Layoffs as a last resort
As Oakland's budget comes into the focus, the frontrunners in Oakland's special mayoral election have a difference of opinion for how to stabilize the city's finances
☕️MORNING BUZZ
Barbara Lee will only entertain layoffs as a last resort to fix Oakland’s chronic budget problems, and would implement Universal Basic Income for the city’s homeless, and put them to work to clean up blight.
As Oakland nears word about its budget outlook through the end of the fiscal year, Lee largely avoided the potential of financial upheaval on the horizon, while speaking at a well-attended candidate forum on Wednesday, hosted by The Oaklandside.
Lee rejected the premise that cuts will be needed to fund the reopening of fire stations. Instead, Lee pointed to money purportedly identified by three councilmembers. As mayor, she would look for waste at city hall and inefficiencies in departments.
“Cutting jobs means cutting services,” Lee said. “I would wait, put everything on the table.”
Loren Taylor, the former councilmembers who narrowly lost the 2022 mayoral election to Thao, detailed a plan for whipping the city’s budget into shape.
Taylor said he would audit the city’s finances, and negotiate with its vendors and contractors to lower costs by 10 percent to 15 percent.
Labor needs to come to the table if reductions in staff are ultimately required, Taylor said. He argued there is no way around the issue when three-fourths of the city’s budget is labor-related. Taylor would also cut costs by restructuring the city’s debt.
Seven of the 10 candidates in the April 15 Oakland special mayor election attended Wednesday’s event at Castlemont High School. Halfway through, candidate Renia Webb abruptly left the stage.
—HOW TO FUND PUBLIC SAFETY—Barbara Lee also lacked specifics when it came to public safety. She did not offer a desired number of police officers for the understaffed department.
—But to fund increase public safety, Lee simply pointed to implementation of Measure NN, the ballot measure approved last year to fund public safety through an increase in parcel taxes and parking taxes.
—Measure NN is estimated to raised $47 million annually. A clause in the measure calls for the city council to hire and budget a minimum of 700 police officers.
—Taylor, and several other candidates, supported boosting the police ranks to around 800 officers. To pay for the large increase in officers, Taylor said improving public safety will pay for itself by signaling to large and small businesses that the city is ready for commerce to return.
—He envisions funding three police academies each year for three years. Big downtown corporations don’t trust city will be a good steward of their funding. “We can no longer be the city that is training every other cities officers.”
—Taylor would also request that Gov. Gavin Newsom keep California Highway Patrol officers in Oakland to help stabilize public safety.
—RECALLING THE RECALL—Last fall, Barbara Lee called the recall campaign against Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao “undemocratic.” It was the same word used by Alameda County DA Pamela Price to describe her own recall campaign.
—Lee later sidestepped a question on Wednesday night and oddly mentioned that she did not support any of the candidates in the recall. There were no candidates, just an up or down decision by voters.
—“People had a right to vote for or against the recall,” Lee said, claiming she has support from voters on both sides of the recall. She then pivoted. “It’s important to look forward, not backwards.”
—Lee made a similar comment earlier this week featured in a video clip posted on X by an Oakland resident.
—SPECTER OF TRUMP—How the next mayor will navigate the stormy waters of the new Trump administration was tailored made for one candidate—Republican Mindy Pechenuk.
—“He is someone that you can work with,” she said of Trump, adding her vision for returning manufacturing and industry to Oakland is in line with the president’s agenda.
—No other candidate voiced such optimism.
—“We must push back and resist this,” Barbara Lee said of the president. “The Trump administration will try to divide and conquer all of us.”
—In regard to potential actions by federal immigration agents in the area, Loren Taylor said, “We cannot be accomplices in persecuting them, and rounding them up,” in reference to immigrants.
—YOU ARE FAKE NEWS—Oakland special mayoral candidates Renia Webb recited lyrics from the Too $hort song, “Blow the Whistle,” and exclaimed “Wakanda Forever,” in response to a question about bringing the TV and movie industry to Oakland.
—Halfway through the two-hour candidate forum, Webb abruptly left the stage, citing a long day at work and a need to take care of her sick son.
—In other befuddling moments, Webb admonished the audience on three separate occasions, calling out “keyboard warriors,” in addition to labeling the forum’s host as “fake news.”
—The latter incident came after a reporter for The Oaklandside asked Webb about recent articles that questioned her claims related to the FBI public corruption investigation.
—Webb said her claims were true and offered to take a lie-detector test. “When you guys want to play games with my life, pay for a lie detector test,” she said.
—During another round of questions, Webb apologized for her comments, but said of The Oaklandside, “They are what is considered fake news sometimes.”
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CAMPAIGN FINANCE
—MAKE ROOM AT THE TABLE—During the first full month of the Oakland mayoral special election campaign, Independent Expenditure Committees with the ability to raise and spend as much money as they please have emerged to support Barbara Lee.
—Supporters of Barbara Lee for Oakland Mayor 2025, an IE mostly backed by labor unions, has raised at least $180,500 in contributions, according to finance records.
—The IE supporting Lee is about to be joined by another supporting Loren Taylor’s campaign named “Oakland Neighbors, Business & Public Safety Advocates for Loren Taylor for Mayor 2025 and against Barbara Lee.”
—It not yet clear who may fund the IE, but the absence of donors who supported the recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has been noticeable.
—As we saw during the appointment of a new Alameda County district attorney, the recall group viewed their mission as not only removing Price from office, but finding a suitable replacement.
—Ursula Jones Dickson was strongly supported by the recallers, and was ultimately appointed by the Board of Supervisors last month.
—If the same business interests behind Thao’s ouster are willing to spend large sums to elect Taylor through an IE, it changes the game in this special mayoral sprint to April 15.
—RETAIL POLITICS—Labor unions are also pumping big money into Oakland District 2 City Council candidate Kara Murray Badal, a political unknown.
—An IE named Fix Our Oakland City, is spending $82,473 to pay people to spread her message door to door.
—💰MONEYBALL—Form 497 large campaign contributions filed on Feb. 26:
OAKLAND
SPECIAL MAYORAL ELECTION
—Supporters of Barbara Lee for Oakland Mayor 2025, A Coalition of Business, Labor and Public Safety Organizations For A Better Oakland, Lisa Honig of San Francisco. $5,000. TOTAL: $5,000. (Overall publicly known total: $180,500.)
—🧾EXPENDITURES—Form 496 Independent Expenditure Reports filed on Feb. 26.
SPECIAL DISTRICT 2 COUNCIL ELECTION
—Kara Murray Badal, Fix Our City Oakland, Sponsored by labor organizations. SUPPORT (Canvassing—$82,473, Walk card $2,489). TOTAL: $84,962.
