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COMMENTARY: Refuse to be Silent

As we listen to Oaklanders, our team is crafting a compassion-led, comprehensive approach that reimagines public safety and bolsters the mental health, social, and economic opportunities in partnership with the county government to drive meaningful community safety.

Published

3 years ago

August 21, 2022

Oakland Post

Greg Hodge is a parent, long-time Oakland resident and mayoral candidate.

By Greg Hodge

It is time to activate the voices of Oaklanders who want to see Oakland become the city that we know it can be.

This commentary is a challenge to the 12,000 of you who weighed in on the petition that you signed demanding that the Oakland City Council give voice to voters on issues that matter to us.

Let’s each identify and recruit one other person who believes that their voice matters.

Let’s build a movement that galvanizes and amplifies our voices in a way that cannot be ignored. Let’s show up with our votes and force the changes that we know are necessary to make us safer, more prosperous and well housed.

A few weeks ago, the Oakland City Council voted against a proposal to allow voters to weigh in on how the proposed Howard Terminal ballpark and related development should be financed. After some debate, the Council’s majority ultimately did not grant the wishes of over 12,000 members of the public to place this measure on the November 2022 ballot.

Those petitioners represent an even larger number of Oaklanders who want to have their views heard. The Council also declined to place a measure on the November ballot offered by organizers of the Emerald New Deal to ask voters how cannabis revenues should be best spent.

These are not hypothetical issues, but ones that will directly impact our livelihoods and families. This group of Oaklanders deserves to be heard by our leaders!

As the Fall election season gets underway, it is clear to some of us that decisions by our elected Council continue to represent a pattern of significant missed opportunities. It was a missed opportunity to educate the public on the pros and cons of the proposed development; to engage members of the public who will likely be asked to foot the bill to pay for the physical infrastructure – roadways, railroad crossings, and other improvements; to host public conversations about which priorities deserve to be funded as the “bread and butter” issues our City is facing.

One of the most salient examples is our concern for how we keep us safe. Every day, Oaklanders either experience or hear about assaults, armed robberies, car break ins, and a range of traumas that grind on our peace of mind.

We should fully fund the city’s Department of Violence Prevention, rather than prioritizing resources for action after violence has already taken place. Specifically, we should bolster our capacity to deploy violence interrupters, create a behavioral health unit, fully implement the Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland (MACRO), and create Community Ambassador teams to respond to nonviolent, non-mental health incidents in our streets.

As we transition to re-deploying OPD resources to focus on serious crimes, improving response times and homicide clearance rates, we should budget for 700 full-time police officers, and transfer special event duties and the 911 call center out of OPD towards non-sworn, civilian personnel. We should reinvest the police department’s Homeless Outreach Unit funding into mobile street outreach.

City leadership should re-establish an Office of Community Beautification in the Public Works Department, design and implement neighborhood clean-ups at scale to improve school campuses, parks, neighborhoods, and business districts. City resources should finance Black arts districts, public art installations, neighborhood-based arts festivals, and small business facade improvements.

The time for political transactions that fail to solve deep persistent problems is over. Let’s seize this moment for transformation. Join us.

Let us know what you think at www.hodgeforoakland.com or on our IG page at @hodgeforoakland

Greg Hodge is a parent, long-time Oakland resident and mayoral candidate.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 3, 2025

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1 day ago

May 30, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

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6 days ago

May 25, 2025

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OPINION: Your Voice and Vote Impact the Quality of Your Health Care

One of the most dangerous developments we’re seeing now? Deep federal cuts are being proposed to Medicaid, the life-saving health insurance program that covers nearly 80 million lower-income individuals nationwide. That is approximately 15 million Californians and about 1 million of the state’s nearly 3 million Black Californians who are at risk of losing their healthcare.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Rhonda M. Smith.

By Rhonda M. Smith, Special to California Black Media Partners

Shortly after last year’s election, I hopped into a Lyft and struck up a conversation with the driver. As we talked, the topic inevitably turned to politics. He confidently told me that he didn’t vote — not because he supported Donald Trump, but because he didn’t like Kamala Harris’ résumé. When I asked what exactly he didn’t like, he couldn’t specifically articulate his dislike or point to anything specific. In his words, he “just didn’t like her résumé.”

That moment really hit hard for me. As a Black woman, I’ve lived through enough election cycles to recognize how often uncertainty, misinformation, or political apathy keep people from voting, especially Black voters whose voices are historically left out of the conversation and whose health, economic security, and opportunities are directly impacted by the individual elected to office, and the legislative branches and political parties that push forth their agenda.

That conversation with the Lyft driver reflects a troubling surge in fear-driven politics across our country. We’ve seen White House executive orders gut federal programs meant to help our most vulnerable populations and policies that systematically exclude or harm Black and underserved communities.

One of the most dangerous developments we’re seeing now? Deep federal cuts are being proposed to Medicaid, the life-saving health insurance program that covers nearly 80 million lower-income individuals nationwide. That is approximately 15 million Californians and about 1 million of the state’s nearly 3 million Black Californians who are at risk of losing their healthcare.

Medicaid, called Medi-Cal in California, doesn’t just cover care. It protects individuals and families from medical debt, keeps rural hospitals open, creates jobs, and helps our communities thrive. Simply put; Medicaid is a lifeline for 1 in 5 Black Americans. For many, it’s the only thing standing between them and a medical emergency they can’t afford, especially with the skyrocketing costs of health care. The proposed cuts mean up to 7.2 million Black Americans could lose their healthcare coverage, making it harder for them to receive timely, life-saving care. Cuts to Medicaid would also result in fewer prenatal visits, delayed cancer screenings, unfilled prescriptions, and closures of community clinics. When healthcare is inaccessible or unaffordable, it doesn’t just harm individuals, it weakens entire communities and widens inequities.

The reality is Black Americans already face disproportionately higher rates of poorer health outcomes. Our life expectancy is nearly five years shorter in comparison to White Americans. Black pregnant people are 3.6 times more likely to die during pregnancy or postpartum than their white counterparts.

These policies don’t happen in a vacuum. They are determined by who holds power and who shows up to vote. Showing up amplifies our voices. Taking action and exercising our right to vote is how we express our power.

I urge you to start today. Call your representatives, on both sides of the aisle, and demand they protect Medicaid (Medi-Cal), the Affordable Care Act (Covered CA), and access to food assistance programs, maternal health resources, mental health services, and protect our basic freedoms and human rights. Stay informed, talk to your neighbors and register to vote.

About the Author

Rhonda M. Smith is the Executive Director of the California Black Health Network, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to advancing health equity for all Black Californians.