City Government

Mayoral Candidates Spar Over Homeless Solutions

Published

6 years ago

September 27, 2018

Speaking at a mayoral forum Wednesday evening at the First Presbyterian Church of Oakland were candidates (L to R): Marchon Tatmon, Pamela Price, Libby Schaaf and Cat Brooks. Photo by Ken Epstein.

Oaklanders who attended Wednesday’s mayoral forum were impressed by the civic dialogue among the candidates, although some felt incumbent Libby Schaaf struggled to respond to the criticisms of her administration.

Sponsored by the TechEquity Collaborative, East Bay for Everyone, and the Northgate Neighbors, the forum was held at the First Presbyterian Church on Broadway in Oakland on Wednesday, Sept. 26.

Nathan Moon of Northgate Neighbors said the goal of the event was to talk about “what’s true about Oakland today, and what we want to be true about Oakland during the next four years.”

Participating candidates were incumbent Libby Schaaf, local activist and radio host Cat Brooks, housing specialist Marchon Tatmon and civil rights attorney Pamela Price. The moderator was Wendy Tokuda, broadcast veteran.

Although there are other candidates in the race, this forum only invited those who had raised the highest number of individual contributions from the community, excluding candidates like Saied Karamooz, who is self-funded.

“Cat Brooks was a shining all-star, as usual,” said Oakland activist John Jones III. “But I would say Marchon Tatmon gets rookie of the year, and Pamela Price has lost no steam from her role as a civil rights attorney.”

Jones said he took pleasure in watching Tatmon’s growth throughout his campaign so far.

Community member Ken Pratt agreed that Brooks was “outstanding,” Tatmon had “upped his game,” and he said that “Libby’s up against the ropes.”

Mayor Schaaf praised what she considers her achievements over the last four years, including the construction of Tuff Shed encampments that house a handful of the city’s homeless residents, the Oakland Promise nonprofit, the Ceasefire program designed to reduce crime and her decision to warn the city about upcoming ICE raids, which angered the Trump administration.

Tatmon discussed his Oakland roots, his dedication to housing Oakland’s unhoused families and his vision for a clean, safe, and economically resilient Oakland.

Nino Parker, founder of the Homeless Green Team, an organized effort to assist homeless encampments in keeping their area clean and safe, said, “In the forums right now, I’m listening very carefully for the mayoral candidates that have the most to offer for the poor and the homeless.”

In her two-minute-response, Brooks delivered a rapid-fire list of the many steps she would take as mayor to address the city’s homeless crisis, including utilizing City-owned abandoned buildings to immediately house Oakland’s homeless neighbors.

Addressing the issue, Pamela Price said, “There’s not a shortage of funds. There’s a shortage of political will” to respond to the homeless crisis in Oakland.

All the candidates supported the Prop. 10 campaign for the repeal of the state Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act that currently forbids municipalities from extending rent control to many residential buildings.

Prop. 10 will be on the ballot in November, along with Oakland’s local elections.

Oakland has ranked choice voting, which means every voter has three votes, ranked in order of preference.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Opinion: Organize for Prop. 10, Fight Displacement, Protect Renters

Don't Miss

Creating Age-Friendly Oakland – Community Listening Sessions

Oakland Post

Click to comment

City Government

San Pablo Appoints New Economic Development and Housing Manager

Kieron Slaughter has been appointed as the economic development & housing manager for the City of San Pablo. Since 2017, Slaughter has served as chief strategic officer for economic innovation in the City of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development. Previously, he served in a 2.5-year appointment in the Pacific West Region as one of 10 Urban Fellows in the United States National Park Service.

Published

1 day ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Kieron Slaughter. Photo courtesy of the City of San Pablo

The Richmond Standard

Kieron Slaughter has been appointed as the economic development & housing manager for the City of San Pablo.

Since 2017, Slaughter has served as chief strategic officer for economic innovation in the City of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development. Previously, he served in a 2.5-year appointment in the Pacific West Region as one of 10 Urban Fellows in the United States National Park Service.

Before that he was an associate planner in the City of Richmond’s Planning and Building Services Department from 2007-2015.

San Pablo City Manager Matt Rodriguez lauded Slaughter’s extensive experience in economic development, housing and planning, saying he will add a “valuable perspective to the City Manager’s Office.”

Slaughter, a Berkeley resident, will start in his new role on Nov. 12, with a base annual salary of $164,928, according to the City of San Pablo.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

City Government

Aaron Osorio Rises Up Ranks to Become Richmond’s Fire Chief

For Aaron Osorio, it started with a ride along on a firetruck at age 10. “I thought it was the coolest job,” he said, adding, “I knew being in fire service would make a big difference in the community.” Now a 27-year fire service veteran, Osorio appears to approach his work with the same youthful exuberance. And that’s good for the city as Osorio was recently named chief of the historic Richmond Fire Department.

Published

1 day ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Richmond Fire Department Chief Aaron Osorio. Courtesy photo

By Mike Kinney

The Richmond Standard

For Aaron Osorio, it started with a ride along on a firetruck at age 10.

“I thought it was the coolest job,” he said, adding, “I knew being in fire service would make a big difference in the community.”

Now a 27-year fire service veteran, Osorio appears to approach his work with the same youthful exuberance. And that’s good for the city as Osorio was recently named chief of the historic Richmond Fire Department.

Osorio is a San Francisco native who rose up the ranks in the Richmond Fire Department over the last 21 years before being elevated to chief.

He joined the department in 2002 and has served in multiple roles including firefighters, engineer, captain, battalion chief, training director and deputy fire chief. He said he truly loves working in this community.

While it isn’t common for a fire department to hire a chief that came up through its ranks, Osorio was credited by the city for serving Richmond well during uncommon times.

The city lauded him for developing internal policies and vaccination clinics during the initial COVID response, for supporting activation of the emergency operations center in response to a potential mudslide disaster in Seacliff last year, helping to draft mutual aid agreements and working to increase fire response capabilities for industrial incidents.

He’s also led departmental hiring and recruitment since 2018.

Osorio said it is an honor to be hired as chief and has big plans for the department moving forward. He said he wants to continue hiring and promoting for vacant positions, and also completing a strategic plan guiding the direction of the organization.

He also aims to replace and renovate a number of fire department facilities placed on the Capital Improvement Plan and create new ways to recruit that will enhance the diversity of the department.

Osorio said his experience within, and love for, the city of Richmond puts him in a good position to lead the department. He says he knows what is needed and also the challenges that are unique to the city.

“I look forward to utilizing that institutional knowledge to move the fire department forward in a positive direction and enhance the services we provide to the community,” the chief said.

Osorio holds a bachelor of science degree in Fire Administration and is also a California State Fire Marshal-certified chief officer, company officer, and state instructor.

He also holds numerous certifications in fire, rescue, hazardous material, and incident command.

The chief has been married to his wife, Maria, for 26 years and they have two sons, Roman and Mateo.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

Oakland Awarded $28 Million Grant from Governor Newsom to Sustain Long-Term Solutions Addressing Homelessness

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program. This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.

Published

1 day ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program.

This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the Oakland City Administrator’s Office staff held a press conference today to discuss the grant and the City’s successful implementing of the Mayor’s Executive Order on the Encampment Management Policy.