City Government
Councilmember McElhaney Blasts Mayor for Failing to Fund Violence Reduction
Calling for a new “Department of Violence Prevention (DVP),” City Councilmember Lynette Gibson blasted Mayor Libby Schaaf”s budget for proposing millions in additional spending on enforcement without any new investment in community-led strategies.”
In a email statement distributed Monday, titled “We Deserve Better,” McElhaney criticized the Schaaf adminstration for opposing the Department of Violence Prevention, which is sponsored by McElhaney and Councilmember Larry Reid.
“Over the past two years, the Schaaf administration has spent millions (of dollars) to staff two new departments – the Department of Transportation and the Office of Animal Services – but now holds the DVP to a different standard. This is outrageous and offensive,” wrote McElhaney.

Lynette Gibson-McElhaney
According to the councilmember’s statement, Schaaf’s “budget proposal increases funding for law enforcement, but fails to make any recommendations for new interventions to dramatically reduce shootings & homicides, domestic violence or to strategically address the commercial sexual exploitation of our children. She clearly does not hear the pain in our community.”
“In establishing the DVP, the Council sets a bold vision for public safety: to reduce homicides by 80 percent and attain an 80 percent clearance rate within the next three years,” she wrote.
“This ambitious goal sends a clear signal to the community, OPD and partnering organizations that the Council expects the City Administrator to direct resources and strategies in a manner that produces dramatic safety gains.
The proposal to established a Department of Violence Prevention was discussed at council committee meeting this week and is scheduled for the City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 16.
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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.
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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