{"id":41408,"date":"2025-05-24T12:12:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T19:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=41408"},"modified":"2025-05-24T12:12:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T19:12:58","slug":"what-does-an-oakland-mayor-actually-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/05\/24\/what-does-an-oakland-mayor-actually-do\/","title":{"rendered":"What does an Oakland mayor actually do?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by\u00a0Natalie Orenstein<\/a><\/strong> May 23, 2025 (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Barbara
Mayor Barbara Lee took the oath of office on Tuesday. Credit: Eli Wolfe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Help us tell the Oakland stories that matter to you and your fellow Oaklanders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I want to chip in to support Oaklandside\u2019s work!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story is an excerpt from a previously published deep dive into the power \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014 of the Oakland mayor, and efforts to change what that looks like. <\/em>Read the full story<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barbara Lee was sworn in this week<\/a>, in front of a lively and packed crowd eager to enter the next chapter of Oakland politics after a tumultuous year featuring a recall<\/a>, an indictment<\/a>, and a financial deficit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vast majority of voters were ready to welcome a new mayor. But it\u2019s not always clear to the public what, exactly, that job entails. Oakland has an especially unusual governance structure, further confusing things. So as Lee enters office, it\u2019s worth examining what work is on her plate, and what she can and can\u2019t do to pursue much-needed change in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never miss a story.<\/strong> Sign up for The Oaklandside\u2019s free daily newsletter.<\/strong>Email<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the city\u2019s top leader overseeing its administration, mayor of Oakland is a full-time, four-year gig (though Lee is entering mid-term for just two years, filling the remainder of the recalled Sheng Thao\u2019s term). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mayor\u2019s powers are spelled out in Article III of the City Charter, and a few other places in the city\u2019s founding document, essentially its constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mayor hires \u2014 and can fire \u2014 arguably the next two most powerful officials in Oakland: the city administrator and the police chief. They also select members of the public to fill some of the seats on the city\u2019s many boards and commissions, which handle everything from landlord-tenant issues to cannabis regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With copious help from the city administrator and other staff, mayors submit a budget proposal<\/a> each year, although the City Council has the final say in how much the city will spend on what. Usually, the council tweaks the mayor\u2019s plan, moving a few million here and there, altering staffing in some departments, and funding some road or building improvements instead of other capital projects. But the council can also make big changes to the budget, and if they do, the mayor has to live with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayors can propose legislation, too, although they rarely do, and they\u2019re called in to break ties when the council is deadlocked. Each year, the mayor visits the council to deliver a state-of-the-city address, sharing their ideas for making the city work better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oakland\u2019s mayor is also the public face of the city, in ways both ceremonial and consequential. An effective mayor will shape the local and national narrative about Oakland, draw investment to the city, help strike big deals with real estate developers and large companies, and generate political support for Oakland in Sacramento and Washington D.C. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Successful mayors schmooze with business, labor, and philanthropic leaders, represent Oakland in dealings with other cities, and show face at community events. The mayor speaks on the city\u2019s behalf everywhere from ribbon-cutting ceremonies in local parks to private fundraisers to trade meetings in foreign countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayors do have significant authority to implement policies and programs so long as they\u2019re not altering the council-approved budget. They can use their discretionary funds or raise private money for initiatives and events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The position of Oakland mayor does not match up with most equivalent roles in other California or U.S. cities. Most large cities have what\u2019s called a \u201cstrong mayor\u201d form of government, where the top executive has more power \u2014 namely to veto the budget and other legislation, or to hire department heads and play a larger role in determining administrative business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most other California cities, however, have \u201ccouncil-manager\u201d forms of government, where a city manager wields full authority over the administration and the mayor is more like a regular voting member of the City Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political observers in Oakland largely agree that the city\u2019s unusual \u201chybrid\u201d mayor role creates confusion and an ineffective distribution of power. One group is working to propose a ballot measure for 2026<\/a> that would change the city charter to create a council-manager form of government, which Oakland actually had until the 1990s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for Lee, she\u2019s expressed support for charter reform \u2014 but has stopped short of declaring whether the mayor should have more or less power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to know more? Read our full article on the unique position of Oakland mayor<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATALIE ORENSTEIN<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

natalie@oaklandside.org<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natalie Orenstein is a senior reporter covering City Hall, housing and homelessness for The Oaklandside. Her reporting on a flood of eviction cases following the end of the Alameda County pandemic moratorium won recognition from the Society of Professional Reporters NorCal in 2024. Natalie was previously on staff at Berkeleyside, where she covered education, including extensive, award-winning reporting on the legacy of school desegregation in Berkeley Unified. Natalie lives in Oakland, grew up in Berkeley, and has only left her beloved East Bay once, to attend Pomona College.More by Natalie Orenstein<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Natalie Orenstein May 23, 2025 (MissionLocal.org) Help us tell the Oakland stories that matter to you and your fellow Oaklanders. Yes, I want to chip in to support Oaklandside\u2019s work! This story is an excerpt from a previously published deep dive into the power \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014 of… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41408"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41408"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41409,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41408\/revisions\/41409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}