Sr. of Allen Temple Baptist Church; the California Nurses Association; SEIU 1021; the Sierra Club; Black Women Organized for Political Action; The Honorable Gus Newport; The Honorable Bevan Dufty; Former State Assemblyman Sandre Swanson; and Aimee Allison, founder of “She the People” and others.
Kaplan on her website says: “I am honored to work with community to support real solutions to our homeless crises, fight for zone-based clean-up and enforcement of illegal dumping, get guns off the streets, provide for public health and local small business support, strengthen housing for all income levels, improve our air quality, transit, pedestrian and bicycle safety, racial and economic justice, and police accountability.”
For more information go to KaplanforOakland.org.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of June 12-18, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 12-18, 2024
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Bay Area
Sen. Wiener, Mayor Breed Announce Bill to Shut Down Fencing of Stolen Goods
On June 3, San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed joined State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) to announce a bill aiming to combat fencing, the sale of stolen goods. Authored by Wiener and sponsored by Breed, Senate Bill (SB) 925 would allow San Francisco to create permitting requirements to regulate the sale of items commonly obtained through retail theft and impose criminal penalties for those who engage in this practice.
By Oakland Post Staff
On June 3, San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed joined State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) to announce a bill aiming to combat fencing, the sale of stolen goods.
Authored by Wiener and sponsored by Breed, Senate Bill (SB) 925 would allow San Francisco to create permitting requirements to regulate the sale of items commonly obtained through retail theft and impose criminal penalties for those who engage in this practice.
“The sale of stolen items in San Francisco has created unsafe street conditions and health and safety hazards that have negatively impacted residents, businesses, City workers, and legitimate street vendors,” states a statement released by the mayor’s office.
San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Chief Bill Scott praised the effort.
“I want to thank Mayor Breed and Senator Wiener for identifying new ways to combat the illegal fencing of stolen goods. This will help our hard-working officers continue to make progress in cracking down on retail theft,” said Scott.
Under the legislation, San Francisco can require vendors to obtain a permit to be able to sell items deemed as frequently stolen by asking for documentation that the merchandise was obtained legitimately, such as showing proof of purchase.
The legislation also establishes that those in violation would receive an infraction for the first two offenses and an infraction or a misdemeanor and up to six months in county jail for the third offense.
Under this bill, people can still:
- Sell goods with a permit
- Sell prepared food with a permit
- Sell goods on the list of frequently stolen items with a permit and proof of purchase.
“In San Francisco we are working hard to make our streets safer and more welcoming for all. SB 925 would greatly help us get a handle on the sale of stolen goods, all while taking a narrow approach that specifically targets bad actors,” said Breed.
Wiener says the cultural richness of San Francisco and the livelihoods of legitimate street vendors are threatened when bad actors are allowed to openly sell stolen goods on the city’s streets.
“With this bill we’re taking a balanced approach that respects the critical role street vending plays in our community while holding fencing operations accountable for the disruption they cause. It’s critical that everyone feel safe on our streets, including street vendors and neighborhood residents,” said Wiener.
Barbara Lee
Congresswoman Barbara Lee Statement on 80th Anniversary of D-Day
Representative Barbara Lee (CA-12) released the following statement on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. “80 years ago, one of the largest invasions in historical warfare—and the start to the end of World War II—took place. Today, we look back to the over 2,400 American lives lost on the beaches of Normandy, remember their stories, and honor their immense bravery.
Washington, D.C. – Representative Barbara Lee (CA-12) released the following statement on the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
“80 years ago, one of the largest invasions in historical warfare—and the start to the end of World War II—took place. Today, we look back to the over 2,400 American lives lost on the beaches of Normandy, remember their stories, and honor their immense bravery.
“My father, Lt. Col. Garvin A. Tutt, was a Buffalo soldier in the 92nd infantry, a racially segregated and Black-only division that was instrumental in the success of Normandy and the Allied advance. Today and every day, I think of him and all of the brave servicemembers who sacrificed for our country, even when our country didn’t love them back.
“D-Day will forever live on in history. May we honor their lives and all who have served by investing in veterans’ health care, economic security, and opportunity when they return home.”
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