City Government

Commentary: Siegel Is Mayoral Candidate Best Suited to Make Needed Changes

Published

11 years ago

September 4, 2014

This series has been an attempt to only compare the mayoral candidates’ positions on crime policy . But policy concerns are rarely independent from each other.

To reasonably apportion your votes in our rank choice voting system, considering candidates’ capabilities in all areas of concern and in the mix is crucial.

I do not recommend that anyone should maketheir mayoral vote selections totally from what I have written in this series.

Dan Siegel has presented a complete crime policy plan. Dan’s plan covers a multiplicity of municipal functions, and it offers corrective plans to hot issues currently drawing attention of city leadership.

I am convinced that he has knowledge of what is going on in the criminal justice system, including with cops. He is a trained, practicing civil-rights attorney. He is an “insider” who represents “outsiders.”

He is an intellectual warrior, for hire. He works for the side where money has to be “raised,” not only to pay his fee but also to pay his costs.

Or at least he started out that way.

Siegel is also the closest to fulfilling the community policing approach that I have laid out in my columns.

Dan was a member of the Oakland Community Policing Taskforce that crafted the language of the community policing ordinance (Council Resolutions 72727) in 1993.

He was quoted in the S.F. Chronicle speaking of former Chief Joe Samuels, who was being hired at the time, “It has taken some time to work up to that, but I think that now he has gotten the [community policing] religion.”

Samuels was a police chief beloved in Oakland’s African American community. He was the chief most likely to fully implement community policing and heal the negative dynamics between the department and the Black community.

Despite the resistance from the officers’ union and the negative influences on the local implementation of community policing caused by the Federal Justice Department’s COPS grants, Chief Samuels is the reason that Oakland have gone as far as they have in fulfilling the dictates of the legislation.

Mayor Jerry Brown fired Samuels shortly after his election in fulfillment of his stated pledge to fracture Black influence in Oakland’s politics.

Although Siegel does not spell out the Community Policing details in his policy paper, he says enough so that we know he still has “the religion.”

Dan’s anti-crime policy paper speaks to Oakland’s needs: jobs for Oakland residents, early childhood education, completing the Negotiated Settlement Agreement(NSA)mandating federal oversight of OPD, full support for restorative justice programs, civilianization the department by getting officers out of the building and on to the streets, neighborhood clean-up, bringing the crime lab “up to snuff” and a zero tolerance of the department’s abuse of people’s rights.

Siegel does NOT call for the hiring of more officers, and, therefore, does not need to justify the leveraging of more tax dynamics between the department and the Black community.

He hints at a less political and more rational use of crime statistics. The Oakland Moving Forward/Dellums’ Community Taskforce Report – which Quan has almost completely ignored – would be fulfilled by the Siegel plan.

Dan is not perfect; no candidate is. When “turned around” his assets can become deficits. His long engagement in Oakland politics means a depth of experience and understanding, but it also means scars from past struggles and a gaggle of old enemies.

He could be painted so far into the progressive/left camp that too many people would not hear him or deal with him honestly. The police officers’ union could severely frustrate positive changes.

Despite these concerns I believe that Siegel is the candidate for mayor best suited to make needed changes in the culture, character and behavior of the Oakland Police Department.

Oakland Post

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Related Topics:City of Oakland commentary Dan Siegel Mayoral Election Oakland OP-ED Opinion Politics Wilson Riles Jr.

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Activism

Teachers’ Union Thanks Supt. Johnson-Trammell for Service to Schools and Community

“I speak for our Oakland community and the families OEA serves in thanking Supt. Johnson-Trammell for her service. With public schools and immigrant families under attack nationally from Trump and with budget challenges affecting many California school districts, these are tough times demanding the best of what we all have to offer,” said OEA President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer in a statement released Thursday.

Published

7 hours ago

April 27, 2025

Oakland Post

OEA President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer. Courtesy photo.

The union calls for a community-involvement in search for new superintendent

By Post Staff

While pointing out that Supt. Kayla Johnson-Trammell has been planning to resign for a while, the Oakland Education Association (OEA) thanked her for years of service to the schools and called for community involvement in the search for a new superintendent.

“While we disagreed strongly on a number of issues,” said Taiz-Rancifer, “Dr. Johnson-Trammell is a daughter of Oakland and a product of our public schools. We thank her for her service and wish her the best moving forward.”

She said the schools’ community was aware that the superintendent had been planning to leave well before this week’s announcement.

“The superintendent has spoken publicly throughout the year about her planned departure. In August 2024, the previous school board approved a renewed contract raising her compensation to over $600,000 per year and allowing her to step back from daily responsibilities beginning in the 2025-2026 school year,” said Taiz-Rancifer.

She said the teachers’ union has been raising concerns about the need for stability and financial transparency in the district. “For three of the last four years, the district projected major deficits, only to end with millions in reserve.” This year, she said, the district added $90 million to central office overhead expenses.

“Just last month, a majority of school board directors took action to cap expensive consultant costs and develop alternative budget proposals that align spending with community priorities to keep funding in classrooms,” she said.

Taiz-Rancifer said the union stands behind the leadership of Board President Jennifer Brouhard and Boardmembers Valarie Bachelor, Rachel Latta, and VanCedric Williams.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

OUSD Supt. Chief Kyla Johnson-Trammell to Step Down on July 1

The district’s progress under Johnson-Trammell’s leadership “provides a strong foundation for the transition and work ahead,” according to the joint statement. “The plan has always prioritized a smooth and thoughtful transition. A formal search for a permanent superintendent was (originally) scheduled to begin in fall 2025,” but now the board is “initiating this process focusing on transparency and deep community involvement.”

Published

7 hours ago

April 27, 2025

Oakland Post

Kyla Johnson-Trammell. File photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland Unified School District announced this week that Supt. Kyla Johnson-Trammell will leave her position on July 1 after serving for eight years.

In closed session on Wednesday evening, the school board approved a voluntary separation agreement by a 4-3 vote, said Board President Jennifer Brouhard.

The board will begin searching immediately for an interim superintendent who will start on July 1. Johnson-Trammell will continue as superintendent emeritus from July 1 to Jan. 15, 2026, to help with the transition, according to a joint statement released by Johnson-Trammell and the Board.

In a personal statement to the community, Johnson-Trammell said:

“As I prepare to step away from my role as your superintendent on June 30, I do so with immense pride in what we’ve accomplished together. The last eight years have brought some of the most challenging — and most defining — moments in our district’s history. Through it all, Oakland has shown what’s possible when we stay grounded in our mission and vision and work in partnership for our students.”

The joint statement from Johnson-Trammell and the Board modifies her existing contract. According to the joint statement: “in August 2024, the OUSD Board of Education approved a three-year transitional contract for Superintendent Johnson-Trammell, with the next school year (2025-2026) allowing for a shift in responsibilities to support the transition to a permanent superintendent at the start of the 2026-2027 school year.”

Praising Johnson-Trammell’s accomplishments, the joint statement said, “(She) has done an extraordinary job over the past eight years, a historic tenure marked by stability, strong fiscal oversight, and improvements in student achievement.”

According to the statement, her achievements include:

increased graduation rates
improved literacy
increased student attendance rates,
“exemplary” COVID pandemic leadership,
“historic” pay raises to educators,
Improvement in OUSD’s facilities bond program,
ensuring strong fiscal systems and budgeting

As Johnson-Trammell’s years of service are coming to an end, there remain significant unresolved challenges facing the district, including a $95 million budget deficit and the threat of school closings and employee layoffs, as well as contract negotiations with the Oakland Education Association (OEA), the teachers’ union.

Another ongoing controversy has been the superintendent’s extremely high salary, which was negotiated less than a year ago under the leadership of Boardmember Mike Hutchinson and former Boardmember Sam Davis.

Johnson-Trammell is one of the highest-paid superintendents in California and the country, earning a total compensation package of $637,036.42 a year.

The contract had granted her a pay raise and a final three-year contract extension through the 2027 school year.

Under that contract, she would only continue as superintendent during the current school year, and then for two additional years she would work on research projects and prepare the district for a new superintendent, at the same rate of pay she now earns, plus raises.

During those two years, a temporary superintendent would be hired to handle the responsibilities of running the school district.