City Government

Opinion: Navigating the City’s Entrenched Politics to Deliver Equity and Opportunity

Published

8 years ago

March 9, 2018

By Desley Brooks

Thank you to the editors at the Post for allowing me to shed some insight into what it takes to push through the entrenched politics of Oakland to deliver equity and opportunities for the generations who have been ignored in East Oakland.

Paul Cobb called me a “passionate advocate,” which is what it takes to break through the political barriers, power broker politics played out behind the scenes and the market-driven mudslinging led by mainstream news media that care more about headlines over content and money over people.

This column and the ones I will contribute over the next few months are a chance to celebrate our collective work to achieve the housing, jobs, and quality of life East Oaklanders—new and old—deserve.
We’ve shared so many victories.

We came together to defend against predatory lending, bank foreclosure and then speculation-driven displacement. We united to support funding of more affordable housing and have looked to innovative policies like the land trust to keep property in the hands of the community.

But, all of this will mean very little unless we can house those seniors, families and Oaklanders who had homes but have now been pushed into the streets because of the banking or affordability crisis.

My leadership on living wage, paid sick days, investment in new businesses to hire locally, is just a foundation for what we need to address growing inequality.

My agenda on jobs and the recent heat I have taken must mean that I am doing something right. There is no real change without agitation.

Some mud was slung through premature critiques of a new jobs idea to fully fund our most successful job training programs. These programs are asked to do the work but have lost stable funding due to a hostile federal government or limited funding.

A ladder into living wage career jobs, stable affordable housing and eventual homeownership are only two legs of a sustainable community. We need to make sure a third leg includes investment in opportunities for families, our youth and our seniors.

The City Council recently committed the necessary funding to make sure the vision for Rainbow Recreation is realized and that our community receives a beautiful new building.
For the last decade I’ve launched a parks initiative in District 6 restoring neighborhood parks. Through this initiative we have achieved a new level of volunteerism and partnership.

We began by reactivating a park which had been dormant for 20 years, the Tomas Melero Smith Peace and Unity playground. Recently we upgraded the play structure at Concordia and Burkhalter parks.

These kinds of partnerships are important and have resulted in thousands of families and seniors having free and beautiful parks within walking distance to their neighborhoods.
We also offer a monthly food distribution at Arroyo park and recently had a wash machine and dryer installed so families can wash their children’s clothes for free.

Our accomplishments have come because of our willingness to push against the status quo; to sometimes make people uncomfortable; to agitate.

This is what is necessary to push against Oakland’s entrenched political system. Together we will navigate Oakland’s political system and win.

Desley Brooks represents District 6 on the Oakland City Council.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Related Topics:desley brooks District 6 Oakland Opinion Politics

Up Next

City Attorney, Councilmember McElhaney Work with Community Groups to Stop Illegal Business

Don't Miss

District Restarts School Kitchen Project

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 18 – 24, 2026

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

Published

1 week ago

February 20, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

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

1 week 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.