City Government

Mayor Schaaf Goes on TV to Attack Councilmember Brooks

Published

8 years ago

April 20, 2018

Schaaf denounces Brooks’ proposal to train Blacks and Latinos for city-funded construction projects

Resorting to name calling, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has turned to the local media to attack District 6 City Councilmember Desley Brooks for verbally attacking the mayor and fellow councilmembers.
Though she called Brooks the “Donald Trump of Oakland,” Mayor Schaaf is herself known in the city for having a vindictive attitude, that you are for her or against her.

Brooks, who is frequently at odds with the mayor and her allies on the council on policy issues, has often supported members of the public who feel angry and frustrated at city inaction on many issues: gentrification and displacement, homelessness, lack of city support for job training, accountability for police violence, OPD complicity with the ICE deportation raids and failure to promote equity in the choice of vendors and contractors.

Councilmember Brooks has also challenged the city administration for dragging its feet or refusing to implement city council decisions.

The mayor’s City Council ally, Annie Campbell Washington, alleges Brooks is the reason she has chosen not to run for reelection – but she has taken another job. She has been working since January as an assistant dean at the Goldman School, according to the SF Chronicle.

Mayor Schaaf in her KPIX Channel 5 interview came out strongly against Brooks’ proposal to use city funds to support well-known local nonprofits to train Oakland residents – particularly Blacks and Latinos – for jobs on city-funded construction projects.

In her proposal, Brooks suggested four different possible funding sources to ramp up the pre-apprenticeship training programs, including Cypress Mandela Training Center and Men of Valor Academy.

“To raise the hopes of residents that something like this can get done when the actual basis of the proposal is not possible under existing law is deceptive to residents,” Schaaf said in the television interview. “And it is harmful to our democracy.”

However, the City Attorney has not issued an opinion on the legality of the proposal, and it is unknown where the mayor received her legal advice.

The mayor has long opposed using city funding for existing federally supported job programs in East and West Oakland and has diverted one-third of federal workforce development funds to support the city bureaucracy.

Mayor Schaaf is seen by many residents as a politician who governs as a corporate Democrat in opposition to the three more progressive members of the council – Brooks, Rebecca Kaplan and Noel Gallo.

The mayor backed candidates against all three in past elections. Schaaf recently was involved in Oakland’s loss of representation on the board of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District because she did not support Kaplan’s continued presence on the Board, even though Kaplan’s tenure on the board had brought millions of dollars into the city to eliminate airborne toxic wastes.

Mayor Schaaf and OPD Chief Anne Kirkpatrick were furious at Brooks late last year when she joined many members of the community to challenge the use of OPD officers to support an ICE raid in August.

After Chief Kirkpatrick complained to the City Council president, a motion was introduced that could have led to Brooks being removed as chair of the council’s Public Safety Committee. However, the motion failed, falling one vote short of the necessary five votes, after a Council meeting at which many residents spoke in support of Brooks’ aggressive approach to the city’s problems.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

5 days ago

December 25, 2025

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.

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Black Arts Movement Business District Named New Cultural District in California

Located in the heart of District 3, the BAMBD is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most important centers of Black cultural production — a space where artists, entrepreneurs, organizers, and cultural workers have shaped generations of local and national identity. The state’s recognition affirms the district’s historic importance and its future promise.

Published

1 week ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Carroll Fife celebrates major milestone for Black arts, culture, and economic power in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

Oakland’s Black Arts Movement Business District (BAMBD) has been selected as one of California’s 10 new state-designated Cultural Districts, a distinction awarded by the California Arts Council (CAC), according to a media statement released by Councilmember Carroll Fife.

The BAMBD now joins 23 other districts across the state recognized for their deep cultural legacy, artistic excellence, and contributions to California’s creative economy.

“This designation is a testament to what Black Oakland has built — and what we continue to build when we insist on investing in our own cultural and economic power,” said Fife.

“For years, our community has fought for meaningful recognition and resources for the Black Arts Movement Business District,” she said. “This announcement validates that work and ensures that BAMBD receives the support it needs to grow, thrive, and continue shaping the cultural fabric of California.”

Since taking office, Fife has led and supported multiple initiatives that strengthened the groundwork for this achievement, including:

Restoring and protecting arts and cultural staffing within the City of Oakland.
Creating the West Oakland Community Fund to reinvest in historically excluded communities
Advancing a Black New Deal study to expand economic opportunity for Black Oakland
Ensuring racial equity impact analyses for development proposals, improving access for Black businesses and Black contractors
Introduced legislation and budget amendments that formalized, protected, and expanded the BAMBD

“These efforts weren’t abstract,” Fife said. “They were intentional, coordinated, and rooted in a belief that Black arts and Black businesses deserve deep, sustained public investment.”

As part of the Cultural District designation, BAMBD will receive:

$10,000 over two years
Dedicated technical assistance
Statewide marketing and branding support
Official designation from Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2030

This support will elevate the visibility of BAMBD’s artists, cultural organizations, small businesses, and legacy institutions, while helping attract new investment to the district.

“The BAMBD has always been more than a district,” Fife continued. “This recognition by the State of California gives us another tool in the fight to preserve Black culture, build Black economic power, and protect the families and institutions that make Oakland strong.”

For questions, contact Councilmember Carroll Fife at CFife@oaklandca.gov.