Since the last election, Make Oakland Better Now! has become a 501(c)(3) non-profit.  This means, among other things, that we do not endorse candidates for public office.  However, we continue to obtain questionnaire responses from candidates concerning the most critical issues faced by the City of Oakland.  Today, we are pleased to release responses to our questionnaires from Mayoral candidates.

MOBN! submitted our questionnaire to all fifteen mayoral candidates.  We received responses from all but four, with Jason Anderson, Eric Wilson, Rebecca Kaplan and Ken Houston not participating (although Ken Houston did send us a copy of his platform statement).  The full responses  are available, and here are the links:

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

Ken Houston (platform statement)

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

Mayoral 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 )

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

QUESTION 2. As of May 31st, the OPD had 649 sworn police personnel, and projected that it would have 681 by July and 716 by December, 2014. 63 of these officers are funded by Measure Y, which expires at the end of this year, and 35 by Federal grants, which, if not renewed, will expire next year. If the voters elect you in November, how many police will Oakland have as of the end of 2018? If you plan to either maintain current levels or increase them, describe how you will fund police.

If you plan to either maintain current levels or increase them, describe how you will fund police (a) if Measure Z succeeds and if it fails; (b) if current grants for police are renewed or replaced and if they are not.

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

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 will you solve OPD’s attrition and morale problems?

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

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 Mayor, 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?

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

QUESTION 5. According to the Public Works Department, Oakland is on an 85­year 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 non­compliant or non­existent.
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?

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

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 all­funds 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 Five­Year 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?

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

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 plan to expand Operation Ceasefire? In what respect? Where specifically do you intend to allocate resources and staffing?

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

QUESTION 8. What is your understanding of the relative responsibilities of the Mayor and City Administrator as established in the Charter? What are the duties of each? What is the Council’s responsibility in this regard?

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

QUESTION 9. If the voters elect you in November, will Oaklanders see changes in the following from City Government? If so, what changes and why?:
● Leadership.
● Management.
● Strategic Planning.
● Transparency.

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

QUESTION 10. In 2012­-2013, Oakland contracted with Strategic Policy Partners (Robert Wasserman et al) to present a comprehensive public safety plan. Strategic Policy Partners made a large number of recommendations, some of which have been implemented and some of which have not. (The reports are here: http://tiny.cc/SPPReport, http://tiny.cc/Bratton1, http://tiny.cc/SPPBest) If the voters elect you in November, please state whether Oakland will
implement the following recommendations (We are looking for a “yes” or “no” answer as to each recommendation, with explanatory narrative not exceeding 25 words for each recommendation):
● Call for Service Reduction strategy;
● 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.
● Increased sworn police personnel to a ratio of 2 officers for every 1,000 in the population (i.e., 800).
● Expansion of the Ceasefire initiative.
● Redesign of community policing, so that the entire Police Department, not just PSOs, are focused on community relationship building.
● Measurement of the state of community / police relations.
● 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.
● 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.
● 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.
● 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.

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

QUESTION 11. 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 round­the­clock 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 311­generated 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 implement it and when this will be accomplished.

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

QUESTION 12. 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?

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

QUESTION 13. 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?

Saied Karamooz
Peter Y. Liu
Patrick McCullough
Bryan Parker
Jean Quan
Courtney Ruby
Libby Schaaf
Nancy Sidebotham
Dan Siegel
Joe Tuman
Charles Williams

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Candidate Responses

Question 1

Saied Karamooz

● Measure Z: Public Safety (Parcel tax for police, fire and violence prevention programs) I assume this is supposed to be Measure Y,  Public Safety, and not Measure Z, Cannabis  Regulatory Commission. If so, Yes, I support Measure Y.

● Measure CC: Public Ethics (Restructuring of Public Ethics Commission and mandatory funding for its staff) Absolutely. Our city government is woefully weak in its enforcement of public ethics.

● Measure DD: Redistricting (Citizens’ redistricting commission for City Council boundaries) Yes. Ensuring fair and equitable representation
is of utmost importance to protecting the best
interests of each of our citizens.

Peter Y. Liu

ALL THESE MEASURES ARE OBSOLETE. MY COMMUNITY EMPOWERED SAFETY PLAN IS SUPERIOR.

Patrick McCullough

Measure Z: Public Safety (Parcel tax for police, fire and violence prevention programs)

This product of dishonest politics and failed compromises won’t deliver enough cops or the fruits of “crime prevention”. My honest funding proposals will improve public safety and confidence in taxation.

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

High price for specious benefit that could insulate offenders from real prosecution. Bigger bureaucracy isn’t the solution for politicians’ greed, cronyism and unwillingness to be virtuous and honest. Leadership is.

Measure DD: Redistricting (Citizens’ redistricting commission for City Council boundaries )

Bigger bureaucracy isn’t the solution. Force the self-serving councilors to be honest and cease walking the path of temporal selfishness. It’s shameful they endorse DD instead of committing to selflessness.

Bryan Parker

● Measure Z: Public Safety (Parcel tax for police, fire and violence prevention programs)
This measure must pass or $20-­22 million dollars of our public safety budget is in jeopardy. Police alone are not the answer to safety. Vital services also needed.

● Measure CC: Public Ethics (Restructuring of Public Ethics Commission and mandatory funding for its staff)
Having a Public Ethics Commission is definitely needed in City Hall and welcome the oversight. We need to adhere to the charter, policies and procedures. Proper use of a Public Ethics Commission can help prevent lawsuits and waste that the City cannot afford.

● Measure DD: Redistricting (Citizens’ redistricting commission for City Council boundaries)
I support the establishment of an independent body to handle redistricting as
outlined in Measure DD.

Jean Quan

● Measure Z: Public Safety (Parcel tax for police, fire and violence prevention programs) Yes, I provided leadership for the original and current measures to fund critical community policing officers and violence prevention programs including Ceasefire.

● Measure CC: Public Ethics (Restructuring of Public Ethics Commission and mandatory funding for its staff) Yes, this will give the Commission and its staff the independence to investigate without dependence on Council funding

● Measure DD: Redistricting (Citizens’ redistricting commission for City Council boundaries) Yes, the Citizen’s Redistricting Commission has worked well for the State of California, creating more representative districts and preventing self-benefitting gerrymandering.

Courtney Ruby

I believe in increased police and violence prevention programs, a strengthened Public
Ethics Commission and citizen control of redistricting. Unfortunately, I cannot take a specific position on these ballot measures or any local ballot measures due to my position as City Auditor. The Oakland City Auditor is responsible for preparing the impartial fiscal analysis for each ballot measure. In order to keep my impartiality, I follow government auditing standards set by the auditing industry that auditors perform their professional responsibilities with integrity and independence. As
such, auditors and audit organizations must maintain independence so that their opinions, findings, conclusions, judgments, and recommendations will be impartial and viewed as impartial by objective third parties with knowledge of the relevant information.

Libby Schaaf

● Measure Z: Public Safety (Parcel tax for police, fire and violence prevention programs) I support. I respect those with concerns about the implementation of Measure Y, but we must maintain public safety funding levels in this period of high crime.

● Measure CC: Public Ethics (Restructuring of Public Ethics Commission and mandatory funding for its staff) Support. Give our good government watch dog some teeth!

● Measure DD: Redistricting (Citizens’ redistricting commission for City Council boundaries) Support. I led the creation of this measure. Taking political line­drawing away from self­-interested politicians and giving it to Oakland residents will enhance voting rights and trust in government.

Nancy Sidebotham

Measure Z: Public Safety (Parcel tax for police, fire and violence prevention programs) I am an opponent of Measure Z. Having a set number for officers and money coming out of the general fund to cover any possible shortages is a concern.

Measure CC: Public Ethics (Restructuring of Public Ethics
Commission and mandatory funding for its staff) I am an opponent because it needs to be strengthened; the language is weak and it still gives too much control to the Administrator and politicians.

Measure DD: Redistricting (Citizens’ redistricting commission for City Council boundaries) No real position on this measure; can be subject to abuse.

Dan Siegel

Yes to all three

Joe Tuman

Measure Z: Public Safety (Parcel tax for police, fire and violence prevention programs)

I reluctantly support Measure Z because Oakland cannot afford to lose the funding for 60 police officers.

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

I completely support strengthening the Public Ethics Commission to address the many complex ethical issues in elections and public administration of our city.

Measure DD: Redistricting (Citizens’ redistricting commission for City Council boundaries )

I support the idea of removing the process of redistricting from the control of elected officials and placing it in the hands of citizens.

Charles Williams

Measure Z: Public Safety (Parcel tax for police, fire and violence prevention programs) I would vote no.

Measure CC: Public Ethics (Restructuring of Public Ethics Commission and mandatory funding for its staff) I would vote no.

Measure DD: Redistricting (Citizens’ redistricting commission for City Council boundaries) I would vote no.

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Question 2

Saied Karamooz

We need enough officers, combined with process  improvement and re-directing of work to civilian assistants, to avoid mandatory overtime. With the current structure and assuming very low efficiency gains of 3%-7%, the right figure for the number of sworn officers is about 700. I am a staunch supporter of Measure Y. If it passes, I will ensure that there is clear traceability of the funds to their use within each of the three programs supported by Measure Y, Public Safety, Jobs, and Education. If for some reason, Measure Y does not pass and/or the current Federal grant is not renewed, I would present various financial options to our citizens to ensure our police force does not drop below 700.

Peter Y. Liu

No need for more Police under my plan because I’ll have armed civilians and neighborhood watch members more than 4,000 of them (each police officer set up armed neighborhood watches, 7~25 members each)

Patrick McCullough

I plan for approximately 900 officers. (a) If Z succeeds I will seek to change or rescind it and replace it with honest funding proposals. (b) If federal grants are renewed I’ll use them, but my proposals will be sufficient and adaptable.

Bryan Parker

I have stated a goal of having 800 police officers. With more officers, we can further engage in community policing, we can improve our response times to businesses and residents and allow our officers to engage in more proactive work. If Z passes, and grants maintained, which you did not ask, I would try to go to 900 officers. Benchmarking suggests the need for 1200, however, current budget constraints suggest 800 is more realistic. In the upside case of 900 officers, we can invest in more investigative units and bring back a traffic division.

If Measure Z succeeds we will need to fund approximate 100 additional officers. $20­-25M cost. I will fund through: (A) grants; (B) growth of tax base from additional businesses; (C) Public / Private partnerships; (D) uptick in sales tax revenue from new retail; and (E) new revenue streams, estimated at upwards of $25M annually.

If Measure Z fails and/or current grants are not renewed, we will have to look at
alternatives. Reduction of crime levels and ensuring a sense of safety within our city is imperative. It is the same path but could be as much as 200 officers to get to 800 which would mean $40-­50M. Tall order. At that point, I would deem we have exigent circumstances and know that we have a strong case for state and federal resources.

Jean Quan

I have funded back to back academies as Mayor and plan to continue this pattern
supplementing with lateral hires when necessary or possible. We believe we could reach about 800 officers by 2018.
If Measure Z succeeds, this will provide funding for our community problem-solving officers. If it fails, I will prioritize in the budget and use our increasing revenues to maintain these officers.
I have worked closely with the Federal COPS office and Congresswoman Barbara Lee to ensure that we receive federal grants to hire officers, and they know this is critical to saving lives, so I am confident that these grants will be renewed.

Courtney Ruby

We need a mayor who will lead the fight for public safety every day. No more excuses.
The key is for Oakland’s next mayor to lead a comprehensive effort, driven by accountabilty and outcomes, that can achieve effective coordination between police, various levels/branches of government (including courts), nonprofits, and other community partners.Regardless if Measure Z succeeds or fails, or current grants are renewed, we have a plan. We start by adding 200 police officers by finding $40 million in budget savings through Mandatory Management Audits over the next four years. (Please refer to my initiative on Mandatory Management Audits for Oakland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzymw85ovmo) In the public works agency budget alone, we found $9 million in savings- that’s 7.5% of the what the department was spending. If we find just half that level in savings throughout Oakland’s budget we will have the money required. And, when I am Mayor, we will fully implement community policing and tie police promotions to the measured goals and standards of community policing.
Many parts of the solution are operating in our community right now. Recommitting to
Ceasefire and related violence prevention strategies funded by Measure Y is the right
idea. Oakland needs a Mayor who will see this through – keeping everyone accountable
and driving results – not only in an election year, but for the long term.

Libby Schaaf

Realistically, considering recruiting and financial limitations, we can and
must get to 800 officers by 2018. Nationally, cities over 100,000 have an average of 3.5 police per 1,000. In California, the average is slightly less at 2.5 per 1,000.
Oakland is currently around 1.4 per 1,000. Oakland’s police force, if it were at the state average rate, would be 1,000 officers. While I do not believe we can simply buy more officers to reduce crime, I do believe that Oakland should move towards having an average­-sized police department. Chief Batts’s strategic plan calls for 925 office in order to implement community policing. This number is derived from the staffing level needed to allow officers to spend 20 minutes of every hour out of their cars building relationships in the community and doing proactive problem­-solving, rather than responding to 911 calls.

The failure of Measure Z will remove $20 million per year from our budget that is used exclusively to improve public safety. It will be difficult to reach our hiring target if we will be starting in such a hole. Regardless, my number one commitment as Mayor is to strengthen our police force and to improve public safety. We are fortunate to be in a period of increased city revenues, but I don’t believe we can rely solely on more revenues to fund the officers we need at the pace at which we need them. My budgets will reflect a priority commitment to OPD staffing. If Measure Z fails, I would not exclude the possibility of going back to the voters with something better. I also believe that Oakland could attract new public­-private partnerships and grant funds when we put forward a focused, competent message.

Nancy Sidebotham

This question has to be carefully considered because of the way it is crafted. The question should not just focus on the numbers, but should also consider OPD leadership and officer morale. OPD ideally should have 1100 but let’s start with 900.  OPD officers should be able to protect and serve its citizens and do it without input from individuals who have no law enforcement experience.  It’s the input from non experienced individuals that has caused the department to be ran inefficiently and created low staff morale. OPD has superb officers and their skills are not being used that would benefit citizens. If there was a strategic plan in place to find the most effective way to use officers, the opportunity to move from under federal oversight would occur quicker.

Dan Siegel

I want to reorganize the department based on 700 officers by assigning 513 to patrol as compared with 277 today. That means each of 57 beats has five patrol officers, two investigators, one problem solving officer, and one sergeant. I want to test this model for two years and then see if 700 officers are enough by the end of 2016. No-one knows or can honestly say how things will look at the end of 2018, either with respect to the number officers or how OPD will be funded.

Joe Tuman

Charles Williams

I would vote yes and expect Oakland administration to stop at 700 officers and bring in an additional150 expanded ambassadors to be placed in crucial areas of the city under the direction of The Chief. Unfunded liabilities have put the budget in the red. I would raise taxes to achieve this goal.

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Question 3

Saied Karamooz

I would convene a summit with representation by the officers, OPOA, and community leaders with the express purpose of understanding the officers’
perspective as captured in the Oakland Police Survey. The outcome of the summit would be a list of action items with designated responsibilities to address the dissatisfaction of our officers. There would be a monthly follow up to monitor progress against each of the action items. On a bi-annual basis, I would
conduct a review of the Open Action Items to ensure continuous improvement in officer morale.

Peter Y. Liu

Police will have armed poplace and neighborhood watches as backups. As long as we have an armed populace and neighborhood militias, we’ll keep our city safe even if there low numbers of officers.

Patrick McCullough

By my unique personal experience and qualities; I will represent to them a leader who won’t stab them in the back, won’t let them down, and be the mayor who can solve those problems and make it easier being a cop in Oakland. A mayor who has personal broad and deep experience with law enforcement, has cops in his family, has worked on their gear, has walked in their shoes, and who has stood up for them, will earn their respect, cooperation, and trust.

Bryan Parker

There needs to be a true partnership between the Mayor, City Council, OPD and the community. Our officers need to know that they are respected. We also have to provide additional training to handle protests, and outreach opportunities to better engage the public and provide transparency in their activities. Solving the mandatory overtime, respect and proper equipment would go a long way to solving the morale issues.

Jean Quan

First, through August this year we have lost 41 officers. This is very close to the long time average of 5 per month. Recently we have lost more officers to SF that pays more and is considered an easier place to work. It appears officers leave whenever they reach full pension and there are few incentives that can persuade them from retiring and working for a second agency with a different pension fund. So we can plan for an increasing boomer bump and fund additional academies.
We need to continue to increase the number of officers so that our staff are not overworked, and continue the community policing training to improve relations with the community as well as be prepared for challenging and dangerous situations.
It was important that we did a national search to hire a permanent Chief who can provide firm and steady leadership and who has a collegial command staff that supports him. I have directed Chief Sean Whent to ensure a standard of respect across the department, and to promote command leadership who uphold principles of fairness, progress and respect.
When I first became Mayor, I visited every line-up possible. Officers told me that we needed a new fleet for our officers, and new radios and laptops. We have been able to almost complete replacements and funding of other data technology to make policing easier, more strategic and more effective.

Courtney Ruby

City government lacks clear accountable leadership in public safety. Once we bring that
leadership to the Mayor’s office and OPD management we will find success. We can produce the finest police department when we provide the right training at the academy and in-service, such as community policing, use of force training, human relations, cultural sensitivity and diversity. Since 1990, Oakland has not been able to enact community policing. We will change that by basing officer promotion on their demonstrated level of effective community policing.
Oakland needs to be seen as experts in public safety while leading a department wellversed in the skills to reduce urban crime and homicides. That while garner the respect and confidence of the community and will translate into higher job satisfaction and increased morale of our officers. That can be accomplished with leadership, hiring more officers from Oakland and increasing diversity in the ranks

Libby Schaaf

Since the day I got into office I have been the strongest voice advocating to
rebuild our police department. I fully recognize that Oakland will never reach full staffing goals without maintaining competitive salaries and benefits. Along with working conditions and poor moral, compensation is a major factor in the high OPD attrition rate that I’m committed to reducing.
During my time on the Council, we have had four Chiefs of Police and five City
Administrators. It is extremely difficult to create a culture of performance and
pride without consistent leadership at the top. I will attract top leadership and
keep it.
I am also committed to getting Oakland out from under receivership and to
meeting the conditions of the consent decree. While City Hall is at fault for the
failure of OPD to comply, serving in a police department with these unique
requirements and issues, on top of tough working conditions, likely discourages
some officers from seeing themselves as long-term City of Oakland police.
We need to be clear and consistent in police policies and have our officers backs
when they follow them. We need to show our appreciation for their service and
potentially incentivize delays in retirement to stem attrition.

Nancy Sidebotham

Improving officer morale is not solely the responsibility of the Mayor.  Officers need to be given the opportunity to perform the job they were sworn to do, receive support from the citizens they serve and eliminate the oversight of the federal monitors.  Officers are being reprimanded for minor infractions that can be changed through improved training not days off.  The mandatory OT also needs to be eliminated. This is having an impact on personal lives and hampers them from effectively doing their job.

Dan Siegel

I will provide clear leadership to the City and OPD. Officers will know what is expected of them and what to expect from the City in return. My investigation suggests that low morale is a result of poor and inconsistent leadership from City Hall and the Department. I will make sure that officers are appreciated for doing a good job and following the rules.

Joe Tuman

The attrition of veteran and new police officers is a critical issue that must be addressed for public safety in our city. The most important impact on OPD morale is changing the atmosphere in City Hall from hostility or indifference to our police force to support. Under my administration, Oakland’s city government will ensure public safety is the priority our citizens expect and deserve, with OPD as the most valued partner. Specifically this means partnering with the City Administrator to:

Listen to OPD management and use their expertise in implementing new systems, processes and tactics to the extent possible. Oakland has had enough “consultants” – we need to use our highly trained and experienced management for THEIR ideas. Bring in experts for technical expertise, but ensure our OPD partners with and guide those efforts.

Ensure critical infrastructure is maintained and supported by other city departments, ie radios, computer based case management, city and country crime lab, training.

Ensure the city attorney’s office is integrated with OPD.

Ensure Public works and City inspection is integrated with OPD to support the solutions for quality of life issues, such as garbage, graffiti, dilapidated housing.

Ensure city administration incorporates other law enforcement agencies in to Oakland’s public safety projects on a regular basis – Ceasefire is an example that should be expanded to other ongoing crime prevention, especially auto theft, burglary, child prostitution, elder crime.

Charles Williams

The city has failed in supporting public programs and its police department so long that criminal enterprise has taken over. Every officer should be stress tested twice a year by a qualified outside facility. Direct communication should be established with a panel of professionals willing to hear the problems presented in the results along with psychological treatment for those that need it. These officers are being subjected to violent situations daily. We must enact wellness programs for these officers and families in order for attrition and morale to rise.

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Question 4

Saied Karamooz

Above all, we must stay laser focused on the objectives of the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA). Our aim must be to reach a point where the conduct of our police department exceeds, not just meets, the minimum requirements as defined in the NSA. The recent overturning of Officer Roche’s termination is a telltale sign that we are not there yet. As such, discussions of closing out the remaining tasks in the NSA are pre-mature. Any candidate who zeroes in on the small number of remaining NSA tasks is missing the big picture.
Said differently, the NSA is a means to the end, it’s not an end onto itself. To be crystal clear, if we had, in fact, achieved the objectives of the NSA, our citizens would not be assembling in a “Hate the Police” march to express their dissatisfaction with our police as late as August 15, 2014. Let’s not fool our citizens or ourselves; we are not there yet. As such, our primary objective must be to work closely with all parties, particularly our officers, to ensure a complete overhaul of our officers’ attitude and conduct, particularly with regard to use of force and racial profiling matters. With this primary
objective, closure of the NSA will take care of itself

Peter Y. Liu

Judge Henderson is an unconstitutional dictator.  His failed oversight experiment cost a lot of government waste.  He needs to be arrested.

Patrick McCullough

I am prepared to go to that extent necessary. My plan to end the Court supervision includes presenting an assessment showing that Oakland is in substantial compliance with the most important items and there is no need for continued Court supervision.

Bryan Parker

Our police officers have enough oversight and the department has complied with over 90% of requirements outlined in the NSA. At this point, they are being prevented from doing their jobs in a manner that serves and protects our city.
As Mayor, I would file an appeal on behalf of the city to be released from federal
oversight. Detroit just got out from under their consent decree. This is a good
precedent for us. No longer being subject to the NSA would allow us to establish our own culture and further address the morale issues. The culture would be constitutional policing and racial sensitivity, community policing and respect for our officers.

Jean Quan

When I became Mayor, we had about 22 items to go.
I have been the first and only Mayor to be actively involved in working closely with the federal monitor to make sure that we come into compliance, and to negotiate on each task. We now only have a handful to go.
We are steadily making progress on the remaining items, which include the most long-term tasks such as addressing use of force and racial profiling issues that require culture shift in the department. We have hired a national expert to work with us on analyzing our data and procedures involving racial profiling.
We worked with closely with the Monitor and as a result we are one of the first cities to have almost all our officers using badge cameras. I look forward to working with the Court’s expert to review our discipline procedure.

Courtney Ruby

It is the job of the mayor to ensure we are meeting the requirements of the NSA and that we have effective systems in place to ensure constitutional policing. Some have complained that the NSA standards for evaluation are inconsistent and, if so, these deficien-cies must be pointed out and addressed. We see the greater challenge to be when OPD’s internal policies do not sufficiently address operational issues and its stated procedures are not adhered to. It makes it difficult to engage in a dispute with the monitor when we can’t get “our side of the street” right.
We must strive for the best police department we can have by having fair and consistent
policies, consistent leadership, appropriate oversight, clear documentation and a de-partment that is motivated to be the best while focused on its mission.

Libby Schaaf

Oakland must complete the reforms to get into compliance with the NSA. I will work to have an excellent relationship with the monitor, judge and plaintiff’s counsel to ensure successful completion and sustained implementation of reforms, much like Los Angeles has accomplished. The record of inconsistent policy guidance and reversals of discipline by arbitions is not acceptable nor good for either party. Clearer and consistently followed policies is a top priority.

Nancy Sidebotham

Judge Henderson has to carefully weigh information presented to him by the monitors.  While several residents are obtaining their information from the media, careful consideration should be used in regards to why the arbitrator opted to make the decision he did. The facts are not entirely known.  Personnel matters are generally as a rule confidential and personal in nature. There are a lot of emotions and thoughts involved with the NSA agreement but if elected officials and others would allow Judge Henderson to complete his task despite some of the unpopular decisions he has made, OPD could move out from under the NSA quicker.

Dan Siegel

A major problem with the NSA is that the Court does not trust the City. I will work with the Chief to make sure that Oakland is fully in compliance by June 30, 2015, and stay in compliance for one year so that the NSA ends on June 30, 2016. I believe that I will have the confidence of Judge Henderson and Chief Warshaw to win the Court’s approval for ending the NSA. I will also review and if necessary fix the arbitration process to make sure that cases of police officer misconduct are competently presented and fairly judged.

Joe Tuman

Since the court appointed Monitor and related expenses are part of the legal settlement there is little the Mayor or City Council can do to directly oppose or alter the Monitor’s behavior. I agree with those that regret the drain on our city administration and OPD in meeting shifting standards while spending resources on a Monitor that could be used for other public safety solutions.

As Mayor, my primary focus would be on continuing to coordinate directly with the Monitor, City Administrator, City Attorney to ensure OPD processes and reporting meet compliance with the goal of ending the Court supervision as soon as possible. To the extent possible, the Monitor’s requirements will be included as standard procedure. I believe that Constitutional and Legal policing is also effective policing – to that end, my attitude is positive compliance actions will end this supervision as quickly as possible.

I am also prepared to meet with Judge Henderson and discuss the fact that our Monitor has multiple contracts (the last time I checked) with other cities for similar services, and little or no financial incentive to certify Oakland in compliance with the NSA. I am willing to ask the Judge to direct our Monitor to relinquish his other work so that he might give Oakland one hundred percent of his time and attention to help us realize compliance at the earliest possible time. If this meets with resistance by the Judge, I am willing to seek relief from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Charles Williams

Our current judge does not understand the severity of the stress that O.P.D is under and should be replaced. These officers have to deal with a well organized criminal element that preys on and thrives on the weakness of the department generating millions of dollars per year surpassing the government making it difficult to fight Occupy Oakland and other groups that are well funded and organized. In my opinion, a lot of officers are struggling with combat fatigue and are in dire need of counseling and treatment. The criminal element has far more sophisticated weaponry than the O.P.D. creating a weakness and sense of defeat. We must challenge the mandate with proven facts, statistics, and documented testimonies.

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Question 5

Saied Karamooz

Repaving. Not every mile requires the same level of maintenance or costs the same amount. We must analyze facts and figures at the right level of
granularity to make meaningful and informed decisions. I would begin by classifying the condition of our streets and the level of repair needed to
restore them to an acceptable level. Having quantified the effort, I would present various cost models to our citizens via the Participatory
Budgeting process.

Sidewalks: Property owners should be accountable for repairing the sidewalks in front of their properties to ensure safe passage for pedestrians. As such, I
would mobilize an effort by the city inspectors to notify property owners of the necessary repairs. Property owners would be given 18 months to affect
the repairs. If not done at the conclusion of the 18-month window, the city would make the necessary repairs and charge the property owners for the
expense, as is commonly done in other cities.

Ramps: Accessibility is of utmost importance. I would embark on a plan to bring all ramps into full compliance by the end of 2016. On a related note, the Oakland Mayor Movement platform includes a One-day-a-year volunteer program to have our citizens assist with Public Works projects. At a minimum, this program will generate between $4m-$8m of incremental services. Volunteers would perform lighter tasks (e.g., park equipment painting, landscaping projects, graffiti removal, etc.) thereby freeing up Public Works resources to devote to more intensive tasks such as road maintenance.

Peter Y. Liu

Deteriorated streets stay in poor neighborhoods.  Streets in rich neighborhoods will be paved with Gold every 15 years.

Patrick McCullough

Street improvement is a component of my general plan to change service delivery in Oakland. I plan to bypass the wastefully expensive way infrastructure projects are done, and also increase efficiency and local economics by training and hiring our residents to do much of the work.

Bryan Parker

First, we cannot afford to have an 85­-year gap in street repair. With the frequency of traffic and more people choosing to live in Oakland, we need to pay attention that our infrastructure is not compromised.

We must take a new approach to close the funding gap and shorten the repaving
schedule. Passing Measure BB will greatly help in this regard. We should also pursue other state and federal monies that will help us catch up on this maintenance. This includes the establishment of public-­private partnerships to lower other budgeted costs for the City and free up more money to handle roadway maintenance. Growing our economy, which we would do under my administration, would free up money for these
investments as well.

Further improvements could be made by looking to new technologies and techniques utilized by other cities to cut costs and reduce waste such as recycling pavement. While the long term economic analysis has yet to be done, early studies show a reduction in costs around 20%, which would allow for more frequent resurfacing.

Jean Quan

I am in full support and working to pass the new Measure BB, which will help us speed up the process of repairing our streets and sidewalks, providing us about $200 million. We need to ask the Council to reconsider other policies that will allow homeowners to make their repairs more easily and in collaboration with neighbors and the city

Courtney Ruby

Oaklanders will see a difference immediately. When my administration delivers on public safety, we will start to attract more businesses and entrepreneurs to create jobs and in-crease revenue. But we can’t deliver residents to their jobs without dependable in-frastructure. City government is here to address these large issues to get Oakland to re-alize its potential.
My 2009 audit of the Public Works Agency made 292 recommendations to make the de-partment work more efficiently and address our deteriorating streets and sidewalks. Once we get our transportation priorities aligned, we will look for more funding on the local, county, state, and national levels.
To understand my view of streets and sidewalks please view my 2009 audit here: http://
http://www.oaklandauditor.com/images/oakland/pwa_perf_audit4.09.pdf

Libby Schaaf

The backlog for street repaving in Oakland is nothing short of depressing. While I negotiated nearly $2 million in additional funds in the current budget for street improvements, that is clearly just a drop in the bucket. A long­term capital improvement plan, and bond issue, would be required for us, on our own as a city, to make a dramatic impact on this backlog. Assuming Prop BB passes this November (which looks likely), I would bond against the $8 million per year to make immediate upgrades in road conditions that will reduce maintenance costs going forward. Another potential source for street resurfacing and sidewalk repair funds that I will pursue aggressively derives from the state’s AB 32 cap and trade program and the Bay Area’s Sustainable Communities Strategy/Regional Transportation Plan. As an older city with a more traditional infrastructure pattern with neighborhoods in close proximity to transit, Oakland is well-­poised to take advantage of these funds. There are some available specifically for resurfacing and much more available for upgrading streets to
accommodate bicyclists and encourage walkability.
Oaklanders will see an improvement in street quality by the end of 2018

Nancy Sidebotham

Again the decision to improve deteriorating streets does not rest solely on the Mayor. This requires ongoing communication with the Public Works Director who should be able to assess streets that require immediate attention. If there is a process in place to repave the streets every 85 years, it is time to review the current system and change it.  Most things that are considered broken should involve everyone impacted. Individuals overseeing Oakland’s key agencies need to be less reactive to the situations based on what is printed in the media, be more fiscally responsible and have strategic plans in place to address infrastructure problems.  Top management also needs to determine what’s a key priority in the City.  A deteriorating infrastructure is a public safety issue.  Developers should also contribute funds to upgrading streets, improve lighting and provide open space.

Dan Siegel

This situation must be attributed to the ineffective leadership of the Mayor and the Council. I proposed that the $28 million “windfall” received by the City this year be used to begin street repair. Tentatively, based upon further consultation, I will propose that we raise the funds needed to overcome the years of neglect through issuing funds, while future budgets provide funds for ongoing maintenance.

Joe Tuman

Charles Williams

This would all be included in redeveloping downtown. Developers should be willing to include enhancements such as fixing curbs and walkways. Also, CalTrans could lower costs by using rental equipment for repavement of the streets. A proposition should be voted on by property owners to pay up to an additional $85 in property taxes for street maintenance to be kept up. This would revitalize downtown attracting new businesses, residential development, and created a new transit friendly community near BART.

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Question 6

Saied Karamooz

Although the coin-operated candidates try to bamboozle us with their financial jargon, fluff, or fancy talk on this subject, let there be no doubt that
none of the candidates have the ability to either 1) print money or, 2) subvert the commonly adopted, and strictly enforced, financial rules. Accordingly, addressing our unfunded liabilities boils down to engaging finance professionals to formulate various forecast scenarios and present the Mayor and City Council with a series of options ranging from immediate allocation of funds (i.e., swallowing a bitter now) to delaying the solution to future years (i.e., kicking the can down the road). For self-serving reasons, politicians opt for the latter and encumber their successors to solve what amounts to a much larger problem. However, I assure you that as a matter of principle, I will be looking to solve the problem sooner than later. As such, I will present a variety of options with that
principle in mind to the People of Oakland in the Participatory Budget process and allow them to influence the outcome. I will do everything in my power to leave a better Oakland behind for my successor, unlike my predecessor.

Peter Y. Liu

File for bankruptcy, wipe the debt off. Those retirees are living like fat cats, no more pension system.  We need money to repave the streets with Silver every 85 years in middle class neighborhoods.

Patrick McCullough

We’ve been facing a shortfall since before the 2008 elections, when I broached – but the council ignored – the subject. Without explanation, suddenly, a month after the election, the council frantically held a budget crisis summit. My general plan to restructure the delivery of government services will help ease the debt. I’ll do more as needed.

Bryan Parker

By the time, the term starts for the new mayor, the City will be facing the beginning of the FY 15/16 shortfall. A budget turnaround would be a necessity. The financial shortfall is imminent, if we do not aggressively address the unfunded liabilities. I also believe your numbers are vastly understated. It consists of unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities and deferred maintenance as you address above. I plan to address in the following ways:
● PV the debt under the pension. Offer a buyout of up to 20% of the outstanding
amounts. Once reduced the biggest driver of my liabilities will be slowed.
● Next I would have the economy on a growth path­­see above. This would allow
revenues to outpace debts.
● Meet with the CA and other public officials to determine how we combat the cost of skyrocketing healthcare costs and see if through collective buying power and other approaches we could bring down costs.
● Work with unions and all interested parties on any solution proposed with the
proviso that no one loses a benefit that has been earned.
● Address the deferred maintenance of the roads, though hope to get help from BB on that.

Jean Quan

Those projections as our current City Administrator notes includes all the deferred maintenance from decades past. Our recent bond ratings have been good: Standard & Poor Long-term Rating: AA-/Stable: We consider the city’s economy very strong. In our opinion, the city’s budgetary flexibility is strong, with available reserves at 13.9% of expenditures for fiscal year 2013 ($80.2 million), up slightly from 13.2% in fiscal year 2012.

Courtney Ruby

Yes, Oakland will face a financial shortfall- and it’s time for our city leaders to get real
about it.
There are no easy solutions. We must prioritize core services with public safety being first. We must define the appropriate level of service we can afford, and we must deliver a safe, well-run city to increase our economic base and maintain city services. Finally, we must have a leader who leads the city in long term financial planning that identifies quan-tifiable savings which means addressing pension reform, retiree healthcare, and neces-sary charter changes including contracting out.

Libby Schaaf

Yes, Oakland clearly lacks revenues to meet all of its obligations. I want to put the City on strong financial footing so that we not only meet these obligations, but can begin expanding and improving existing programs and services. I led the creation of the first “rainy day fund” in Oakland’s history to not only set money aside in a Vital Services Stabilization Reserve, but also to start pre­funding medical and other retirement liabilities. I recognize that this policy needs to eventually be guaranteed as a voter-­mandated charter provision. As Finance Chair, I oversaw establishing our first OPEB Trust Fund to start pre­funding this mounting liability, and got $20 million reserved to protect against the gamble of issuing pension obligation bonds for our unfunded PFRS system.
We need to balance rebuilding vital city services ­­ like police ­­ with funding our
mounting unfunded liabilities including deferred maintenance and capital expenditures, pensions, and, more importantly, retiree health care commitments. As Mayor, I will show the fiscal discipline and political courage to address both of these commitments in budgets I deliver to the City Council, and will not recommend funding ongoing commitments with one­-time resources, as so many previous Mayors and City Council’s have. I understand the severity of this issue and how it jeopardizes the long term financial health of Oakland. I am committed to solving it. Regarding capital investments, I will develop a long­ term plan and look to new Measure BB revenues as a bonding source so we can upgrade Oakland’s road conditions to save millions in on-­going maintenance costs going forward.

Nancy Sidebotham

Oakland faces a financial shortfall due to bad investments, poor spending decisions and questionable deals.  A lot of individuals perceive pensions as unfunded liabilities, but so is the Raider’s deal, needed capital improvements, infrastructure and more. Employees helped the City for (3) years while it dug itself out of a financial hole and then rewarded faithful employees by issuing pink slips and laying off 800 workers.  The City cannot continue to hold itself up financially through bond measures. Council members need to get a better grasp of the budget so the right fiscal decisions can be made.  Catering to special interest groups is not fiscally responsible and only makes Oakland look like a “cash cow.”  The City and labor unions need to work together to develop a plan to make Oakland a fiscally strong City.

Dan Siegel

Joe Tuman

Charles Williams

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Question 7

Saied Karamooz

Ceasefire is only one aspect of our fight against crime. Although it has been deemed as wildly successful, its durability is yet to be tested. Therefore, we must continue to embark on other initiatives that are essential to sustaining the crime
reduction trends. First and foremost, I would ensure our low income citizens have quality, clean, and safe homes by assigning one individual on my staff
to be solely focused on protecting against displacement and ensuring quality rental homes for our low income citizens.
In parallel, I would initiate job training programs that will result in rapid uptake of our young citizens who are not currently employed.
In addition, I will work with local and large national employers to create employment opportunities for our citizens. In particular, I would pursue 2 types of employment opportunities:

1. Call Centers. Attract companies with large call centers to locate operations in Oakland to take advantage of our high concentration of multi-lingual speakers.

2. Light manufacturing with an artistic flair. Small to medium operations with initial focus on bicycles and urban beautification equipment
(e.g., park benches, bike racks, playground equipment, etc.). There is a growing national trend in high priced custom bikes and bikes targeted for the Bike Share programs. The added benefit of targeting the Bike Share programs is that we would be able to expand into other aspects of the value chain (e.g.,
installation, membership services, repairs, etc.). Manufacturing of urban beautification equipment is in many ways complementary to bike building.

Peter Y. Liu

Operation Ceasefire is a crappy program, who ever came up with this program needs to be shot.

Patrick McCullough

I don’t plan to expand any program before I do an independent review as mayor.

Bryan Parker

There clearly could be improvements to Operation Ceasefire. While Ceasefire has had some measurable success, shootings and homicides are still occurring. A more aggressive approach will be required to make an impact on the increased incidents of crime and families and communities experience daily losses. I would also fold in aspects of the Richmond, CA model. Touch the “full life” of the person and influence violent behavior prior to it occurring through proving real alternatives. We need to better track and report out the metrics, especially for the services, of this money. Resources would be allocated to those programs with the best demonstrated results.

Jean Quan

I re-launched Operation Ceasefire by assigning my Public Safety Advisor Reygan Harmon to lead the effort from the Mayor’s Office. We received a grant and moved her to OPD to fully implement the program, and secured more funding to hire case managers. We recently added funds for additional case managers in the midterm budget. The Program will receive a sizable portion of the $2 million grant from Assemblymember Skinner’s recidivism grants, and we will continue to seek grants and additional allocations in the budget to grow this successful program.
We have worked closely with faith leaders and human service agencies, and this work can be deepened in the community to help steer our young men toward productive lives. I have worked with President Obama on his My Brother’s Keeper Initiative to focus on improving outcomes and opportunities for boys and men of color to address root causes

Courtney Ruby

Yes, I plan to expand Operation Ceasefire. Public safety is my first priority and more po-lice officers is only one part of the strategy. As a city, we need to develop public safety experts who can drive results in our police department and with our nonprofit partners. Currently, Operation Ceasefire is only operating in East Oakland – and just last spring it was reported that it was only working with 11% of the population involved in criminal ac-tivity. Ceasefire needs to be expanded and we must demonstrate our leadership in this strategy to drive more funds to bring this program to scale. Oakland Unite has been able to refine its use of Measure Y dollars to support programs tied to violence prevention and the mission of Ceasefire – and we can do better. We have to use data driven models to
drive results, focus funding, and get to predictive policing.
The right execution is critical. Ceasefire success requires several rounds of direct com-munication, and follow-through from enforcement, social services, and community part-ners. Accountability and driving results are important in Ceasefire implementation and is part of the training involved in creating a great community police officer.

Libby Schaaf

I’m committed to continuing and even expanding Operation Ceasefire. We can fund this from continued aggressive seeking of grants, utilizing appropriate allocations from OFCY, WIA and Measure Z (formerly Y), as well expanding partnership and support from outside law enforcement agencies.

Nancy Sidebotham

Ceasefire is a good program and effective in other cities (Boston, New Orleans) but not well thought out in Oakland.  It seems Oakland rushed to put forth a program in order to reduce the problem of violent crimes.  There is not a strong commitment from all the needed agencies and the funding source is a challenge for a City that relies too heavily on one source, Real Estate Transfer Tax. The politics also need to be removed because criminals will not take this program seriously until that occurs.

Dan Siegel

“Operation Ceasefire” is at best a very modest success, and I am not convinced to allocate general fund revenues to it. I believe that reorganization of OPD, as described above in response to question 2, is our best plan to reduce violence. Over the medium and long term only efforts to improve education and create jobs will solve Oakland’s crime problems.

Joe Tuman

The methodology behind Operation Ceasefire should be extended first geographically, and then to criminal behavior beyond violent crime. Career criminals participate in burglary, auto theft, prostitution, misdemeanor gang activity that can also be addressed. It is important that the Ceasefire integrated approach be continued for the long term, especially in establishing support processes in County probation and State parole organizations.

Having such an important solution dependent on grant funding is a good example of misplaced city priorities. In any organization, priorities must be ranked and then funded accordingly. Public safety is Oakland’s most important issue and should be our governments first deliverable. That means people from throughout the city should be managed and organized into public safety operations first. In the case of Operation Ceasefire, we can transfer and train (if necessary) personnel from other city positions. If there is budget available for other segments of the city, backfill those transferred positions.

Supporting Operation Ceasefire also means partnering closely with the county and the state to ensure that duplicative processes and groups are consolidated and managed by the best group. For example, it may be that headcount in Ceasefire can be effectively managed long term by the county probation department. Let‘s move people and funding in to those roles for an effective integrated approach to increasing public safety.

The viability of Ceasefire in the end depends upon the city’s ability to attract jobs from local employers that can give those program participants who are willing—a chance to really change their lives. Absent that, Ceasefire ends up being more stick than carrot. My job as our Mayor will be to assist in finding some jobs from members of our various Chambers of Commerce.

Charles Williams

I would not expand the Ceasefire program but enact an officer ambassador program in troublesome areas. This would be less expensive and of more help to the existing police force.

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Question 8

Saied Karamooz

The City Charter provides a clear outline of the three governing entities within Oakland City Government, Mayor, City Council, and City Administrator. Accordingly, my understanding of each of the entities is as follows:
1. Mayor. Sets the vision for the city based on the needs and priorities of our citizens and appoints the City Administrator for execution of programs
as adopted by the City.
2. City Administrator. Oversees all city functions for enforcement of city laws, policies and ordinances. In this capacity, City Administrator
prepares reports to inform the Council of progress on affairs of the City.
3. Council. Serving as the governing body of the City, it has the legislative power to provide local government, but no administrative power. As such, the Council defines projects, policies, and directives to be performed by the City
Administrator.
Of course, there are many other dimensions to the roles of each entity, such as preparation and approval of the budget, community leadership, and interaction with external entities and intergovernmental agencies to name a few. However, my understanding is that the division of responsibilities has been established in a manner whereby day-to-day oversight of city activities and directing of city resources are performed by the City Administrator so that the Mayor has the freedom to be accessible to our citizens and to champion the best interests of our citizens to external parties (e.g., corporations, investors, developers, state and
national governmental agencies, etc.).

Peter Y. Liu

The mayor tells the city administrator how to grow the weed. The city administrator then grows the weed.  Then the council members smokes the weed to see if it is good or not. If the weed is good, the city admin continues to grow the weed, if it is bad, each city council member grow their own weed to see if they can come up with something better.  Once they are convinced they have a better weed, they’ll aim for the mayor’s office next election.

Patrick McCullough

The Mayor is the primary leader; the Administrator is the chief manager of the city’s departments. The council is the legislative body charged with enacting necessary proposals and communicating the desires of the represented constituents.

Bryan Parker

The Mayor is the chief executive officer who provides leadership to the city and
governs, is responsible for submitting an annual budget prepared and reviewed by the City Administrator. Council should be charged with policy, leaving operations to city staff and the City Administrator. The duties are more fully spelled out in the City Charter. I would be the Chief Promoter of the City. My task is to bring our divided city together, ensure good education and economic opportunities for all, attract and retain business and ensure safety

Jean Quan

The Mayor is the CEO of the city and guides the City Administrator, who implements and executes our strategic plan.
Engagement: I’ve used the office of the Mayor to engage thousands of residents through more townhalls than ever held before, Volunteer Days, recruiting 1,000 mentors for our youth, and appointing a diverse group of community leaders to our boards and commissions.
Leadership: I’ve led with my vision of equitable economic development across the city that ensures thousands of additional well-paying jobs for Oakland residents, transformation of our police department, and a city government that focuses on supporting our youth and schools through my Education Cabinet.
Budget: I’ve worked with the City Administrator’s office and City Council to develop 4 strong budgets that preserve core services, invest in public safety, grow our reserve and address our debts.
The City Administrator works as the Chief Operating Officer with our department heads and staff to streamline more efficient operations, hire effective staff, implement a strong economic development plan, and manage the city’s finances.
The City Council passes policies and approved the budget for the city, and I have worked closely with Councilmembers to move our city’s policies forward as the city changes and moves forward.

Courtney Ruby

My job as Mayor is to deliver a safe, well-run city. The City Council job is to set policies
and appropriate funding. We serve Oakland best by excelling in our roles and being uni-fied in delivering a safe, economically viable city.
My job as City Auditor has been to hold City Hall politicians accountable. I am the only
candidate for mayor who has taken on City Hall and gotten results. As mayor, my first
priority will be public safety – and that will take leaders focused on better policies, not
endless politics. As we secure early wins improving public safety, Oakland City Council
will share in that success and together we can work to improve other areas of govern-ment. The key is to have clear goals, hold people accountable, and drive results.

Libby Schaaf

The Mayor has clear duties outlined in the Charter, such as submitting a budget to Council, recommending legislation to the Council, representing the city to foster economic, social and cultural development, and, importantly, appointing the City Administrator. The Mayor also has the responsibility to appoint members to various Boards and Commissions, including important ones such as the Port of Oakland, the Planning Commission and the Oakland Housing Authority Board. The City Administrator is the Chief Administrative Officer of the City, responsible for the implementation of the budget; that is running city operations and programs consistent with the budget adopted by the Council. The City Administrator also implements other policies adopted by the Council. The City Administrator is responsible for procuring materials and services for the city and overseeing the administration of, among other things, our personnel system and our finances. The City Administrator is, in short, the city’s top manager.
The City Council is the city’s legislative body. Their primary task is to adopt the city budget. They also may produce legislation to further the economic, social and cultural development of the city. They provide public oversight of city operations and are responsible for confirming Mayoral appointments to boards and commissions. They are not administrators and cannot, and should not, direct city staff in their work.

Nancy Sidebotham

What the Charter states and what is actually being done are 2 different things. The mayor is the figure head of the City (similar to the President), answers to the residents and hires and fires department heads with consent and  vote of the Council.  The mayor is supposed to have (4) town hall meetings a year.  The City Administrator, under the direction of the Mayor, runs the City and directs department heads.  Council is the legislative branch and is supposed to direct all concerns to the City Administrators office.

Dan Siegel

I hope we are all clear on what the City Charter states. I am not sure why you would want candidates for Mayor to prove that they can read!

Joe Tuman

Charles Williams

The Mayor is the CEO or overseer, while the City Administrator is the COO making sure that things are not just in order but moving in a positive direction among all major departments. The council acts as advisors, decision makers acting on behalf of the community.

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Question 9

Saied Karamooz

Leadership. A leader who is not beholden to anyone and not motivated by anything other than the best interest of ALL Oaklanders. As such, I
would:

– Spend one day each week to work closely with our citizens under the 1-day-a-year volunteer program as defined on the Oakland Mayor Movement platform.

– Engage actively with our African American and Hispanic youth so that they can see my sincere interest in their success.

– Work with the owners of our professional sports teams to create a winning solution for all of us, particularly the great Oakland fans Management. Relying on my past professional experience, I would ensure our city operations are
performed with maximum efficiency, transparency, and accountability to regain the trust of our citizens.

-Our city workers would see recognition for their hard
work that often goes unnoticed.
Strategic Planning. I would form 3 committees as listed below to formulate a 6-year plan with interim milestones for each year on key priorities for our
city:
– Housing Committee
– Employment Committee
– Education Committee

Transparency. Extreme transparency will begin on Day 1. As defined on the Oakland Mayor Movement platform, I would initiate a program whereby each week 5 (pre-registered) citizens will be selected to accompany the mayor. These
individuals will serve 3 functions:

1) Serve as eyes-and-ears of other Oaklanders
2) Gain an appreciation on what it takes to run
our city government
3) Provide a fresh perspective to solving our
everyday issues

Peter Y. Liu

• Leadership – YES, MOST DEFINTELY, I AM WORLD’S SMARTEST LEADER
• Management – YES, IT WILL BE FUN
• Strategic Planning – YES, CESP WILL BE COOL
• Transparency – AS CLEAR AS GLASS CEILING

Patrick McCullough

Of course there will be changes; they’ll see them because they will have elected me. I am completely capable of making improvement and desire to do so.

Bryan Parker

Oaklanders will see big changes under my leadership through the above mentioned areas.

Leadership: The current leadership in City Hall is failing. This needs to change and it will change under my leadership. Through my leadership, I would do the following:

• Work with OPD to expand community policing and obtain targeted training on best practices to handle protests

• Promote economic growth to fund increasing the level of police officers to 800
• Promote public­-private partnerships for job training and linked learning programs to steer people away from criminal activities

• Streamline business permitting and licensing processes
• Improve positive marketing and branding of the City

Management: My management style will stem from my executive experience in the private sector as well as the Workforce Investment Board and as Port Commissioner. As a healthcare company executive, I grew company to $800M in revenues. and provided vital life­saving services, education and jobs in the healthcare space. As an Oakland Port Commissioner, I understand how to leverage our port to grow jobs and our economy. As an experienced businessman and entrepreneur, I know that expanding our healthcare, technology and retail sectors will also increase investment and drive job growth in Oakland. Economic growth must be enjoyed by all Oaklanders if we are to make real change in our city.

Strategic Planning: We will engage in 5, 10 and 20 year planning with accompanying budgets so that we can clearly know where we are going. We must plan for both the long term and short term.

Transparency: Measure me by my first 100 days in office as I address what I consider to be the first and immediate three priorities: 1) Immediately address crime rates and improve public safety; 2) Growing the economy and adding jobs; and 3)Protect and nurture our children, so they feel safe at schools, and able to focus on their education. I would hold an all­-hands meeting with department leaders and leaders from other agencies along with key stakeholders to hear and discuss the current problems. I would then establish metrics and set goals for all to meet, including myself. I would reconvene with these individuals within 30 days, depending on the urgency of the priority. I would have meetings with the Chief of Police, Area Commanders and heads of all law enforcement agencies on a daily basis. I would convene hold a special a special budget committee to control liabilities and free capital for additional officers.

Jean Quan

Leadership: I will hire a permanent City Administrator who will work with me to bring our work to the next phase. I will continue to work on developing neighborhood and block based organizing and participation throughout the city.

Management: Now that finances are stabilized and growing, we need to look at our organization, weakened middle management, and training from within. •

Strategic Planning: I would like to implement staff retreats across the Mayor’s Office, City Administrator’s Office, and the City Council to collaboratively plan strategically for the city.

Transparency: We will continue to expand our efforts to use technology and data to increase participation and make information accessible to all residents.

Courtney Ruby

• Leadership YES – I will bring what city hall lacks. A results-driven government, that
does the math — reports out transparently, and holds itself and others account-able.

•Management YES – All department directors will be asked to resign immediately,
they will be assessed on their skill set, and I will decide if they should be rehired,
or if we should bring in someone new.
• Strategic Planning YES
• Transparency YES – Transparency is the hallmark of my time as Oakland Auditor,
and it will be as Oakland mayor.

Libby Schaaf

● Leadership. Yes. My leadership style is clear, direct, concise, consistent and
always pro­Oakland. I’ll be decisive and data­driven. I’ll accept responsibility for
the condition of the city and be an honest and trust­worthy communicator. When I say something, Oaklanders will know what I say is backed by the facts.
● Management. Yes. I intend to find us a long­term City Administrator who is excited about Oakland and the opportunities we have here. What Oakland needs at the highest level is consistent leadership and a senior management team that is committed to a solid vision for Oakland. I know the country’s strongest public
sector senior executives will relish the opportunity to work here under my
administration. I’m excited about implementing a 3­1­1/Oak­Stat/Office of
Performance Improvement much like Louisville’s as well as an Innovation
Fellowship for entrepreneurial city employees.
● Strategic Planning. Yes. I am particularly passionate about developing a
comprehensive public safety plan, as well as a long­term, serious strategic plan to
handle our unfunded liabilities, particularly retiree healthcare.
● Transparency. Yes. I will continue my commitment to open data and accountability for elected officials while in office. As Councilmember, I’ve written more transparency legislation than anyone. There is so much we can and should be doing to put information into Oaklanders’ hands to keep their representatives
accountable, increase understanding of city operations and to find new ways of
meeting the city’s responsibilities to its residents and taxpayers

Nancy Sidebotham

Leadership: Yes the micro managing of department Heads will be eliminated. Hire individuals in management positions that have the required credentials to perform their jobs.
Management: That is the purview of the City Administrator who has oversight of department heads.
Strategic Planning: There have been enough plans written with little to no results and money wasted that could have funded more viable projects. Review previous plans never implemented and stop reinventing the wheel. Answers to a lot of Oakland’s problems are already in existence, they are just ignored.;
City Hall will be open to the public; transparency is the key.

Dan Siegel

Joe Tuman

Leadership

As indicated in the answer above, as executive I will focus on delivering core functions of government more effectively—especially with respect to public safety and infrastructure, as well as promotion of economic development to create a larger pool of money in our general fund in order to pay for it. My public safety plan and my economic development plan can both be found in white paper format at www.joetuman.com. Borrowing from lessons learned as a department chair, I will work collaboratively with the CC on these issues.

Management

Oakland’s most important solution to our issues is our city staff. My administration will begin by ASKING our line staff city workers basic questions about what works, and what needs fixing-and then listen for their suggestions and recommendations. I will be LISTENING for their solutions, and I am willing to IMPLEMENT their ideas, where merited. Too many times the current and past administrations have brought in outside consultants and contractors, at very high cost, to propose solutions that our current workers already know. Cross training and job progression will be a high priority. In short, let‘s manage Oakland as a city, using the expertise we already have.

Strategic Planning

Per the economic development plan, we will be assessing the various plots and tracts of city owned public land that is currently unused, for consideration of development or sale. We will immediately target a minimum of 500 new businesses (small and mid-size companies) across various economic sectors that are natural fits for Oakland—including health care, technology, retail, restaurants, hotels and hospitality, food productions (including wine and spirits—especially beer and breweries), sports and the arts. We will also do immediate outreach to existing businesses, to determine what changes the city should consider to both support them and to help them grow. Per the public safety plan, we will also immediately begin planning for police academies to deal with staffing.

Transparency

I don’t know how to say this any more clearly than this: all decisions and actions by the city should be in daylight—public—and accessible. That will start with me as Mayor. I intend to make my schedule public (unless for personal security concerns), and to connect transparency to accountability, I will hold regular open office hours (first come, first serve) for any Oakland resident. I am also willing to publish my goals for the city on a quarterly or bi-annual basis, and then provide regular analysis about how these goals are being met.

Charles Williams

Leadership – Yes. Honesty, diligence, truth, and respect to the city I represent.

Management – A high degree of professionalism, knowledge, and sense of pride.

Strategic Planning – A more realistic approach to what the city needs in order to progress.

Transparency – Clear and honest communication with the city and its residents.

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Question 10

Saied Karamooz

● Call for Service Reduction strategy; Yes. We must optimize use of our sworn
officers’ time so that they are not in a reactive mode their entire shift.
● 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. There needs to be adequate resources to investigate incidents promptly.
● Increased sworn police personnel to a ratio of 2 officers for every 1,000 in the population (i.e., 800). Maybe. Only if it can happen without increasing the overall cost of Public Safety (i.e., offset by reductions within the Public Safety Budget line item).
● Expansion of the Ceasefire initiative. Yes. But very methodically to ensure realized improvements to-date are not jeopardized by diluting our attention into new areas.
● Redesign of community policing, so that the entire Police Department, not just PSOs, are focused on community relationship building. Yes. It is imperative that we have a model whereby all stakeholders are involved to realize enduring relationships with members of the community.
● Measurement of the state of community / police relations. Yes. We must monitor success of the Community Policing so that we know areas for improvement at all times.
● 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. ABSOLUTELY. This is perhaps the most critical program to protecting the future of our youth from irreversible damage by having a criminal
record unnecessarily.
● 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. Yes. We need to assign a single point of accountability to generate synergies among all stakeholders and to maximize benefits of our Community Policing program.
● 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. Yes. The best way to ensure effective community participation is to enable direct representation and communication from respected members of the community with the city and OPD.

● 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.  Yes. The more we de-escalate situations and reduce the demand for involvement from our sworn officers, the better we are as a community.

Peter Y. Liu

zZZzzz……ALL THIS IS OBSOLETE, JUST USE MY COMMUNITY EMPOWERED SAFETY PLAN.

Patrick McCullough

Call for Service Reduction strategy;

No. When Oakland residents call to report an actual or potential crime, I want a cop or qualified technician to arrive very soon.

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.

No. Not every district needs the same number.

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

Yes – on the way to 900.

Expansion of the Ceasefire initiative.

No – initially. I’ll assess the efficacy of this and other means of encouraging law compliance before deciding to recommend expansion or changes.

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

I want the entire police department to focus exclusively on achieving the goals of crime reduction and prevention. I will see to it that we incorporate community policing, relationship building, peace-making, and investigation into our strategy for meeting those goals. We mustn’t let rhetoric and flavor-of-the-month buzz words command our focus.

Measurement of the state of community / police relations.

What a waste of money that would be. As Bob Dylan sang: It don’t take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

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.

What particular RJ practices? What particular manner? Rhetoric must not lead reason.

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! We don’t need another bureaucracy. Whomever is already responsible must do their job. This is the job of the Mayor.

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.

Duplicative efforts will not result in twice the good result. Elect me to do it as Mayor.

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.

Yes. I believe that employing Security Ambassadors can help reduce crime.

Bryan Parker

● 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
● Increased sworn police personnel to a ratio of 2 officers for every 1,000 in the population (i.e., 800). YES
● Expansion of the Ceasefire initiative.
● 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. Will consider.
● 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. Will consider.

● 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. Yes.

Jean Quan

• Call for Service Reduction strategy. Yes, civilian techs and online services have helped, more to do.

• 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, partially implemented.

• Increased sworn police personnel to a ratio of 2 officers for every 1,000 in the population (i.e., 800). Yes, my goal is expansion of the Ceasefire initiative. See more above.

• Redesign of community policing, so that the entire Police Department, not just PSOs, are focused on community relationship building. Yes, we are working to take community policing to the next phase.

• Measurement of the state of community / police relations. Yes, working with our new CPRB Director and strengthening the Inspector General.

• 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, we will work with OHA, schools, and community groups to implement more restorative and less punitive practices.

• 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. Would have to have a more defined mandate. We are working to make sure that the Neighborhood Councils are better coordinated with other agencies and partners.

• 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. We have several advisory groups now. A council for each Police Area, the Chief’s Group, Measure Z/Y Advisory Group, and Ceasefire Advisory Group.

• 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. We are working with Ambassadors hired by BIDS and are experimenting with them around the Lake in Parks and Recreation.

Courtney Ruby

•Call for Service Reduction strategy; YES – I am open to any strategy geared toward
reducing the number of calls for service for patrol officers so that they can use
their time conducting proactive patrols and solving problems.
• 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
• Increased sworn police personnel to a ratio of 2 officers for every 1,000 in the population
(i.e., 800). YES
• 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 – effective community policing will be my main focus.
• Measurement of the state of community / police relations. YES
•Moving restorative justice practices into the community, to address neighborhood disor-der 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 part-ners, to address both quality of life issues and crime. YES
• Appointing a team of representatives from the community to work with the Director of
Community Improvement, the Police Department and other government agencies to in-sure community coordination. YES
• Bringing Security Ambassadors into the crime reduction strategic plan and require ad-vanced training to those who patrol downtown areas, so they are active and have the ability to intervene in minor situations that impact public security. YES

Libby Schaaf

● 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. I have fought in our budget to increase investigative capacity.
● Increased sworn police personnel to a ratio of 2 officers for every 1,000 in the population (i.e., 800). Yes.
● 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. Absolutely yes! My target for sworn personnel is based on the idea that all officers have community policing responsibility. Community intelligence is one of the most valuable crime­-fighting tools we have.
● 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. I see a near­-term opportunity to expand restorative justice in our schools as a way to reduce truancy, school violence, and suspensions.
● 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. Perhaps. I would want to evaluate existing staff capacity before committing to a Director level hire (and that hire’s attendant staff).
● 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. Yes; community representation is an essential part of any public safety strategy.
● 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. Yes.

Nancy Sidebotham

Yes, I would hire a Chief respected by the Rank and  File and let the Chief follow up on recommendations previously suggested.

Dan Siegel

Joe Tuman

Charles Williams

Call for Service Reduction strategy; Possible lay-offs

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. – NO

Increased sworn police personnel to a ratio of 2 officers for every 1,000 in the population (i.e., 800). – NO

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. – YES

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. -YES

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. Not just downtown but outlying areas also.

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Question 11

Saied Karamooz

I believe CitiStat based on a 311 reporting system that tracks non-emergency requests should be implemented in stages. I would begin by rolling out the 311 request line to improve level of service to our citizens and increase efficiencies along with capturing the metrics for tracking the calls that come into the city. As the 311 system stabilizes and our citizens become familiar with using it effectively, I would embark on rolling out the CitiStat system. I believe our citizens are entitled to see our city’s performance and improvement trends.
Unfortunately, without having scoped out the overall implementation effort, I won’t be able to provide a precise timeline for roll out of the 311 and CitiStat
systems. However, I would expect that we should expect initial roll out by mid-2016 and completion by early 2017.

Peter Y. Liu

ZZZZzzZz…..Whatever CitiStat or ComStat is, it is CRAP.  Just use my CESP.

Patrick McCullough

I am very familiar with a similar system used in a neighboring city. It seems to be another patented gimmick meant to replace common sense and diligence.

Bryan Parker

I have a high level understanding of CitiStat as a data­driven approach to manage and monitor city departments. I support programs such as this and would make it a priority to adopt this program or a similar one during my term as Mayor. I am a strong believer in the establishment of metrics for city departments and services, and believe that Oakland would benefit from such an approach in order to reduce costs, improve efficiency and increase transparency. I would work with the City Administrator to determine which departments would be a good starting place for the program and prioritize identification of funding to get the program off of the ground.

Jean Quan

This would be a second term priority, as we improve our IT infrastructure and funding becomes available. The current PWA and new police monitoring system could be a base.

Courtney Ruby

I am a vocal and long time supporter of Citistat. Once I put my team in place, Citistat will
be one of the management tools I will use to measure and drive results. It is relatively in-expensive to start and maintain since it uses existing technology that is owned by the
city (Microsoft Office and GIS mapping software). It costs Baltimore about $400,000/year
to run their operation and that is mostly salaries. In short, the small cost of running Citistat will be outweighed by the savings we reap from better management. My greatest concern on expense comes from people favoring a 311 system. Some cities rely on 311 for
their customer relations management (CRM) information gathering, but it can be expensive (anywhere from $3-$5 a call). There are other cities that use cheaper CRM systems
and I would favor those over the more expensive 311 approach.

Libby Schaaf

Developing a 3­1­1 system for Oakland residents is a cornerstone of my campaign. I’ve talked top leaders across the country, and am particularly impressed by the roll out of such a system in Louisville, Kentucky. As MOBN well knows, the city has no real performance metrics to speak of, and the development of such metrics is an extremely high priority for me. Developing a 3­1­1 system that improves customer service while producing important data to measure and monitor city service provision is, to me, a no brainer. Many 3­1­1 systems including San Francisco’s are built on open source platforms, so could be migrated to Oakland and adapted to build on our existing SeeClickFix system. This should take around one year.

Nancy Sidebotham

Oakland does not need to go outside itself for programs such as Citistat.  This is another program that requires funding.  Where would the funding come from?  What works on the east coast does not necessarily work on the west coast.  The funding streams are different as well as the laws. It would be more logical to look at cities closer to Oakland and study them more thoroughly.  Oakland has the expertise on hand that is consistently overlooked because individuals in upper management do not trust or believe in their staff. Before bringing programs into a City that has challenges with its revenue stream, survey the staff and ask their opinion. The knowledge that city staff has is unbelievable;however it continues to remain untapped. So whether I know or don’t know what this program is, we need to fix what is broken in Oakland. This can be done by talking to staff in the field performing the work.

Dan Siegel

This is a good proposal. I will investigate its application to Oakland and adopt some version of it.

Joe Tuman

Yes—but again with some caveats. This will be tremendously helpful to Oakland, IF (and a big IF) there is infrastructure in the city to support both the implementation and long-term support of such a system. From my experience in system implementations, the most important requirement for success is leadership buy-in and established processes to support the system requirements. It is a mistake to expect a system to drive successful processes if there are poor or non-existent processes to begin with. I would like to see how Baltimore or other cities have implemented such a system and not through just a presentation, but interviews and real time observations with both administration and citizens to assess successes and flaws.

That being said, I know that ComStat, when properly administered, can and has made a positive difference in the effective use of limited police resources. I assume the same will be true for CitiStat.

Charles Williams

I would employ the 311 generated data system and enhance it by developing a time and performance factor.

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Question 12

Saied Karamooz

It is without a doubt that there are many opportunities for Oakland to benefit from the experiences of other cities that have addressed many of our current challenges. As such, I will be extremely attentive at the US Conference of Mayors
Winter Meeting, scheduled for January 21-23, 2015 in Washington, DC and the subsequent one in San Francisco on June 19-22, 2015. Of course, equally as important is sharing of the lessons that we have learned from having
addressed various challenges in the past that other mayors are facing now.

Peter Y. Liu

LEARN FROM ME, THE WORLD’S SMARTEST LEADER.  NO NEED TO LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR 2ND RATE IDEAS, THAT’S JUST CRAZY.

Patrick McCullough

Oakland needs to stop learning and start implementing wisdom. We can learn from others, but it is best to learn from within.

Bryan Parker

Chicago- Public Private Partnerships
Newark- ­ Showing competence and getting private investment (Facebook)
Richmond- ­ Adopt/Emulate Office of Neighborhood Safety and its partnership with RPD and Council in crime reduction and specifically, homicides
Vallejo- Learn from bankruptcy filing and current pension challenges
Several-  Supporting small business
Phil- ­­Ambassador program to keep streets clean and monitor safety

Jean Quan

The Baltimore and SF systems are models for Public Works to be more measurable, SF also has good Green baselines. Chicago is using technology for emergency preparedness and response as well as community policing training programs. Collectively US Port cities are beginning to coordinate on International trade marketing.

Courtney Ruby

Baltimore – Citistat. I plan to use this approach as Mayor. CitiStat is a leadership strategy
that employs data-driven management systems to monitor and improve the performance of city agencies, on the task of producing clearly specified results on a bi-weekly basis.
Chicago – Budget savings commission. When Rahm Emanuel was elected Mayor, a nonprofit entity coordinated a team of senior partners from the major consulting and law firms on a pro bono basis to put together strategies to make government more efficient.
The Mayor puts together reform plans and the senior partners are assembled to further
the goals through traditional business analytics, research, and strategy. Chicago saved $50M in in the mayor’s first 100 days of office.
Seattle/San Francisco – Open Data. All agencies, including the police, release data on a tight timeline and the data is routinely updated using affordable and widely available software. It leads to a more transparent government, better coordination between city agencies and spurs economic development in the civic/tech sector.

Seattle – Sector Panels. Seattle brings together state and local workforce development
officials, educators and business leaders to identify needed, industry specific skill-sets
and then design the needed training programs. The program has resulted in greatly ex-panded training capacity for the city’s growing health care, green jobs, maritime and in-teractive media sectors – similar sectors right here in Oakland.

Libby Schaaf

Too many to cover! Examples include Louisville’s implementation of 3­1­1 and LouiStat lead by an Office of Performance Improvement. Over the past year, I’ve convened a series of public forums exploring public safety solutions ­ many of which I would implement. For example, Connie Rice’s Advancement Project has markedly reduced gang violence and improved police-­community relations in Los Angeles. Nashville’s Collective Impact work to improve outcomes for children is a model I’d like to see for my City-­County­-Schools Youth Ventures Joint Powers Authority.

Nancy Sidebotham

NONE. Oakland in the past was the city to emulate. That is no longer the case, Funding is needed and the City already has employees who are loyal to Oakland and good at their jobs.

Dan Siegel

Our platform provides numerous examples of cities that have created good examples from which Oakland can learn on various issues. For example, our neighbor Richmond seems to be doing well on crime reduction and another neighbor, Emeryville, is doing well on economic development.

Joe Tuman

Denver for building consensus in a diverse city.

NYC and Los Angeles for crime reduction.

Charles Williams

I see Oakland as being so far behind that custom planning and implementation is needed.

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Question 13

Saied Karamooz

A. Yes. As a matter of policy and practice, we, as stewards of our city, must take responsible and deliberate steps to safeguard our citizens against hardship that results from economic downturns.
B.Yes. We must formulate an action plan based on findings with measurable interim milestones and publish periodic report cards (2 or 3 times per
year) on progress of each item, similar to how it is done in the private sector.
C.Yes. For too long we have been living with figures from an outdated report and premise that continue to evolve. In parallel, we need to assess the work that is performed by the sworn officers and determine which tasks can be performed by others at a lower cost.
D. Yes. Needless to say, the comprehensive public safety plan must have discrete steps with specific expected outcomes for tracking progress and reporting to the public.

Peter Y. Liu

NO NEED FOR A RAINY DAY FUND B. IF RESIDENTS AREN’T SATISFED WITH ME RUNNING THE CITY UNDER CESP, THEY CAN JUST LEAVE. THERE IS NO NEED TO STUDY, JUST USE MY CESP. I ALREADY HAVE THE BEST COMPREHENSIVE PUBLIC SAFETY PLAN, ITS CESP.

Patrick McCullough

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

No more amendments are needed.

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

Again, it don’t take a weatherman – nor an annual poll, to know which way the wind blows. While some may feign ignorance for political advantage, not everyone is clueless.

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

Study it long enough and it will change? Are people really so un-knowing? Paralysis by analysis.

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

Yes, if I’m taking part in the planning.

Bryan Parker

A. Creation by Charter amendment of a Rainy day fund as recommended by MOBN! and the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC)?
Yes. We need to be prudent as a city to address unforeseen downturns in the economy that could affect city services and the quality of life of our residents.
B. Annual polling of city residents on their satisfaction with city services? What would you do with that information?
I support annual polling of city residents on their satisfaction with city services and would make the information publicly available. With that information I would acknowledge the current needs of residents and determine where the priorities are with providing services. I may move to bi­annual depending on budget.
C. Conducting a police resource deployment study to determine the number of officers actually need by OPD and how they should be deployed?
I support a resource study in order to determine if the current deployment strategy could be made more efficient and how an increase or decrease in the number of officers may impact that strategy.
D. Will you support the preparation of a comprehensive public safety plan?
I believe public safety requires a comprehensive approach and so I do support a
comprehensive plan that provides clear metrics and goals and addresses the concerns of all stakeholders.

Jean Quan

A. Creation by Charter amendment of a Rainy day fund as recommended by MOBN! and the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC)?
Yes, as well as our 7.5% emergency fund, fund for pension and other employee benefits, and our library reserve.
B. Annual polling of city residents on their satisfaction with city services? What would you do with that information?
Yes, I would like to re-establish that and formulate a survey in conjunction with city advisory groups. We have started to send out an online survey to receive feedback. This data would be reported back to city staff and department heads for implementation and integration.
C. Conducting a police resource deployment study to determine the number of officers actually need by OPD and how they should be deployed?
We have done recent studies and cannot right now afford the recommended levels, but we are working to get as close as we can with the resources we have, and I believe the Chief’s Update of our Safety Plan will address those issues.
D. Will you support the preparation of a comprehensive public safety plan?
Yes, Chief Whent will be releasing our safety plan

Courtney Ruby

A. Creation by Charter amendment of a Rainy day fund as recommended by MOBN! and
the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC)?YES
B. Annual polling of city residents on their satisfaction with city services? What would
you do with that information?YES
C. Conducting a police resource deployment study to determine the number of officers
actually need by OPD and how they should be deployed? YES
D. Will you support the preparation of a comprehensive public safety plan? YES

Libby Schaaf

A. Creation by Charter amendment of a Rainy day fund as recommended by MOBN! and the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC)? You know I have a long and clear history of supporting such a policy and working towards implementing it ­­ even if it is incremental with the Rainy Day Ordinance I finally got passed by the Council this July. I wrote and tried to get passed a Rainy Day Charter Amendment ballot measure in 2011, but only got one additional vote. I have been persistent in my efforts to accomplish this prudent policy for Oakland.
B. Annual polling of city residents on their satisfaction with city services? What would you do with that information? I wrote and got passed the Budget Transparency and Public Participation Policy, which requires at least an informal and preferably a professional poll of city residents regarding their budget priorities, which is related to their satisfaction with city services. I secured the funding for such a professional survey in the recent mid-­cycle budget adjustments. Annual or bi-­annual polling of residents is critical for benchmarking performance and ensuring that the full range of voices is heard and influences the development of the City’s budget.
C. Conducting a police resource deployment study to determine the number of officers actually need by OPD and how they should be deployed? Absolutely!
D. Will you support the preparation of a comprehensive public safety plan? Absolutely! I’ve publicly committed to prioritizing this in my first 100 days.

Nancy Sidebotham

A. Creation by Charter amendment of a Rainy day fund as
recommended by MOBN.
A rainy day fund would not work well for a City that is not fiscally sound and suffers from infrastructure and capital improvement problems.  Look at ways to improve and maintain the revenue stream. A rainy day fund should be revisited when the City is more financially stable.

B. Annual polling of  city residents on their satisfaction with city services?
With 800 employees laid off in the last (3) years, the polling will probably show dissatisfaction with City services. The focus should be on what can citizens do to assist in making City services more effective; Limited staffing means limited services.

C. Conducting a police resource deployment study to determine the number of
officers actually need by OPD and how they should be deployed?
No more studies should be conducted regarding the number of officers needed. The focus should be on the process for paying for more officers and how to use current officers in a more effective manner. Until the money issue is resolved, a deployment study is a waste of time and money.

D. Will you  support the  preparation of a comprehensive public safety
plan?
Only if it encompasses all of public safety and not just fire and police. It should also include key stakeholders which does not include politicians or individuals reaping financial benefits from the City..

Dan Siegel

Joe Tuman

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

Absolutely support this Charter amendment and view it as a vital step in solving our city’s budget crisis.

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

Only if this polling can be implemented very inexpensively and the second question implies what would we find out that don’t already know from private polls?

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

I believe this has already been done by Wasserman/Bratton. If so, let‘s not duplicate efforts. As stated above, I believe 900 is correct goal. It will be difficult enough to improve morale and recruit beyond the current level.

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

Yes, in conjunction and with leadership of OPD. Our officers are in patrol cars, on our streets, investigating all types of crime. Every day they address hundreds of active calls, seeing the reality of criminal behavior and knowing what works. In preparing a comprehensive public safety plan, let’s not forget to ask them what works and what needs fixing.

Charles Williams

A complete must be done in all problem areas mentioned and we must consult with others cities recovering from similar circumstances.

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