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Oakland Council Calls for Prop 13 Reform

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The Oakland City Council voted unanimously this week to call on the California Legislature to close the corporate loophole in Proposition 13, California’s property tax law.

President Pro Tem Rebecca Kaplan (At Large) authored a resolution, and Councilmembers Dan Kalb, Libby Schaaf and Lynette Gibson McElhaney backed the resolution.

“I’m so pleased that the Oakland City Council has seized this opportunity to improve economic vitality in our city and across the state,” Kaplan said. “Tax fairness will help communities like ours improve public safety and create new jobs.”

The resolution requests the California Legislature to prepare a statewide ballot measure in 2016 that would modify Proposition 13 by splitting the tax roll between residential and commercial properties.

Oakland is the latest municipality – and the largest city – to join a growing statewide coalition of cities, school districts and civic leaders calling for reforms to the law, which passed originally in 1978 to protect homeowners – who would remain protected under a change in the law.

Kaplan said the law has unfairly and unintentionally protected large corporations from being required to pay a fair share of property taxes and has caused homeowners to bear a disproportionate share of the state’s tax burden.

According to forecasts prepared by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, the change to the law could yield at least $5 billion in additional revenue for the State of California.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94

Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.

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William "Bill" Patterson, 94. Photo courtesy of the Patterson family.

William “Bill” Patterson, 94, of Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2025, at his home in Oakland, CA. He was born on May 19, 1931, to Marie Childress Patterson and William Benjamin Patterson in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Dunbar High School and traveled to Oakland, California, in 1948. William Patterson graduated from San Francisco State University, earning both graduate and undergraduate degrees. He married Euradell “Dell” Patterson in 1961. Bill lovingly took care of his wife, Dell, until she died in 2020.

Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.

He served on the boards of Oakland’s Urban Strategies Council, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and the Oakland Workforce Development Board.

He was a three-term president of the Oakland branch of the NAACP.

Bill was initiated in the Gamma Alpha chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

In 1997 Bill was appointed to the East Bay Utility District Board of Directors. William Patterson was the first African American Board President and served the board for 27 years.

Bill’s impact reached far beyond his various important and impactful positions.

Bill mentored politicians, athletes and young people. Among those he mentored and advised are legends Joe Morgan, Bill Russell, Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, and Lionel Wilson to name a few.

He is survived by his son, William David Patterson, and one sister, Sarah Ann Strickland, and a host of other family members and friends.

A celebration of life service will take place at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Calvin Simmons Theater) on November 21, 2025, at 10 AM.

His services are being livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1250167107131991/

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Euradell and William Patterson scholarship fund TBA.

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