Make Oakland Better Now! sent candidate questionnaires concerning the most critical issues facing the City of Oakland to the three District 4 City Council Candidates. We received responses from all three.  Links to the complete responses are here: Annie Campbell Washington, Jill Broadhurst, Paul Lim.

The questionnaire, with links to candidate answers to individual questions, is below.

Council Candidate Questionnaire

NOTE: PLEASE LIMIT YOUR ANSWERS TO 250 WORDS EXCEPT WHERE THE QUESTION INDICATES A DIFFERENT WORD LIMIT.

To see candidate responses to questions, click on their name and you will be moved further down this web page to their response. By clicking on the links titled “Go To Top of Page”, you will be redirected to this point in the post.

QUESTION 1. Please state your position on the following November ballot measures along with a brief
(No more than 30 word) statement supporting your position.
● Measure Z: Public Safety (Parcel tax for police, fire and violence prevention programs)
● Measure CC: Public Ethics (Restructuring of Public Ethics Commission and mandatory funding for its staff)
● Measure DD: Redistricting (Citizens’ redistricting commission for City Council
boundaries )

Jill Broadhurst
Annie Campbell Washington
Paul Lim

QUESTION 2. MOBN!’s public safety plan calls for increasing Oakland’s police force to 900 sworn officers within four years. To reach this goal, MOBN! advocates that the city should: 1) not layoff any Oakland police officers under any circumstances; 2) schedule, fund, and conduct sufficient police academies each year to increase that number, not simply replace officers who retire or otherwise leave the force; and 3) make increasing the size of the police department its number one priority. Do you agree or disagree?

Jill Broadhurst
Annie Campbell Washington
Paul Lim

QUESTION 3. OPD’s difficulty in achieving the authorized sworn staffing level appears to be  exacerbated by high attrition and low morale, as shown by the department’s internal polling (http://tiny.cc/OPDPoliceSurvey) and it’s loss of officers only months after they complete their training.  How should the City solve OPD’s attrition and morale problems?

Jill Broadhurst
Annie Campbell Washington
Paul Lim

QUESTION 4. OPD has been under Federal Court supervision for close to twelve years.  While Oaklanders have repeatedly been told that the end is in sight, in late July, Judge Henderson stated that Oakland’s disciplinary processes have violated Court orders, and that continuing the same practices will “undermine any confidence in the sustainability of the reforms that have been and continue to be achieved.” Then, on August 14, the Judge criticized the City’s recent inability to sustain through arbitration an officer termination in connection with response to the Occupy Oakland protests. (Source: http://tiny.cc/ArbOrder.) The Court opined that Oakland could not be in compliance with two NSA tasks if internal investigations were inadequate and “discipline is not consistently imposed.” Many people believe the Monitor has repeatedly imposed requirements on Oakland that far exceed the literal requirements of the NSA, and that as a result of the Monitor’s shifting standards, Oakland may never be able to extricate itself from Court supervision.  As a City Council member, to what extent would you be prepared to oppose continued and changing demands from the Monitor, and what is your plan to end the era of Court supervision?

Jill Broadhurst
Annie Campbell Washington
Paul Lim

QUESTION 5. According to the Public Works Department, Oakland is on an 85-year repaving schedule, meaning a street that is repaved today won’t be repaved again for 85 years. Further, according to Public Works, maintaining the existing pavement condition on Oakland’s streets would require an estimated $28 million annually, while the amount allocated annually has been less than $6 million in recent years. Sixty percent of the City’s curb ramps are non-compliant or non-existent. The total needed to rehabilitate Oakland streets is over $435 million. How do you plan to reverse the ongoing deterioration of our streets and sidewalks? If you are elected, when will Oaklanders see a difference?

Jill Broadhurst
Annie Campbell Washington
Paul Lim

QUESTION 6. The extent to which the City faces unfunded liabilities and what should be done about them has been a contentious issue in recent years. As recently as last December, the City Administrator projected that for the three fiscal years beginning July 1, 2015, Oakland faces all-funds budget structural shortfalls totaling $795 million if it addresses its deferred capital expenses and deferred liabilities, and $342 million if it does not (Source: December 12, 2013 Update to Five-Year Financial Forecast, Attachment D, http://tiny.cc/5yrupdate.) Do you believe Oakland faces a financial shortfall, and if so, how will you address it if elected in November?

Jill Broadhurst
Annie Campbell Washington
Paul Lim

QUESTION 7. Operation Ceasefire has been described as the centerpiece of Oakland’s violent crime reduction effort. We understand that funding for its manager has been dependent on grant funding and that there is an insufficient number of case managers to maximize Ceasefire’s success.   Do you support expanding Operation Ceasefire?  Where specifically do you propose allocating resources and staffing?

Jill Broadhurst
Annie Campbell Washington
Paul Lim

QUESTION 9.  In early 2010, Oakland’s Finance and Management Committee received a presentation from staff and visiting personnel from the City of Baltimore concerning CitiStat, a leadership strategy a mayor can employ to mobilize city agencies to produce specific results.  (More information is at http://tiny.cc/q00ojx ).  CitiStat involves use of a round-the-clock 311 reporting system for any request for city services other than policing. It uses data in a manner similar to ComStat. High level city management uses the 311-generated data and benchmarks and regular meetings to hold departments accountable, judge successes and failure, reveal what agencies are doing and not doing to achieve benchmarks and provide the best possible services to residents.  Explain your familiarity with CitiStat and whether you believe such a program can and should be implemented in Oakland.  If you do not believe it should be implemented in the near future, explain why.  If you think it should, explain what you will do to support implementation.  

Jill Broadhurst
Annie Campbell Washington
Paul Lim

QUESTION 10. Oakland has room to improve its policies in the areas of crime reduction, budget processes, street maintenance, and economic maintenance. What cities can Oakland learn from, and adopt or emulate policies from with respect to these subjects? What policies from other cities would benefit Oakland?

Jill Broadhurst
Annie Campbell Washington
Paul Lim

QUESTION 11. Do you support the following policies and, briefly, why or why not?

 A. Creation by Charter amendment of a Rainy day fund as recommended by MOBN! and the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC)?

B. Annual polling of city residents on their satisfaction with city services? What would you do with that information?

C. Conducting a police resource deployment study to determine the number of officers actually need by OPD and how they should be deployed?

D. Will you support the preparation of a comprehensive public safety plan?

Jill Broadhurst
Annie Campbell Washington
Paul Lim

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Candidate Responses

QUESTION 1

Jill Broadhurst

No, I do not support Measure Z. This parcel tax does not address the real funding needed to make our streets safer, it does not guarantee communication between officers and community, and it provides no increase of officers other than what we currently have. The City needs to deliver a home run, not a half-baked version of safety– the risk of alienating our residents, to forever not trust government, is too great. The voters are skeptical and we need to earn their respect before putting forth a measure that has a big chance of delivering poor results. Should I be elected, I will work on a tighter and cleaner public safety measure for June 2015.

Yes, I support a more transparent and visible arm of Public Ethics in our City. I also appreciate a more equitable process for selecting commissioners. Funding for this department is independent of council vote, which is needed to properly deliver this service.

I support a fair of transparent process for selecting district boundaries. With the potential passage of the Publics Ethics Commission Reform, I would like to see if the redistricting process can be managed through this department, versus the creation of a new initiative, which will add to costs with the potential for competing, overseeing efforts.

Annie Campbell Washington

I support Measure Z: Public Safety. We cannot afford to lose a single dollar dedicated to police services and violence prevention in this city. This is the continuation of an existing tax that currently pays for police officers, fire service and outreach workers/violence interrupters doing the work of the Ceasefire initiative. We need these vital services to continue.

I support Measure CC: Public Ethics. This Measure strengthens the Public Ethics Commission in critical ways to ensure that it has the resources and authority to fulfill its mission of enforcing campaign finance, lobbying, transparency and ethics laws.

I support Measure DD: Redistricting. Measure DD establishes a 13-member Independent Redistricting Commission that will be responsible for drawing the boundaries of the seven districts for the election of Councilmembers and Oakland Unified School Board of Directors. A 13-member board will provide a new degree of neutrality and independence to this work that we have not experienced in the past.

Paul Lim

Measure Z: Public Safety (Parcel tax for police, fire and violence prevention programs) Yes, if the funds are directed to support a youth recreation program that involves schools, local college students as employees, and police as coaches.

Measure XX: Public Ethics (Restructuring of Public Ethics Commission and mandatory funding for its staff) Yes

Measure XX: Redistricting (Redistricting commission for City Council boundaries ) Yes

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QUESTION 2

Jill Broadhurst

I agree. With the amount of officer we lose monthly due to retirement or disability, I do not think that layoffs would be a reasonable option, nor one the residents would tolerate (other than disciplinary conduct cases). We should look at all options available to us in order to provide appropriate protection to our residents and businesses.

Annie Campbell Washington

Paul Lim

I agree on some points and disagree on others. I do believe the police force needs increased staffing but not necessarily armed officers. Staffing needs can be met by increasing support staff pulled from the civilian labor force to perform much of the administrative functions that have been bogging down the armed officers. I do not agree with making increasing the police force the number one priority. Increasing safety and security must be tackled with a two pronged approach. We see the results of a heavy handed police action in Ferguson and over doing authority results in increased resistance. The problem must be addressed at the source by finding the root cause and using real feasible solutions. Part of the solution is getting invested in Oakland. Building sense of camaraderie, a Team Oakland. This is accomplished by reconsolidating the youth recreation program as a new all city league. The program would use school facilities on an afterschool program basis, hire staffing from local colleges, and have police officers participate in some form such as team coaches built into their regular duties. The truth of the matter is you defend teammates. You don’t commit crimes against them. We’re all one team we’re all folks.

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QUESTION 3

Jill Broadhurst

A key factor in morale and attrition is to have consistent leadership, one that doesn’t change every year, combined with experienced leadership that can manage a department. Additionally, making sure the officers are not overworked, are supported within their department (as well as by the City administration) through defined policies, despite a sometimes opposing vocal sentiment.

Annie Campbell Washington

OPD’s attrition and morale problems could be greatly reduced through the following:

The Mayor and City Council must budget for adequate equipment and technology upgrades in the Police Department every year.

The Mayor and City Council must develop funding and budget for a new Police Administration building.

The Mayor and City Council must stay focused on finally getting into compliance with the Negotiated Settlement Agreement.

The Mayor and City Council must develop personal relationships with the leadership in OPD and OPOA built on mutual respect.

Paul Lim

Surveying is a good start. Let’s find out what the real issues are and apply real solutions. No band-aids for symptoms. No false back patting. Simply ask the officers. Providing a civilian support staff to alleviate much of the administrative work would allow officers to do what they are trained and good at doing, law enforcement. Take some of that paperwork away and free them up to do their training. I would also support programs that integrate local officers into the community to prevent heavy handed responses such as Ferguson. Low morale comes from feeling unappreciated and the feeling of unappreciated comes from public trust. Public trust can be bolstered with higher degrees of transparency and impartial reviews of the police force. Audits and reviews have to show that police aren’t letting other police slide.

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QUESTION 4

Jill Broadhurst

I fully support a thorough review of the NSA agreement and its requirements. I support publicly speaking on behalf of the process which appears, on paper, to be flawed. Questions can be raised concerning the incentives, if any, to have OPD in full compliance- this obviously results in a delay and struggle to have a functioning police department to meet the needs of all the residents. I will work with groups, such as MOBN, to create a step-by-step plan that is actionable by council and work towards moving the requirements to a close.

Annie Campbell Washington

As Councilmember, I will do absolutely everything in my power to end Court supervision of our police department. My opinions on these issues result from being personally involved with the Negotiated Settlement Agreement from December 2011-December 2013. I believe that the key Oakland players in these issues are the Mayor, the City Attorney, the Chief of Police and the Plaintiff’s Attorneys. The City of Oakland has an extremely limited ability to impact the Court at this point. In the past three years, the Judge has not met with the Mayor or City Attorney in person and has met with the Chief of Police less than a handful of times. I am realistic about the amount of leverage the City Council has in this situation, but I will still do everything in my power as Councilmember to ensure that the City remains in compliance with the NSA and we end Court supervision.

Paul Lim

I am willing to overhaul the auditing system in place. I will build reports and resolutions based on verifiable metrics from experts using sound scientific processes to prove that Oakland is making and improvement. I will support reform that increases transparency and applies a general standard of ruling throughout the entire police force. These metrics will be publicly available to prove that the Oakland Police Department is taking steps and succeeding in improving. The question that needs to be answered is who watches the watchmen. If police are enforcing us who is enforcing the police? Part of the reform I would propose is to bring oversight of the police force back under the control of the city council or an elected official with the aim of transparency.

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QUESTION 5

Jill Broadhurst

What you have here is an infrastructure item that has been unfunded, and neglected, for over a decade by council. I do not claim to be able to resolve every pothole on our streets, but what I do say, is those concerns do matter to me and are a priority. I will advocate for one time funds to be set aside for street infrastructure. I also support Measure BB, a county sales tax which will improve our roads, and major thoroughfares, and improve greater regional access. In addition the city can continue to seek out grants offered at the state and federal level till we are able to have a more consistent and secure allocation for roads. No one council member can promise what will become policy since there are other votes needed to move things forward, however I will be a strong voice in making this a priority.

Annie Campbell Washington

The abhorrent quality of the streets in Oakland is a critical issue for me. It disturbs me greatly that even in very good economic times, the City of Oakland has never funded street repair at a level that can even make a dent. Because we have high priority demands on our city dollars – namely public safety and unfunded liabilities – I support Measure BB, the Alameda County measure that will be on the ballot in November 2014 to ensure that we have a significant, stable and sustainable funding stream for this work for the next 30 years. This measure will provide a significant funding stream for local street repair projects in the City of Oakland — $17M per year/$577M over 30 years for local streets maintenance and safety.

Paul Lim

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QUESTION 6

Jill Broadhurst

Paul Lim

Oakland has been facing financial shortfalls for a while now. Cost savings will be found through a review of the current budget. Those cost savings can be put to better use. Cutting back on the wasteful spending of the city is one of my top priorities. Ventures and special interests have been slowly eroding the financial stability of the city on initiatives that have minimal impact and don’t appeal to most only to the very few. These initiatives will be eliminated and the funds reassigned towards more lucrative and useful interests. Strong efficient financial policy where we go big instead of nickel and diming. I will not sacrifice to placate to the small special interests pork barreling that has plagued the city. Reconsolidation and reapprppriation of cost savings.

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QUESTION 7

Jill Broadhurst

Yes, I support a more robust implementation of Ceasefire, so long as the goal is matched with growing the police force. Through this initiative which includes community policing and outreach, we have seen homicide rates reduce by up to 60%. There need to be a dedicated manager who will oversee all the components of the program. We need to effectively manage and supply the jobs program for those offenders who are looking for another option. It is critical that our police department dedicate more staff resources to the investigative unit that processes burglaries. It has also been noted that Compstat is not used properly and further training is needed on the procedures and management concerning this valuable tool.

Annie Campbell Washington

I support identifying a sustainable, stable and ongoing funding source for Ceasefire. Ceasefire is the cornerstone of the City of Oakland’s plan to reduce violent crime. It must be funded fully in the next two year budget. The manager, case managers and violence interrupters/outreach workers are currently funded by grants and the existing Measure Y. I am prepared to fund this work with General Purpose fund dollars in the next two year budget if other funding sources are not available.

Paul Lim

I support overhauling Operation Ceasefire. It’s obviously not strong enough to work as I have known two of my former High School Football teammates shot and killed in the past few years. I don’t want to be the one who holds a team photo with members crossed out and I’m the only one left. Operation Ceasefire has never really fired on all cylinders. First it was directed into the wrong areas to the wrong people. Then there’s no leadership. I propose integrating a job placement program directly into Operation Ceasefire. Who knows the violence better than those who have lived it on the streets? Give them a real strong pathway to these support jobs where they may work together with law enforcement to solve community problems. Bring those onto the team instead of ostracizing them as the enemy. We don’t kill our own teammates on purpose. Team Oakland. We all folks here. The funding for the program comes from diverting wasteful spending into this more constructive venture. Some of the smaller special interest programs that don’t move the needle simply have to go. Go big or go home.

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QUESTION 8

Jill Broadhurst

– Yes

-Absolutely, yes.

– Yes

-Yes, I approve of an expanded program with set measures of success in place.

– I would look to the Chief and OPD administration to decide on this recommendation. If they felt this was needed, I would support the initiative with clear measures of success in place.

-Yes, we need more data to analyze our success and best practices.

– I would look to the Chief and OPD administration to decide on this recommendation. If they felt this was needed, I would support the initiative with clear measures of success in place.

Appointing a Director of Community Improvement: I would look to the Chief and OPD administration to decide on this recommendation. If they felt this was needed, I would support a recommendation to create a new position.

Appointing a team of representatives from the community: This could be an extension of NCPC chairs. I can see the value of a position such as this, but for the sake of streamlining, I would want to make sure it was an effective addition versus adding another layer of confusion and delay.

Annie Campbell Washington

Paul Lim

Call for Service Reduction strategy; Yes

Expanded investigation capacity in each of the City’s 5 policing districts, so that each district has an investigative sergeant, 3 investigators, and 3 to 5 police officers.

Yes. Job creation.

Increased sworn police personnel to a ratio of 2 officers for every 1,000 in the population (i.e., 800).

No. Not convinced a hard ratio is required.

Expansion of the Ceasefire initiative.

Yes

Redesign of community policing, so that the entire Police Department, not just PSOs, are focused on community relationship building.

Yes

Measurement of the state of community / police relations.

Yes

Moving restorative justice practices into the community, to address neighborhood disorder and minor crimes in a manner that brings community into the process and prevents future crime and disorder occurrences.

Yes

Appointing a Director of Community Improvement who will be responsible for coordinating collaborative action by city agencies, community groups and state and federal partners, to address both quality of life issues and crime.

No. Don’t need another appointed official. Elected or some other form. Less politics.

Appointing a team of representatives from the community to work with the Director of Community Improvement, the Police Department and other government agencies to insure community coordination.

No. Appointed by who?

Bringing Security Ambassadors into the crime reduction strategic plan and require advanced training to those who patrol downtown areas, so they are active and have the ability to intervene in minor situations that impact public security.

No. Who are Security Ambassadors?

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QUESTION 9

Jill Broadhurst

Paul Lim

QUESTION 10

Jill Broadhurst

Baltimore- Compstat, CitiStat and Ceasefire

New York City- ComStat, CitiStat

Springfield, Massachusetts- CitiStat

Oakland needs to be more efficient in its delivery of services and analysis of how staff is used and effective. All of these programs will improve where we currently are now and direct us to become an enhanced, successful, working form of government.

A perfect case study of outcomes is below:

http://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2007/04/pdf/citistat_report.pdf

Annie Campbell Washington

I am thrilled, as a graduate of the Goldman School of Public Policy, to bring my expertise in public policy research and analysis to each and every problem facing Oakland as it becomes necessary as a Councilmember. In addition, I will have the opportunity to have a small staff to research best practices and develop solutions to problems facing Oakland.

Paul Lim

Oakland is a large metropolitan city which is part of a larger metropolitan area. This means Oakland has some of the same issues and successes as other large metropolitan cities in large metropolitan areas. Cities such as LA, NY, and Las Vegas. Many of cities tackle the same issues that face Oakland. A strong partnership between Oakland, the bay area neighbors, and other large metros can be a great boon. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel every time. New York for instance is implementing a business friendly policy to reinvigorate and attract businesses to its downtown area. Las Vegas and LA have crime prevention programs in place that are already be utilized. As part of cost savings Oakland can match the issue that wants to be solved with the same issue that has already been solved in other cities. With minor adjustments the solution is still viable and without the cost of having to invent it ourselves.

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QUESTION 11

Jill Broadhurst

Paul Lim

 A. Creation by Charter amendment of a Rainy day fund as recommended by MOBN! and the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC)?

Yes with strong control over where the fund comes from and what it can be used for. Should be for verified minimally by the state emergencies.

B. Annual polling of city residents on their satisfaction with city services? What would you do with that information?

No. I am not confident Oakland will poll in an impartial manner. Universities have strict rules on studies (scientific methods course), these rules must apply to polls (which are really just nonacademic studies) conducted by Oakland.

C. Conducting a police resource deployment study to determine the number of officers actually need by OPD and how they should be deployed?

Yes. Larger cities have functioned just fine with smaller forces. Efficiency is the key.

D. Will you support the preparation of a comprehensive public safety plan?

Yes. Everybody, cities, neighborhoods, families, should have a safety plan. Just a matter of scale.

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