Residents are mostly split in their opinions of Schaaf. Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Controversial Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland, Calif., is touting her opposition to President Trump's policies against illegal immigration -- while mayoral challengers criticize her for the. Despite those advances, some city leaders criticized Schaafs administration for failing to deliver basic city services. Schaaf's first roles in local government were as legislative aide to Oakland City Council president Ignacio De La Fuente[10] and special assistant to Oakland mayor Jerry Brown. I dont know whats fair, but my sense is that people are pretty unhappy at the moment with the state of issues in Oakland.. There was a lot of criticism around the type of cabin, but the fact of the matter is she was thinking about interim housing before most jurisdictions in the region were thinking about it.. Heres what political experts say, Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. While Schaaf ushered in a building boom, Lindheim said the housing crisis in Oakland is worse than ever., They grossly underperformed targets of moderate housing and they greatly over-performed targets of market rate housing, Lindheim said. Jeff Tumlin was named Interim Director[25] of the department in June 2016. Libby Schaaf will go down as one of the worst mayors in Oakland's history. "As far as frustrations and disappointments? This year violent deaths are nearly on par with last year as of Tuesday. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. articles a month for anyone to read, even non-subscribers! Born and raised in Oakland, Ive always felt such pride in our beautiful, diverse city. Its the kind of foundational investments that she did in her tenure that will bear fruit for the city of Oakland in the long-term, Moss said. While nearly 20,000 new housing units have been built in her time, homelessness also grew by 131% since 2015. And respondents were overwhelmingly concerned with gun violence 97% said its an extremely or very serious problem, and 88% said the same about crime. She instituted one of the nations largest guaranteed income programs for low-income residents and launched a widely-lauded program called Keep Oakland Housed, which provides rent checks and legal representation for residents at risk of homelessness. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". We created several public-private partnerships to test innovative approaches with private dollars, like the Cabin Community Shelter Model and Keep Oakland Housed that prevented 1800 families a year from entering homelessness and won HUD's National Partnership Award. Schaaf has responded to the housing crisis instead by criminalizing unhoused people. But the city reached 43% of its very-low-income housing goals, 26% of its low-income housing and 3% of its moderate-income housing goals. Since 2015, the first year of Schaafs mayoral tenure, Oakland residents have become increasingly pessimistic about the city. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. She joined The Chronicle in 2016 after graduating from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. S.F.s Golden Gate Park has a new feature after storms: more lakes. Even the United Nations condemned Schaafs treatment of the unhoused, saying it constitutes cruel and inhuman treatment and is a violation of multiple human rights, including the rights to life, housing, health and water and sanitation.. I did not feel he had a path to victory, no matter how much money was spent.. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Delving into Schaafs charitable works, let us start with theOakland Cares. "I know I put my heart and soul into serving my beloved hometown," she said. She repaved 161 miles of the citys crumbling roadways, but residents complain about the amount of trash on city streets in the span of one year, enough garbage landed on city streets to cover the length of 13 football fields. Which Bay Area city is best for you? That is understandable because that is what developers want to build, but thats not necessarily what Oakland needs.. Mayor of Oakland Libby Schaaf reacts after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics at Oracle Park on June 25, 2021, in. Other legal experts pointed to similar policies in cities like New York, which have been ruled constitutional. When the ranked-choice balloting was completed, he lost to Thao, a union-stalwart, by just 677 votes. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions. Schaaf won the November 4, 2014 Oakland mayoral election in the 14th round in ranked choice voting with 62.79% of the vote. She repaved 161 miles of the citys crumbling roadways, but residents complain about the amount of trash on city streets in the span of one year, enough garbage landed on city streets to cover the length of 13 football fields. She added that the city has 2,200 affordable homes in the pipeline ready to be built. Before starting her political career, Schaaf was an attorney in Oakland at the law firm of Reed Smith LLP. This is out of control.. She equipped an entire generation of children with college savings accounts and universal preschool. Despite voters suggesting a different form of leadership, Schaaf said she hopes residents will remember her as a fighter. The chambers poll also found that 97% of respondents said homelessness is either an extreme or very serious problem. SACRAMENTO - Governor Gavin Newsom and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf issued the following joint statement regarding the Wood Street encampment clearing: "The Court's indication that it will lift the injunction in a week means Caltrans will hopefully be able to proceed to clean up the most dangerous portion of the . Schaaf said the biggest challenges from her time in office are the problems she inherited from previous administrations from deteriorating roads with no plans to fix them to a non-existent response to homelessness. gallery owner who sprayed homeless woman in viral video apologizes. "[25], The Department of Transportation consists of 300 employees, previously working in the Department of Public Works and Oakland Police Department's Parking Enforcement operations.[26]. This is the gem of Oakland and its completely trashed, the woman said, pointing to the people sleeping on the street. Despite voters suggesting a different form of leadership, Schaaf said she hopes residents will remember her as a fighter. Also See: Grab all the details about Jane Pauley, her net worth, and married life. Schaaf also built and ran the first centralized volunteer program for Oakland public schools at theMarcus Foster Institute. "And it will be for others to decide whether that was a good job or not.". San Francisco Mayor London Breed (left) and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf hold baseballs before a between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland As last year at at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Thats what the people of Oakland expect and demand. An Oakland Chamber of Commerce poll released in October shows that voters are largely dissatisfied with the city 64% of the polls respondents said they felt the city was headed in the wrong direction. She is the co-founder of the firm. No one can argue that Schaaf didn't try. Stop giving all our money to an inefficient police department without making necessary changes. Elizabeth Beckman "Libby" Schaaf (born November 12, 1965) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. That is understandable because that is what developers want to build, but thats not necessarily what Oakland needs.. Further, she is the mayor of Oakland, California, as of 2020. "There are moments of just unbelievable joy, like riding in that first Warriors' victory parade and seeing just the beauty of Oakland on full display. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". It also lays out her political achievements and failures as the citys 50th mayor for the past eight years. Her name wasnt on the ballot, but the 2022 Oakland elections were a disaster for outgoing Mayor Libby Schaaf, the culmination of her eight-year fall from grace. Before the sun rose on a brisk February morning, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf looked around Lake Merritt and counted the number of people sleeping on the street for the biennial point-in-time count. In addition to that, she's a former member of the Oakland City Council. She has made good on the promise to invest in police: The Oakland Police Departments share of the Oakland General Fund ballooned from $194 million per year, in the last budget put forward by Schaaf's predecessor, to $353 million per year in 2022-23 an 80% increase in just eight years. The outcomes and conditions in the city arent as positive as anybody would like. The chambers poll also found that 97% of respondents said homelessness is either an extreme or very serious problem. However, her house in Oakland, where she resides with her family, came to the attention of many after itwas vandalized as the threatof federal troops looms back in July. She added that Schaafs administration also changed zoning codes to allow for different types of interim housing. As Schaaf prepares to leave office on Jan. 2, still keeping her next move quiet, political experts say her tenure and her success as the citys leader is mostly mixed. All Rights Reserved.Site by Value-Centered Solutions. While nearly 20,000 housing units have been built in her time, homelessness also grew by 131% since 2015. In her first five years, the homicide rate dropped. She oversaw the city as it dealt with tragedy when the Ghost Ship fire killed 36 people at a warehouse party. But, as Schaaf stood by passively, Oakland labor leaders over the past eight years built a potent campaign organization that financially and organizationally dominated the 2022 election. Schaafs model is now used in other cities, said Tomiquia Moss, the CEO of All Home, a nonprofit that focuses on addressing homelessness as a regional issue. A mayor who serves all of Oakland, not just the wealthy few, someone with the courage to undo the Schaaf painful legacy and allow Oakland to heal. She is the mayor of Oakland, California and a former member of the Oakland City Council. I hope people appreciated that I was focusing my attention on addressing Oaklands challenges, not building a political pipeline. She and her followers are now paying a huge price for that nave thinking. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Official Website for the City of Oakland | Mayor Sheng Thao. [41], Schaaf co-founded the nonprofit Oakland Cares, which organized and implemented hundreds of volunteer community improvement projects across the city. Our Ceasefire Partnership gave Oakland its lowest 5-year homicide rate on record. And the business community must decide whether it wants to unify to be a potent force in the citys electoral politics or become irrelevant. But the reticence was reinforced by Schaafs lack of a political organization to support campaigns. While Schaaf ushered in a building boom, Lindheim said the housing crisis in Oakland is worse than ever., They grossly under-performed targets of moderate housing and they greatly over-performed targets of market rate housing, Lindheim said. There was a lot of criticism around the type of cabin, but the fact of the matter is she was thinking about interim housing before most jurisdictions in the region were thinking about it.. Outgoing Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf reflects on trials and triumphs in office, Public File for KBCW-TV / KBCW 44 Cable 12. OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Police are investigating an act of vandalism at Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf's house. She holds a B.A. Oakland Mayor Schaaf touted the strides made in the last 8 years during her final State of the City address, while accepting responsibility for the current spike in crime, acknowledging that it . Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Published: Aug 26, 2022. By October, that had plummeted to 35%. There is no treatment. Since then, her support has only risen, according to polls. Weve had to respond to the crisis while building a whole new system that did not exist in City Hall just six years ago.. In the business community, there were a lot of people concerned about Loren initially based upon his support from Libby, said Greg McConnell, who spearheaded an independent expenditure effort for former Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente. She serves on the Leadership Council at Kiva, a non-profit organization that allows people to lend money via the Internet to low-income entrepreneurs and students in over 80 countries. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf was a target of HBO's Bill Maher on Friday night over her handling of a controversy surrounding supposed nooses found at Lake Merritt. That dissatisfaction also extended to the citys leadership 42% of the polls respondents rated Schaafs performance poorly. The department is tantalizing close to ending nearly 20 years under federal oversight in May, if it can continue to comply with court-mandated reforms. There are cities that have gone through big transformations when it was said it could never be done. Facts of And there are those on the far-left, such as incoming mayor Sheng Thao, who are politically underwritten by key city labor unions. it's the highest highs and lowest lows," Schaaf said. During her administration, Schaaf capitalized on public private partnerships, using fundraising to launch city programs. In 2016, Schaaf wrote a voter-approved $600 million bond measure that helped fund street improvements. At best, her tenure has been mixed, said Jim Ross, a political consultant based in Oakland. The homeless crisis is just a moral outrage," she said. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Lets learn more about her in todays article. De La Fuentes entry into the campaign, the division in the business community and the lack of a potent Schaaf-backed political operation cost Taylor the race. Cat Brooks is an award-winning actress, playwright, the executive director of the Justice Teams Network, the co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project and the host of "Law & Disorder" on KPFA. The programs success is mixed. While controversial, she said she considers that an accomplishment that will one day be realized. libby schaaf eye problems. But there were other problems that have proven far more difficult to repair. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served on the Oakland City Council. Schaaf, 54, grew up in Oaklands District 4, where she attended Head-Royce School and Skyline High School. Schaaf also strove to increase government transparency and efficiency, build a safer city, and strengthen Oakland neighborhoods in her time on city council. var year = today.getFullYear(); That wasnt her goal, Schaaf said. Hear the latest economic, business and market news, as well as global, national, and local news. She worked extensively on Oakland Police Department reform, hiring more civilian staff and pushing through a plan to coordinate the Oakland Police Department with the Alameda County Sheriff's Department, to increase the number of officers patrolling Oakland. The states shortage of affordable homes threatens its golden-ness, Libby Schaaf says. Despite the unrelenting challenges of these times, we made historic accomplishments together. To be sure, Schaaf shouldered more blame than she deserved for the citys homelessness, rising gun violence and troubled municipal finances. Heres what Sheng Thao plans to do first, Is Oakland more progressive than San Francisco? Libby Schaaf hosts her final news conference as Oakland mayor this month. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. She led Oakland through not easy times.. In May 2015, Mayor Schaaf instituted a ban on un-permitted nighttime marches on public roadways in Oakland, citing existing city policies. But she didnt galvanize that into a political force.. That first year, 24% of likely voters said the city was on the wrong track and 61% said it was headed in the right direction, according to the Chamber of Commerce annual poll. 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