City Government

Oakland Wants to Spend $200,000 in Youth Jobs Funds to Hire One City Administrator

Published

12 years ago

October 13, 2013

A proposal to redirect $200,000 in federal youth job funding to hire a single city administrator, who would serve as the city’s youth employment coordinator, was met with resounding opposition this week from community members and members of the Youth Council, a committee of the Oakland Workforce Investment Board.

< p>< p>“This is the first time that I’ve seen this. I thought in the (WIB’s) approved budget this was described as the mayor’s summer jobs program. It was presented that this was money to be put on the streets for summer jobs,” said Kathy Chao Rothberg, member of the Youth Council and executive director of Lao Family Community Development.

“What’s being presented here is $200,000 for a coordinator’s position. I ‘m not comfortable with this,” she said.

“Why does it take $200,000 to hire one person?” Asked Gay

Gay Plair Cobb, CEO of Oakland Private Industry Council

Plair Cobb, Youth Council member and executive director of the Private Industry Council, speaking at the Wednesday afternoon meeting at City Hall.

“This is the only source of revenue for local service providers to run summer jobs programs,” added Cobb, pointing out that the WIB has said it has no funding for agencies in the Fruitvale District serving Latino youth and no funding for young people in West Oakland for the fiscal years 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Created by a work group of the Youth Council in a nonpublic meeting, the proposal was presented as a memorandum to the Mayor’s Office. It said the Youth Employment Coordinator will work with community partners to develop and leverage federal funds and other resources to increase programs for youth.

Some people at City Hall were speculating that the proposal had originated in the Mayor’s Office. Mayor Jean Quan was contacted but did not reply to the Post’s questions. If the money were used for $1,000 stipends for youth interns, it would put 200 young people to work. Among the community members opposing the new position was Marlon McWilson, member of the Alameda County Board of Education.

“You cannot say you are advocates for youth and then go take $200,000 from kids,” said McWilson. “If we’re talking about reallocation of funds, we should reallocate the funds to organizations serving West Oakland and Latino students.”

While the city wants to spend money for an administrator, West Oakland is not getting job resources for young people, said Ron Muhammad, a West Oakland community activist.

“We should not be coming … to meeting after meeting talking about West Oakland. We’re just asking for equity,” said Muhammad.

Marilyn Washington Harris of the Khadafy Foundation for Non-Violence urged members of the Youth Council to consider the needs of all the young people in Oakland who are to risk of dying by violence.

“It’s not my fault, and it’s not your fault. It’s all of our faults collectively, because we’re not doing our job,” she said. “People of color… are the people who are dying. Those are the people who do not get the funding.”

The motion to fund the position was tabled to a future meeting because the meeting no longer had a quorum.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

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1 week ago

March 1, 2026

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Oakland Post: Week of February 18 – 24, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 18 – 24, 2026

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3 weeks ago

February 20, 2026

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CITY OF SAN LEANDRO STATE OF CALIFORNIA PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT ENGINEERING DIVISION NOTICE TO BIDDERS FOR ANNUAL STREET OVERLAY/REHABILITATION 2019-21 – PHASE III

WORK DESCRIPTION: The work to be done consists of roadway paving, base cement stabilization, concrete curb ramps, driveways, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, traffic detection loops and pavement striping, and doing all appurtenant work in place and ready for use, all as shown on the plans and described in the specifications with the title indicated in Paragraph 1 above, and on file in the office of the City Engineer. Reference to said plans and specifications is hereby made for further particulars.

Published

3 weeks ago

February 20, 2026

Oakland Post

PROJECT NO. 2020.0050

BID NO. 25-26.011

BID OPENING: The bidder shall complete the “Proposal to the City of San Leandro” form contained in the Contract Book. The proposal shall be submitted in its entirety. Incomplete proposals will be considered non-responsive. Sealed bids containing the completed Proposal Section subject to the conditions named herein and in the specifications for ANNUAL STREET OVERLAY/REHABILITATION 2019-21 – PHASE III/PROJECT NO. 2020.0050 addressed to the City of San Leandro will be received at City Hall, 835 East 14^th Street, 2^nd Floor San Leandro at the office of the City Clerk up to 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at which time they will be publicly opened and read.
WORK DESCRIPTION: The work to be done consists of roadway paving, base cement stabilization, concrete curb ramps, driveways, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, traffic detection loops and pavement striping, and doing all appurtenant work in place and ready for use, all as shown on the plans and described in the specifications with the title indicated in Paragraph 1 above, and on file in the office of the City Engineer. Reference to said plans and specifications is hereby made for further particulars.
OBTAINING THE PROJECT PLANS AND CONTRACT BOOK: The project plans and Contract Book may be obtained free of charge from the City’s website at:https://www.sanleandro.org/Bids.aspx Bidders who download the plans are encouraged to contact the City of San Leandro Public Works Department Engineering division at 510-577-3428 to be placed on the project planholder’s list to receive courtesy notifications of addenda and other project information. Project addenda, if any, will be posted on the website. A bidder who fails to address all project addenda in its proposal may be deemed non-responsive.Bidders may also purchase the Project Plans and Contract Book from East Bay Blueprint & Supply Co., at 1745 14^th Street, Oakland, CA 94606; Phone Number: (510) 261-2990 or email: ebbp@eastbayblueprint.com.
PRE-BID CONFERENCE: A mandatory pre-bid conference will be held on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 2:00 PM and on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 10:00 AM as follows:
Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 2:00 PM
Zoom Meeting ID: 883 8752 6074
Passcode: 502955
Zoom Link: https://sanleandro-org.zoom.us/j/88387526074?pwd=hZ5rjB8AWdLAUem3CtByFiZxqKarHj.1
And
Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 10:00 AM
Zoom Meeting ID: 898 2672 0472
Passcode: 091848
Zoom Link: https://sanleandro-org.zoom.us/j/89826720472?pwd=JgZX2nXMpLSRM5xDPr7EJUxl7QIznr.1The information presented at the conferences will be identical, all bidders must attend one of the pre-bid conference and sign the attendance sheet. A firm that didn’t attend the pre-bid conference isn’t qualified to bid on the project.Questions regarding the plans and specifications may be submitted in writing to the project engineer until 5:00 p.m. five (5) days before, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays, bids must be received by the City. The City will not respond to oral questions outside of the pre-bid conference. The response, if any, will be by written addendum only. Oral responses do not constitute a revision to these plans or specifications.
VALUE OF WORK: The Engineer has estimated that the value of work is between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000.
SAN LEANDRO BUSINESS PREFERENCE AND PARTICIPATION GOALS: The work performed under this contract is subject to Section 1-6-225 of the San Leandro Municipal Code regarding local business preference and participation. A list of companies that hold a San Leandro business license is located on the City webpage under the finance department, here: https://www.sanleandro.org/340/Business-License
SAN LEANDRO COMMUNITY WORKFORCE AGREEMENT: The work performed under this contract is subject to the Community Workforce Agreement adopted by City Council Resolution 2015-104. Contractors attention is directed to Section 10.