City Government

“Oakland Can Do Better,” Says Mayoral Candidate Libby Schaaf

Published

13 years ago

December 2, 2013

Ending weeks of speculation, District 4 Councilwoman Libby Schaaf officially filed as a candidate for the 2014 Mayoral race Tuesday morning at the City Clerk’s office.

“I’ve lived in this city my whole life, I’ve worked in Oakland my whole life,” said Schaaf. “I’m very excited to take an optimistic can-do message to the voters of Oakland.”

She previously served as chief of staff for former City Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, served an aide to former Mayor Jerry Brown and as an executive at the Port of Oakland. She is married and has two young children who attend an Oakland public elementary school.

When asked if she thought Mayor Jean Quan was getting the job done, she said she did not think so. Oakland deserves “competent leadership,” she said.

“I think Oakland can do better. I think that citizens should be able to get their basic services delivered,” Schaaf added.

Schaaf joins a growing field of candidates. In addition to Quan, attorney and port Commissioner Bryan Parker and political commentator Joe Tuman have already entered the mayoral race.

Schaaf says she will now focus on establishing her committee, and her campaign platform will roll out early next year.

Schaaf would not go into detail about her overall program but emphasized the importance of safety for Oakland residents. She says her leadership will mean “a relentless focus and belief that Oakland can be safe.”

She also said a key part of her campaign will focus on pushing the Hire Oakland policy.

She is also throwing her energies behind a city ordinance to protect circus animals.

“The City of Oakland has spearheaded progressive issues in the United States, however, until today Oakland was woefully behind the California standard on municipal circus regulation,” said Schaaf, speaking Tuesday at a press conference calling for a special event permit specific for circuses that feature and wild animals

If passed by the council, the ordinance will strengthen Oakland’s performing animal welfare regulations and provide public safety information to circus attendees.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

Published

3 days ago

July 5, 2026

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Inaugural Juneteenth Awards Ceremony Celebrates the Fillmore’s Black History, Leadership and Resilience

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, Pastor Emeritus of Third Baptist Church, SF Mayor Daniel Lurie. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

By Linda Parker Pennington

The Fillmore Community Ambassadors held its first annual Juneteenth Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards ceremony on June 19 inside the newly reopened Fillmore Heritage Center.

The event featured awards for former San Francisco mayors London Breed and Willie Brown, along with Third Baptist Church Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown.

The Koret Heritage lobby at the newly reopened center at 1330 Fillmore St. held a standing-room-only, culturally diverse and multi-generational audience while the art gallery featured photos of Fillmore community members in action, red Japanese lanterns, art and calligraphy, and Chinese artwork, giving the space a multicultural feel.

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood acknowledged that “the Fillmore community has had a difficult history. Thanks to Rev. Amos Brown’s continuous focus on accountability and resistance, you hold us accountable and continue to inspire us.”

Mahmoud is referring to the Fillmore’s Japanese residents who were forced from their homes and sent to concentration camps during World War II. Black people occupied those homes until the return of their Japanese neighbors and then gave them back, while homes that had been unoccupied were lost. The presence of the Asian community on Juneteenth is a testament to that shared history.

In receiving his honor, Amos Brown elicited a powerful spontaneous call-and-response, where members of San Francisco’s many Black churches proudly shouted out the names: “Bethel AME! Providence Baptist! Jones Memorial! Glide!”

Awards program Master of Ceremonies Shawn Richards of Brothers Against Guns warmly introduced Breed, highlighting her many accomplishments, particularly on “March 16, 2020, when she became the first mayor to shut down a major U.S. city due to COVID-19, saving thousands of lives.”

The audience was captivated by Breed’s emotional speech touching on past traumas, present conditions, and future hopes for the neighborhood where she grew up.

She recalled another trauma of the neighborhood during the City’s redevelopment era in the 1960s, where Black residents were forced to move with a promise of being able to return that was largely unfulfilled.

“We remember when this land was just a field because they bulldozed hundreds of Victorian homes that Black people owned. They built the Fillmore Center, where most Black people can’t afford to live or start their own business. But we are still here.”