HOUSING
Housing affordability has been a dire issue in Oakland for decades, one that particularly impacts Black and brown renters. In what ways would your administration address the housing crisis?
Reid says Oaklanders should not have to choose between paying for housing or food and health services, and should not be forced to work multiple jobs simply to afford to live in the city they love. “Too many of our neighbors are struggling with housing insecurity like I’ve faced,” she says, vowing to increase funding for more affordable housing and to streamline the approval process. She also pledges to leverage public and private partnerships to build enough housing to meet regional goals, and intends to build on a recent $5 million state investment to expand the city’s teacher and workforce housing programs.
Thao says there’s a huge opportunity to build new affordable housing units on city-owned property, and touts her experience working toward that goal. “The 12th Street parcel by Lake Merritt is a good example. It has sat vacant for years waiting for development. Now, through the work of just a few of us on the council, there will be two 100% affordable housing developments breaking ground this year and next,” she says. Although she notes that Oakland has been leading the Bay Area in housing construction, “we are building less than 50% of our required affordable housing, and it shows. We need new solutions that lead to new revenue streams.” Her proposals include creating an infrastructure-financing district and changing various zoning and bureaucratic restrictions to facilitate the development of more affordable housing. Thao has also pledged to expand the city’s first-time homeowner program and establish a public bank to create easier financing options.
Taylor says the housing affordability crisis is a supply problem that requires the construction of more homes. “That means prioritizing building both affordable and market-rate housing,” he says. “I applaud the state, including our local representatives, for leading the way in providing cities with more tools to build more housing units, and I embrace the fact that my job as mayor will be to bring residents, workers, and builders together to support projects that are economically viable and that respect the communities that are here and the people who want to be here.”
De La Fuente points to the affordable housing development that took place in District 5 during the two decades he represented the district. “I will work with the public and private sector to build more affordable housing and prioritize the improvement of basic city services that will allow the city and builders to make the progress that our community so desperately needs,” he says.
Victory Villanueva insists that housing must be affordable for everyone in the city, across all income levels. “I will preserve existing affordable housing units, effectively use all city fees and taxes designated for this purpose, including our vacant parcel tax, and expand financing mechanisms for developing more affordable housing,” she says. To that end, she has proposed creating a public banking system and expanding the city’s guaranteed basic income pilots and rental assistance programs. “Our workers must be able to own their communities,” she adds. “I also support pathways to homeownership which the city can help by alleviating procedural and financial barriers to first-time homeownership.”
ANTI-ASIAN HATE
How is the Asian community going to be better protected under your leadership?
Reid says she will continue to meet with Asian community members to hear their concerns and respond “with solutions, not excuses.” She plans to expand the Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland, or MACRO, a community response program for non-emergency 911 calls, to serve Chinatown and Little Saigon and ensure there is sufficient AAPI representation on her staff. She has also pledged to partner with the district attorney’s office to more effectively prevent and solve crimes against AAPI community members. “We have for too long been witnessing a severe uptick in the violent crimes afflicted upon our Asian American communities in Oakland,” she says.
Thao notes that her parents met in a refugee camp after fleeing the secret war in Laos in the 1970s. “I understand the fear and trauma so many Asian families hold,” she says, adding that she is also a survivor of domestic violence. “As mayor, I will be a voice for our Asian and refugee communities and will work to ensure they have the support and services they need,” she says. Thao touts her role in increasing public-safety funding and staffing in Chinatown and Little Saigon, and promises to continue aggressively combating hate crimes against not only Asian communities but all vulnerable groups in the city. “We need solidarity with all communities across Oakland, and a mayor who will fight for and uphold the values of our diverse city,” she says.
Taylor says he will not tolerate any kind of hate in the city. He plans to invest in more community-safety officers from the AAPI community to patrol in vulnerable communities. “I will also work to ensure staffing levels can meet the large demand we currently have to close off cases of violent hate crimes related to AAPI residents in Oakland,” he adds.
De La Fuente promises to create a special police unit to focus on public safety in high-crime areas where Asian Americans have been targeted. “All Oaklanders lose when people, groups are targeted and attacked, and city leadership needs to respond in kind with zero-tolerance measures that result in the efficient and effective enforcement of laws that will keep the Asian American community safe,” he says.
Victory Villanueva says she was raised in this community and has a long record of organizing with multi-racial coalitions. “Oakland is home to a historic Chinatown (that) must be protected and preserved, but I also will support expanding and investing in our cultural districts, including Little Saigon and Koreatown,” she says. “Chinatown also reminds us that Asian American communities were redlined and excluded from parts of our civic life and government, with Oakland as no exception.”
PUBLIC SAFETY
There’s a general feeling that crime is out of control, particularly in Oakland where homicides have risen significantly since 2019. How will your administration decrease crime? Do you believe more police officers are the solution?
Reid says much of the lawlessness and reckless behavior in Oakland has gone unchecked for too long. As a council member, Reid says she has championed public-safety priorities “from day one,” an issue she considers of immense personal importance, noting the death of her son to gun violence. Reid says that police need more support to do their jobs effectively, but has also called for a greater degree of accountability and oversight. She has pledged to significantly expand violence prevention and trauma-care programs during her first year as mayor, and to secure state and federal funding for four more police academies, as well as additional school safety and community mental health resources. She also vows to install public safety surveillance cameras in business corridors and partner with Caltrans to combat crime on local freeways.
Thao claims that over the last four years, she has worked to allocate more money than anyone else on the council for public safety — including both policing and prevention. “For policing, I’ve gotten funding for three additional academies, created incentives to retain officers and to recruit lateral officers from other jurisdictions,” she says, noting that both approaches cost significantly less than recruiting and training new officers. She says she worked closely with OPD Chief LeRonne Armstrong to create a more diverse and Oakland-grown police department and focus to a greater degree on local recruitment and more diversity outreach. “It’s working. The diversity of our cadets is really starting to reflect in our work,” she says. Thao also vows to “get to the root of crime,” and says she plans to double the city’s Department of Violence Prevention budget and sufficiently invest in public schools, child care and pre-K programs.
Taylor says he rejects “the framing that it’s either police and enforcement or violence prevention and root-causes intervention” that will be the key to reducing violent crime. “Yes, more police officers are needed, which is why I led the charge in the City Council to invest in additional police academies,” he says, noting that he has also fought to make sure officers are “better trained, better equipped and more responsive to calls for help.” But Taylor also insists that a larger police presence alone “without increased investment in prevention and increased focus on community trust-building is not a solution at all.”
De La Fuente says increasing the number of quality police officers is a key part of the solution, but “not the be-all and end-all.” He aims to ensure officers have the technology and political support they need to effectively solve crimes and increase public safety. He says he also intends to support community-based violence interruption and community policing programs, but thinks the first priority should be to “get a firm handle on violence in Oakland.”
Victory Villanueva says “public safety is determined by the public, not any magic number of officers. Police officers are often called when a crime is in progress or (has) already occurred.” She adds that crime prevention starts with ensuring that residents are getting their basic needs met in an equitable manner. “Housing, job access, education and health care are all part of crime prevention and keeping our public safe,” she says. “The safest communities are not those with the most police and the most weaponry, but those with the most resources and highest investment in residents.”
SCHOOLS
Recent school closures in Oakland have sparked intense ire among the disproportionately Black communities that have been most impacted. How do you plan to address this intensely controversial issue?
Reid calls the recent school closure decision “beyond troubling in the midst of the persisting pandemic.” She says the move, like many others, has disproportionately impacted Black students and families. As mayor, Reid says she will continue to work with OUSD to “reimagine” public schools by increasing investment and services to support students and families. She also pledges to push the school board to enact its resolution offering reparations to Black students and to secure $1 million in food cards for lower-income families to use at small grocery stores in their neighborhoods. Reid additionally has vowed to advocate for increased state and federal funds to provide mental health care at school sites, and offer social and wraparound services for students and parents.
Thao says she led the council’s efforts against school closures, and has worked with state lawmakers to secure additional support for Oakland schools. “These closures are primarily in Black and brown communities and were implemented without a community process or engagement,” she says.“(They) impact some of Oakland’s most vulnerable youth and send the wrong message about our priorities.” Thao says that while the school district is not the direct responsibility of the mayor, “I have already shown that I will not sit on the sidelines while our public schools are in jeopardy.”
Taylor says the closures are “a critical issue impacting our children, particularly Black children,” and has called for stronger collaborations between city and school leaders, as well as greater accountability for educational service providers the city contracts with. As mayor, he promises to pursue innovative strategies to enhance educational outcomes for underserved students, and points to his efforts on the council in helping to expand broadband access, and in pushing for increased investment in early literacy programs.
De La Fuente says this issue does not fall under his primary focus of reducing crime and homelessness and improving basic city services. “I will work within the structures of the mayor to hold our Oakland Unified School District leadership accountable for addressing issues like this that fall within their purview, and invite community leaders to do the same,” he says.
Victory Villanueva says she supports local campaigns against school closures, reparations for Black students and police-free schools. She also approves of community-run schools when “our district is failing to provide accessible and adequate education,” and has vowed to always advocate for equal opportunity, particularly for “Black Oaklanders harmed by decades of unjust policies.” She says that the city government, while separate from the school board, has a duty to be closely involved in school-based decisions, and vows to regularly communicate with the board, and report complaints from her constituents.
