City Government

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

Published

7 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.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

2 days ago

May 25, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: Nate Holden, State Senator and Longtime Los Angeles Councilmember, Dies at 95

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.” Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Published

1 week ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Former Los Angeles Councilmember and California State Sen. Nate Holden. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Nathaniel “Nate” Holden, a prominent figure in the city’s politics, passed away at the age of 95, his family confirmed on May 7.

Holden, who represented South Los Angeles for 16 years on the City Council and served one term in the California State Senate, was widely regarded as a forceful advocate for his community.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.”

Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Holden’s journey to political prominence began in the segregated South, where he was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1929. He often recalled the childhood moment when he first heard the governor of Georgia vowing to continue suppressing Black people.

“Doing the best you can for the people. Law and order. Make sure that people’s communities are safe. I did it all,” said Holden, reflecting on his legacy.

Holden is survived by his sons, including former California Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represented a district in Southern California that includes Pasadena and Altadena in Los Angeles County and cities in San Bernardino County.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

1 week ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.