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Oakland City Elections
What we’re watching?
The race for Oakland’s at-large council seat features two-term incumbent and 2014 Mayoral runner-up Rebecca Kaplan facing off against four challengers including current Mayor Libby Schaaf’s former campaign manager, Peggy Moore. In addition, several interesting ballot measures will be brought to voters including the establishment of a Civilian Police Commission, the “soda tax,” and a strengthening of renters’ rights.
At-Large Council Seat:
Candidates:
• Matt Hummel, chair, Oakland Cannabis Regulatory Commission
• Rebecca Kaplan, councilmember, Oakland
• Peggy Moore, State Director for Hillary Clinton Campaign
• Bruce Quan, civil rights attorney/law professor • Nancy Sidebotham, tax preparer
In 2008, Rebecca Kaplan won the at-large city council seat in a decisive run-off victory. Eight years later, as she looks to secure a third term, she is facing a formidable challenge from a familiar foe. While her colleagues on the council each face a head-to-head match up, Kaplan’s at-large seat has drawn four challengers. Among those looking to supplant council member Kaplan is Margaret “Peggy” Moore, who managed Libby Schaaf’s successful campaign for Mayor in 2014 (Kaplan finished third behind incumbent Jean Quan). Like Kaplan, Moore is an LGBT activist as well as being a veteran Democratic campaign operative with stints in Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign and Clinton’s current push for the White House.
Just a few days into the official start of the race, Moore was already raising eyebrows over some questionable campaign tactics. An email survey was distributed to an unknown number of Oakland residents that asked them if certain statements were compelling reasons to support Moore. Several of the statements overtly attacked Kaplan claiming, “she has few real accomplishments to show for her 15 years as a politician” and that she “has presided over a city that has become less and less affordable and livable.” (East Bay Express)
In addition, the survey implied that Moore had gained the endorsements of Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Assembly Member Tony Thurmond. Both Lee and Thurmond have issued denials.
Needless to say, Kaplan was less-than-pleased, calling the survey a “hit piece’’ (East Bay Express) and asserting that it amounted to campaign marketing disguised as a polling exercise. Moore’s campaign has admitted to funding the survey and chalks up the controversy to innocent mistakes made in haste.
Many in the city believe that Mayor Schaaf sides too frequently with big corporate development interests (Uber’s new Oakland headquarters being a prime example) and that Moore’s presence on the City Council would act as a rubber stamp to the Mayor’s agenda. In this way, the race between Kaplan and Moore will serve as a referendum of sorts on the Schaaf administration and provide an indication of what awaits in the 2018 Mayoral election.
Ballot Measures
Measure HH- The Soda Tax
The measure seeks to follow Berkeley’s lead and impose a one-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar sweetened drinks such as soda, sports drinks, teas, and energy drinks. Supporters see this as a means of addressing a public health issue while those in dissent argue that it will impose an unnecessary overhead expense on small business.
An Alameda County Court recently ruled against a lawsuit filed by The American Beverage Association (“Big Soda”) that claimed that ballot material containing the phrase “the tax is not paid by your local grocer” was a lie. ABA lawyers also attempted to remove language directly from the measure claiming that small businesses are exempt. That failed as well. “Big Soda” has spent an impressive $747,000 thus far to try to fight the measure. (East Bay Express)
Measure JJ- Protect Oakland Renters
The Bay Area’s impressive job and population growth has begun to spread into Oakland as both high wage employees and tech companies look to escape San Francisco’s high prices. While this might seem like a positive development for a city that has seen some tough times, the working class population that has defined Oakland for decades is beginning to be squeezed out. The supply of housing, especially rental properties that the bottom half of wage earners can afford, hasn't kept pace. Measure JJ seeks to remedy the situation (at least temporarily) by strengthening rent control and extending just cause eviction protection.
There is broad support for the need to pass a strong renter protection law and the City Council made a unanimous decision to place the measure on the ballot. Many local politicians have endorsed the measure (including Rebecca Kaplan), the Alameda Labor Council and the Alameda County Democratic Party.
Twenty local organizations are spearheading the campaign efforts to pass Measure JJ, including SEIU, California Nurses Association, Causa Justa (Just Cause), Asian Pacific Environment Network (APEN),
PolicyLink and the Ella Baker Center.
PolicyLink performed a thorough analysis of the situation here: Oakland’s Displacement Crisis: As Told By the Numbers. Its conclusion on the potential impact of Measure JJ:
- Shifting the burden so that landlords must petition the Rent Board Petition system to increase rents above the legal amount.
- Expanding Just Cause Eviction Protection to an estimated 10,561 rental units.
- Modernizing the rent Board and Rent Adjustment Program by increasing notice and reporting requirements, as well as a new searchable online database.
Measure LL –Civilian Police Commission
The recent history of the Oakland Police Department is littered with scandal and misconduct. Incidents of planting evidence, beating up suspects, manslaughter, and a recent revelation of widespread sexual misconduct have eroded public trust to perhaps the lowest levels in the department’s history.
Many efforts have been made to resolve these issues. Since 2003, a federal monitor has been in place in an attempt to ensure reform (the longest continuous period of federal oversight in U.S. history -Post News). Clearly, federal oversight has not had the intended effect. Recently, Mayor Schaaf placed the department’s administration and personnel decisions under the authority of the City Administrator and the federal monitor has become involved in recruitment and hiring. All the while, citizens have become enraged and are demanding an expanded role in department oversight.
Measure LL, which was developed by Councilmembers Dan Kalb and Noel Gallo, seeks to establish an independent Civilian Police Commission that would review and propose changes to department policies and procedures, have the ability to fire the Chief of Police for cause, require any new chief be selected from a Commission approved list, and allow the Commission to investigate misconduct and recommend discipline. If approved, the new commission would transfer some power from the City Administrator to a seven-member panel, with four members selected by citizens.
Similar civilian review boards currently exist in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, but proponents of the Oakland measure see this version as an improvement since those cities rely entirely on Mayoral nomination.
“This could arguably be the strongest police oversight board in the country, what many hope would be a national model,” retired Boston police lieutenant and criminology professor Tom Nolan told the East Bay Times.
Some in the community are displeased with the fact that the Mayor’s office will control appointment to three seats and prefer that the Commission be entirely independent of City Hall’s influence. Opponents have questioned whether the extensive power the Commission would be granted is simply a reaction to recent events and point to the San Francisco commission’s inability to affect policy as an example of the futility of such an approach.
Given the community’s deep-seated (and justified) skepticism regarding the Oakland Police’s ability to serve and protect within the confines of the law, perhaps enhanced civilian oversight is at least worth a try?
Up Next: #22 in which San Diego voters decide whether to Charge ahead?
See the full Top 25 list here.