Bay Area

OPINION: Councilmember Ramachandran Statement on Proposed Mayor’s Salary Increase

Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, who represents Oakland District 4, is strongly opposed to the proposed increase in [Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s] salary by $75,000 per year, given the difficult fiscal environment the city is facing, and the urgent need to focus our City’s limited financial resources on providing basic constituent services to our residents.

Published

2 years ago

July 20, 2023

Oakland Post

Councilmember Janani Ramachandran

At Tuesday’s Finance Committee meeting, Councilmember Ramachandran was the only Committee Member to vote in opposition to the proposed salary increase. She is open to increasing the Mayor’s salary, but not by the amount proposed, which is from the current $202,999.94 per year to $277,974.54.

Oakland’s Charter permits (but does not require) City Council to increase the Mayor’s salary every two years, in an amount between 70% and 90% of the average salary of the City Manager or Administrator (not the Mayor) across six California cities closest in population: Bakersfield, Anaheim, Sacramento, Long Beach, Fresno, and Stockton.

This Charter provision essentially compares “apples to oranges,” comparing the salary of Oakland’s mayor to the salaries of City Managers or Administrators, who are not elected officials. Notably, almost none of these cities saw a budget deficit in their 2023-2025 fiscal cycle, and some saw their budgets increase.

If you compare “apples to apples,” the average mayor’s salary in these specified six cities is approximately $119,000, notably less than the Oakland mayor’s current salary. As a point of comparison, the governor of California’s salary is around $220,000 per year.

Councilmember Ramachandran only supports an increase in the mayor’s salary on the lower end of the range permitted by the Charter, rather than an increase by the maximum allowable amount as was proposed. For example, 75% of the average salaries of City Managers or Administrators in the six comparably sized cities would increase the Oakland Mayor’s salary to $231,645 per year.

The primary reason why Councilmember Ramachandran supports increasing the salary only by this lower amount of the allowable range is because Oakland is experiencing the largest budget deficit that it has had in the city’s history, with projections of over $360 million in the next two years.

Our City Council was forced to make a series of difficult cuts across departments and programs that support basic needs of Oaklanders — from public safety to roads and infrastructure, parks and youth programming, and much more. In light of these difficult fiscal realities, she believes that it is not fiscally prudent to invest their limited General Fund dollars into such a stark salary increase.

Furthermore, Councilmember Ramachandran believes that if we are having constructive conversations about government salary increases, that we should be focusing our efforts on addressing those city workers earning less than a living wage. In fact, some city workers currently make Oakland’s minimum wage.

This issue will now be heard by the entire Oakland City Council on July 18 at 4 p.m.

To make public comment in person, arrive by 4 p.m. and check in with the Clerk to submit a speaker’s card. To make public comment via Zoom, email cityclerk@oaklandca.gov before the meeting starts, noting your name and that you want to speak on the Mayor’s Salary Item. When the item is called, click the “raise your hand” feature and you will be called on to make your comment. You can access this Zoom link when the meeting starts: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89659655572.

If you cannot attend the council meeting, you can voice your opinion with other City Councilmembers by emailing council@oaklandca.gov.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Residential Insurance Prices Increase as Insurers Slow Business in California

Don't Miss

Former Prisoners, Advocates Hold Solitary Confinement Symposium at CSU Fullerton

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Asm. Corey Jackson Proposes Safe Parking for Homeless College Students Sleeping in Cars

Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), is the author of AB 90, which would require community colleges and California State University campuses to create overnight parking programs where students can sleep safely in their vehicles. With one in four community college students in California experiencing homelessness in the past year, Jackson says the state must act urgently.

Published

2 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Corey Jackson. File photo.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

As California’s housing crisis continues to impact students, new legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 90, promises to allow college students without stable housing to sleep in their cars on campus, offering a stark but practical solution aimed at immediate relief.

“This just deals with the harsh realities that we find ourselves in,” he said at a recent hearing.

The bill passed its first committee vote and is gaining attention as housing affordability remains a top concern across the state. California rents are more than 30% above the national average, and long waitlists for student housing have left thousands in limbo. CSU reported more than 4,000 students on its housing waitlist last year.

Supporters stress that the bill is not a long-term solution, but a humane step toward helping students who have no other place to go. A successful pilot program at Long Beach City College has already shown that safe, supervised overnight parking can work, giving students access to restrooms, Wi-Fi, and a secure environment.

However, the CSU and community college systems oppose the bill, citing funding concerns. Critics also worry about safety and oversight. But Jackson and student advocates argue the crisis demands bold action.

“If we know students are already sleeping in their cars, why not help them do it safely?” said Ivan Hernandez, president of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Faces Around the Bay: Author Karen Lewis Took the ‘Detour to Straight Street’

“My life has been a roller-coaster with an unlimited ride wristband! I was raised in Berkeley during the time of Ron Dellums, the Black Panthers, and People’s Park. I was a Hippie kid, my Auntie cut off all our hair so we could wear the natural styles like her and Angela Davis.

Published

5 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Karen Lewis. Courtesy photo.

By Barbara Fluhrer

I met Karen Lewis on a park bench in Berkeley. She wrote her story on the spot.

I got married young, then ended up getting divorced, raising two boys into men. After my divorce, I had a stroke that left me blind and paralyzed. I was homeless, lost in a fog with blurred vision.

Jesus healed me! I now have two beautiful grandkids. At 61, this age and this stage, I am finally free indeed. Our Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul. I now know how to be still. I lay at his feet. I surrender and just rest. My life and every step on my path have already been ordered. So, I have learned in this life…it’s nice to be nice. No stressing, just blessings. Pray for the best and deal with the rest.

Nobody is perfect, so forgive quickly and love easily!”

Lewis’ book “Detour to Straight Street” is available on Amazon.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Barbara Lee Accepts Victory With “Responsibility, Humility and Love”

“I accept your choice with a deep sense of responsibility, humility, and love. Oakland is a deeply divided City,” Lee said in an April 19 statement. “I answered the call to run to unite our community, so that I can represent every voter, and we can all work together as One Oakland to solve our most pressing problems.”

Published

5 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Barbara Lee. File photo.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌,
California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

As a candidate for mayor, former U.S. Representative Barbara Lee released a “10-point plan” last week to reassure residents that she will tackle Oakland’s most pressing challenges.

Now that she has edged out her competitors in the ranked-choice special election with 50% or more of the vote, the former Congresswoman, who represented parts of the Bay Area in the U.S. House of Representatives, can put her vision in motion as the city’s first Black woman mayor.

On Saturday evening, Taylor conceded to Lee. There are still about 300 Vote-by-Mail ballots left to be verified, according to county election officials. The ballots will be processed on April 21 and April 22.

“This morning, I called Congresswoman Barbara Lee to congratulate her on becoming the next Mayor of Oakland,” Taylor said in a statement.

“I pray that Mayor-Elect Lee fulfills her commitment to unify Oakland by authentically engaging the 47% of Oaklanders who voted for me and who want pragmatic, results-driven leadership.”

The influential Oakland Post endorsed Lee’s campaign, commending her leadership on the local, state, and federal levels.

Paul Cobb, The Post’s publisher, told California Black Media that Lee will bring back “respect and accountability” to the mayor’s office.

“She is going to be a collegial leader drawing on the advice of community nonprofit organizations and those who have experience in dealing with various issues,” Cobb said. “She’s going to try to do a consensus-building thing among those who know the present problems that face the city.”

Born in El Paso, Texas, Lee’s family moved to California while she was in high school. At 20 years old, Lee divorced her husband after the birth of her first child. After the split, Lee went through a tough period, becoming homeless and having to apply for public assistance to make ends meet.

But destitution did not deter the young woman.

Lee groomed herself to become an activist and advocate in Oakland and committed to standing up for the most vulnerable citizens in her community.

Lee traveled to Washington, D.C. to work for then U.S. Congressman Ron Dellums after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mills College in Oakland in 1973. Lee later won a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) fellowship to attend the School of Social Welfare, and she earned a Master of Social Work from the University of California-Berkeley in 1975.

Lee later served in the California State Assembly and State Senate before she was elected to Congress in 1998.

After serving in the U.S. Congress for more than 25 years, Lee ran unsuccessfully for California’s U.S. Senate in the 2024 primary election.

Lee joins current Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass and former San Francisco Mayor London Breed as Black women serving as chief executives of major cities in California over the last few years.