{"id":39955,"date":"2025-03-03T13:15:42","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T21:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=39955"},"modified":"2025-03-03T13:15:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T21:15:46","slug":"oaklands-top-mayoral-hopefuls-differ-on-police-homelessness-city-budget-heres-what-they-propose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/03\/03\/oaklands-top-mayoral-hopefuls-differ-on-police-homelessness-city-budget-heres-what-they-propose\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland\u2019s top mayoral hopefuls differ on police, homelessness, city budget. Here\u2019s what they propose"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Sarah Ravani<\/a>,East Bay ReporterMarch 2, 2025 (SFChronicle.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Former Rep. Barbara Lee and former Oakland City\u00a0Council Member Loren Taylor, the leading candidates in the special mayoral race set for April,\u00a0differ in their solutions for the city\u2019s most pressing problems.Collin Peck\/Special to the Chronicle; Yolanda M. James\/The Chronicle<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two leading candidates in Oakland\u2019s special mayoral election clash on how to address some of the city\u2019s most pressing problems, from homelessness and public safety to a growing budget crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barbara Lee<\/a>, a former Congresswoman, and Loren Taylor<\/a>, a former council member, are leading in a crowded race to finish out the term of Sheng Thao, who was recalled by voters in November and indicted on federal bribery charges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their differences cover how many police officers the city should hire, whether to lay off city employees and offer homeless people guaranteed income. For example: Taylor proposes bringing the police department\u2019s number of sworn officers to 800 within three years whereas Lee said that building up the department will take more time.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They agree on the importance of boosting housing, both market rate and affordable, and the critical need to keep Oakland\u2019s fire stations open <\/a>amid budget cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More East Bay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The winner of the Oakland mayor\u2019s forum is the candidate who walked out<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Oakland calls traffic deaths an \u2018epidemic.\u2019 Data shows fatalities remain high<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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The April 15 special election comes at a critical time for the city as leaders weigh spending cuts to address a $140 million structural budget deficit <\/a>and respond to public safety concerns. The deficit already has resulted in city layoffs<\/a> and a slashing of the police department\u2019s overtime budget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, Oakland is not thriving,\u201d said Kate Spohr, a resident for nearly 40 years. Spohr voted for Taylor in 2022 but after a mayoral debate hosted by the Oaklandside on Wednesday, she said she\u2019s undecided. \u201cIt\u2019s a place where businesses are moving out, a place where roads don\u2019t get fixed. \u2026 I love this city and I\u2019d like to see it as a thriving place.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political insiders say residents are looking for specific plans from candidates on how they intend to tackle the city\u2019s biggest problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe trend and the zeitgeist right now in this post-COVID era is that people want a mayor who is going to fix problems and not necessarily be about value statements or identity politics, but they are the ultimate bureaucrats who get things done,\u201d said Justin Berton, a media strategist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s where Lee and Taylor stand on some of the biggest issues facing the city: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public safety <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While violent crime decreased in 2024, an Oakland Chamber of Commerce 2024 poll showed that 86% of respondents said gun violence is a very serious problem. As of Friday, the city has recorded 15 homicides this year, compared to 11 at this time last year. Lee and Taylor have said public safety is a major priority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee has said that she intends to ensure the full implementation of Measure NN, a property tax<\/a> approved by voters in November that is expected to generate $47 million a year for public safety departments. The measure requires the city to have 700 police officers minimum in the Oakland Police Department. Lee has said the department should exceed 800 officers, but that is a longer-term strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also supports community policing and Ceasefire, an anti-violence program<\/a> that Thao revived nearly a year ago and has been attributed to declining homicide numbers in 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor has made public safety a key component of his campaign, calling for funding three academies a year to bring the police department up to 800 officers within three years and investing in more technology, including license plate readers, drones and voice recognition. Taylor has said the city needs to audit how it spends money and focus budgeting on core services, including police. Taylor supports Ceasefire and violence prevention organizations, but would eliminate some of the city\u2019s Town Nights<\/a> program, which holds events in city parks to deter crime. He also wants to work with the police union to bring retired officers back to work on investigations and other duties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInvesting in public safety officers improves safety and allows businesses to stay here, allows businesses to come,\u201d Taylor told the Chronicle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homelessness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oakland accounts for nearly half of Alameda County\u2019s<\/a> overall homelessness population with more than 5,400 people unhoused. The city has prioritized building community cabins, repurposing hotels for homeless housing and opening RV safe-parking sites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really a moral disgrace,\u201d Lee said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee said she wants to test a guaranteed income pilot for homeless people, hire unhoused residents to clean the streets, and work with the Veterans Administration to get veterans off the street. Her plans for guaranteed income rely on public-private partnerships. Her campaign staff said the former Congresswoman intends to establish a coordinated framework for addressing all aspects of Oakland\u2019s homeless crisis within 60 days of taking office, but did not provide details. She has proposed creating coordinated task forces involving government agencies and organizations to respond to homelessness, but did not elaborate on what organizations would be involved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor said he intends to prohibit encampments near schools, parks and other public spaces. Current policies prohibit encampments in these places but the city only shuts down encampments when shelter space is available \u2014 which Taylor said he also intends to adhere to. Taylor has proposed more oversight on nonprofit organizations that the city contracts with to provide homelessness services to ensure that people are moving to housing. He has also proposed creating a \u201cshot clock\u201d for the city\u2019s permitting process to ensure that permits are being approved faster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

City budget<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oakland officials released figures last month that show the city is making progress on its current deficit. Early projections show that the city has cut its $130 million to about $87 million and if it continues with hiring freezes and other cuts, the budget will be balanced by the end of the fiscal year on June 30. Despite those efforts, the city will continue to have a $140 million ongoing structural deficit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee has said that city layoffs are the last step she would take because she wants to prevent more cuts to basic services. Instead, she intends to focus on boosting the city\u2019s revenues, growing the city\u2019s tax base, prioritizing public-private partnerships and ensuring financial stability long term. Lee pointed to her background bringing billions in federal grant money to fund clean streets, violence prevention, education and other priorities in the city, and said she intends to tap into that as mayor.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor said that he would demand that city contractors and vendors take a 15% to 20% cut, renegotiate labor contracts and restructure the city\u2019s debt. He also intends to bring in an outside auditor to look at how city departments are spending money and analyze things that other cities are doing well which might be implemented in Oakland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Taylor and Lee support the April ballot measure that, if approved, would increase the city\u2019s sales tax. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reach Sarah Ravani: sravani@sfchronicle.com; X: @SarRavani<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March 2, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Sarah Ravani<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EAST BAY REPORTER<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah Ravani covers Oakland and the East Bay at The San Francisco Chronicle. She joined The Chronicle in 2016 after graduating from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Previously, she covered breaking news and crime for The Chronicle. She has provided coverage on wildfires, mass shootings, the fatal shooting of police officers and massive floods in the North Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Sarah Ravani,East Bay ReporterMarch 2, 2025 (SFChronicle.com) Former Rep. Barbara Lee and former Oakland City\u00a0Council Member Loren Taylor, the leading candidates in the special mayoral race set for April,\u00a0differ in their solutions for the city\u2019s most pressing problems.Collin Peck\/Special to the Chronicle; Yolanda M. James\/The Chronicle The two leading candidates… 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":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39955"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39955"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39957,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39955\/revisions\/39957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}