Bay Area
Rebecca Kaplan Officially Files to Run for District 3 Alameda County Supervisor
Speakers in support of Kaplan included Oakland Port Commissioners Michael Colbruno and Andreas Cluver; former Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty; Oakland City Councilmembers Sheng Thao, Nikki Bas, and Dan Kalb, and community leaders including Chinatown Chamber of Commerce Leader Rick DaSilva, AASEG Founder Ray Bobbitt, Alameda County Democratic Party Central Committee member Bobbi Lopez and Rev Ken Chambers of the Interfaith Coalition of Alameda County.
Rebecca Kaplan has officially filed to run for Alameda County Supervisor in District 3. Joined by her campaign team, Kaplan submitted her paperwork and will appear on the ballot for the June 7, 2022, election in Alameda County. All registered voters will automatically receive a vote-by-mail ballot in May.
Kaplan launched her campaign with support from a wide range of elected officials, community leaders, and more at a Zoom event.
Speakers in support of Kaplan included Oakland Port Commissioners Michael Colbruno and Andreas Cluver; former Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty; Oakland City Councilmembers Sheng Thao, Nikki Bas, and Dan Kalb, and community leaders including Chinatown Chamber of Commerce Leader Rick DaSilva, AASEG Founder Ray Bobbitt, Alameda County Democratic Party Central Committee member Bobbi Lopez and Rev Ken Chambers of the Interfaith Coalition of Alameda County.
“There’s not a week that goes by where I don’t hear from Rebecca about some creative idea about transportation, the supply chain, about grant money that’s available from regional agencies and this is what a good Supervisor does,” said Commissioner Colbruno.
Haggerty, who served as supervisor for 24 years, and served together with Rebecca Kaplan, in leadership of the Alameda County Transportation Commission, added, “I’ve always enjoyed Rebecca. I just think that she’s a phenomenal person. I think she will be an excellent supervisor.”
Thao stated, “I think the main thing about Rebecca, and I know that she would be the best candidate for this job, is her ability to be so thoughtful in regard to every single issue that comes before her.”
“I don’t know if people know how critical it is for Oakland, Alameda, San Leandro and the unincorporated areas to have someone who knows how local communities can partner and really leverage the opportunity of our county in terms of the policymaking and also the budget,” said Bas. “Rebecca is incredibly smart, creative, solutions oriented, and I certainly have had that experience working together as a councilmember, partnering on homelessness and housing on the budget.”
Kalb added, “Her experience working on regional issues, whether it’s Alameda County or the Bay Area region, is extensive.”
DaSilva said, “In my capacity at the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, Rebecca has helped us solve problems.”
Kaplan capped off the week with a volunteer literature drop, launching in Alameda, where numerous volunteers picked up literature and signs and went out to distribute them to voters.
Kaplan spoke with and heard from supporters and members of the public, and gave appreciation for people’s responsiveness, and for volunteers, and important public resources like the beach.
Find the video of the announcement here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hMx8ecUSCUs
And download available here on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/686010239
To learn more about Rebecca Kaplan’s history, platform, endorsements, and campaign for Supervisor visit: https://www.supervisorkaplan.org/
Contact: Julie Wedge, Campaign Manager – Rebecca Kaplan for Supervisor 2022
Bay Area
Homelessness Committee and Advocates Urge City to Stop Confiscating Unhoused People’s Belongings
Encampment sweeps are not a new method of action to evict people from living and sleeping on the streets in San Francisco. However, recent reports indicate that city staff are not following proper policy, exacerbating the problems for unhoused people. Homeless advocates and allies held a press conference on Thursday at City Hall, condemning staff workers for destroying people’s property during encampment evictions and asking officials to ensure that important documents and medication are not being stripped from these individuals.
By Magaly Muñoz
Encampment sweeps are not a new method of action to evict people from living and sleeping on the streets in San Francisco. However, recent reports indicate that city staff are not following proper policy, exacerbating the problems for unhoused people.
Homeless advocates and allies held a press conference on Thursday at City Hall, condemning staff workers for destroying people’s property during encampment evictions and asking officials to ensure that important documents and medication are not being stripped from these individuals.
“By destroying the very items that could help people regain stability, the city is not just punishing people for being poor, but actively making it harder for them to escape homelessness,” Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said.
Friedenbach criticized the city for not fixing their housing problem or finding new ways to shelter people, instead they are further adding to the harm of the “humanitarian crisis that San Francisco is facing.”
The press conference was held before the monthly Homelessness Oversight Commission (HOC) meeting, where commissioners discussed a draft resolution to submit to city staff highlighting the importance of not separating people from their items as this might cause further distress.
The resolution lists ssential items that workers should be cautious of not destroying or throwing away including medical documents and medication, work permits, identification, and survival gear, such as blankets or tents.
City policy instructs workers to “bag and tag” items left behind after an encampment sweep. These items are labeled by Public Works and kept at their operations yard for 90 days before being discarded.
But according to several reports and videos of the sweeps, the city has not always followed this policy and has on numerous occasions thrown away people’s medications or tents, leaving individuals without their essentials.
During the meeting, commissioners suggested adding school records and family related support items, such as diapers, to the resolution because of the increasing number of families living on the streets.
Virginia Taylor, senior policy advisor for Safe & Sound, said 531 families are waiting for housing in San Francisco. Many of these families are living out of their cars or in RVs, yet the city has limited safe parking spots where people can situate themselves.
Along with not throwing out people’s belongings, advocates are also continuing to ask the city to stop the encampment sweeps because all they are accomplishing is moving unhoused folks block to block without solving the root problem of lack of consistent housing.
“We need urgent action, more family shelter beds, a stop to vehicle sweeps, expanded safe parking programs and housing solutions that keep our multi-generational families together. Our children’s futures depend on it. Let’s build a San Francisco where no family falls through the crack and every child has the opportunity to thrive,” Taylor said.
Speakers referenced the RV sweep conducted in early August on Zoo Road, where dozens of people, many of them non-English speaking immigrants, were asked to leave the parking lot or else their vehicles would be towed and they would be cited.
While people were offered shelter beds or housing vouchers, some worried about where they would stay while the city processed their applications. This drew criticism of San Francisco’s method of not always having immediate options for people yet continuing to sweep unhoused folks with nowhere to go.
Commissioners of HOC agreed that the city is not trying to exacerbate the issue and the resolution is one of many steps to ensure that there are no setbacks in the progress to ending homelessness in San Francisco.
The HOC will approve the resolution at a later meeting once amendments and changes are made.
Bay Area
Former Mayor Willie L. Brown Endorses Dana Lang for BART Board District 7
Former San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown has announced his endorsement support for Dana Lang for BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes voters from both sides of the Bay, and in San Francisco includes Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island. Brown acknowledged that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.
By Oakland Post Staff
Former San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown has announced his endorsement support for Dana Lang for BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes voters from both sides of the Bay, and in San Francisco includes Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island.
Brown acknowledged that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.
“When I met with Dana Lang I asked many questions, then I asked others about her contributions. Getting to know her I realized that she truly understood transportation. At a time when BART is facing a “fiscal cliff” and an upcoming deficit of nearly $360 million per year, Dana is more than ready for this job, she is ready to meet the moment!”
Over the past 24 years Lang has been a funding and grants specialist with several municipal transportation agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Muni, San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
Lang says, “I’ve faced a number of fiscal crises in my career — such as securing $52 million in new transit security funding for SFMTA (Muni) during the 2008 Great Recession, when others thought it was not possible. I have always managed to identify new funding and ways to make transit more secure. Facing a crisis is the best time to act, through advocacy and policy setting. We’ve got to keep BART running and make it safer and more vibrant in order to meet the needs of our riders, our work force, and our community.”
Lang grew up in the low-income minority community of East Palo Alto, CA, and knew that locating grants and resources could positively impact an entire city and its surrounding region — helping to create and retain agency jobs, getting transit riders to their workplaces, and encouraging small business development near transit hubs.
With that in mind, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College, then an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She started her municipal career as a policy advisor to Mayor Elihu Harris and helped secure grants for the City of Oakland before moving to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to serve as a transportation grants specialist.
During her 24-year career she has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars for Bay Area transit agencies and municipalities. In addition to BART’s financial health, Lang’s priorities for BART also include safety, cleanliness, station vitality — and bringing riders back to BART. She has served on the BART Police Civilian Review Board since 2022.
Lang is also endorsed by BART Board Director Robert Raburn, former BART Board Director Carole Ward Allen, the Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church, Alameda County supervisors Keith Carson and Nate Miley, former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, District 4 Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, Oakland Chinatown leader Carl Chan, and many others.
Lang is seeking the BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes San Francisco’s Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island, a large portion of Oakland, the cities of Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, and a small portion of Berkeley.
Art
Phenomenal Woman’ Maya Angelou Monument Unveiled at San Francisco Main Library
In a joyful community celebration attended by over 200 people, including Mayor London Breed, the highly anticipated ‘Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman’ monument to Dr. Maya Angelou was unveiled at the San Francisco Main Library on Sept. 19. Oakland-based artist Lava Thomas created the 9-foot bronze and stone monument in the form of a book featuring a portrait and quotes from the celebrated author, poet, civil rights activist and former San Francisco resident.
By Linda Parker Pennington
In a joyful community celebration attended by over 200 people, including Mayor London Breed, the highly anticipated ‘Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman’ monument to Dr. Maya Angelou was unveiled at the San Francisco Main Library on Sept. 19.
Oakland-based artist Lava Thomas created the 9-foot bronze and stone monument in the form of a book featuring a portrait and quotes from the celebrated author, poet, civil rights activist and former San Francisco resident.
The work was commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission in response to legislation passed in 2018 by San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, requiring at least 30% female representation in the public realm.
Attending the unveiling were Angelou’s grandson, Elliott Jones, social advocate, philanthropist, and board member of the Dr. Maya Angelou Foundation; and Rosa Johnson, Angelou’s niece and family archivist, who spoke about the historic unveiling of this first public monument portraying a Black woman in San Francisco’s history.
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