Welcome A LETTER FROM EBRHA CEO DEREK BARNES
July 5, 2022, I had an opportunity to listen to a 12+ hour Oakland City Council meeting where Councilmember Dan Kalb’s proposed modifications to Oakland’s Just Cause Ordinance. Several members threatened to abstain from voting on the changes, citing general process issues and no evidence of production impact studied. The agenda was packed with many other resolutions council members needed to hear, debate and ultimately vote on in a single session. A few items were highly complex and controversial policies with enormous economic impacts on the city that members were hearing for the first time.
Derek Barnes
“...this is no time to break longstanding precedent and reinject politics into the annual adjustment.”
While listening, I was particularly challenged by a few areas and shocked by how Oakland government works or isn’t working for us. Oakland City Council at work and councilmember’s interpersonal dynamics would make a great case study at some point. For now, I’d like to share my observation for those who rarely get a glimpse into the business of policy making as we close out a heavy legislative period. First, nearly every day, I look at our magnificent City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza. While in the virtual City Council meeting, staring at City Hall, I wondered when it will be fully occupied and active again doing the work of the people. Now, it stands eerily vacant and desolate with no signs of life except the surrounding encampments, people without shelter seeking refuge, and derelict activities that aren’t regularly monitored by OPD. With a stabilized economy and Alameda County lifting its mask mandate in June, it’s time for our elected officials to return to their public offices at City Hall where Oaklanders can meet with them again. During the marathon meeting, I also had this overwhelming feeling that many council members don’t think they need to engage all of their constituents. Perhaps that’s strategic. Learning more about the city’s problems from different perspectives wasn’t necessary – rising crime, the housing crisis, increased addiction and drug use, and more homelessness. Teleconferencing and Zoom video meetings are convenient modes of communication, but certainly not the best method for sharing ideas. It’s difficult to engage with people in virtual environments that limit other senses we need to make good decisions and informed judgments. It’s even more challenging when half the members of City Council don’t have their cameras turned on – usually the same repeat offenders. It’s offensive and disrespectful to their colleagues who are visibly engaged and to the public who are showing up to provide comments. When constituents can’t see or interact directly with their elected officials, it creates a real barrier to access and that shouldn’t be the case for those in public service. It also contributes to the divide between the inaccessible elite (those holding power) and everyone else. Opportunities to connect and converse with the wide array of Oakland voters and constituents should excite and encourage all our city leaders, even if tensions and emotions are high. If it doesn’t, they should look for other jobs that are less dependent upon listening to and uniting the public. Finally, I observed little to no performance accountability and program monitoring or continuous improvement systems in many city department reports. There wasn’t clear or accurate information delivered to the City Council from city staff. Not being subject matter experts, council members didn’t always know the right questions to ask either. Many EBRHA members and Oakland residents have seen this for years. The lack of data was apparent in areas providing city services connected to human resources, public safety, housing, building, and permitting. Lack of accountability is a predictable outcome when there’s
6 JULY+AUGUST 2022 / EBRHA.COM
