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Port of Oakland Hosts Congressional Meeting to Address Supply Chain Issues

“We are working to enhance our supply chain security by investing in our infrastructure and making products in America,” said Representative Jim Costa (D-Merced). “Today’s roundtable emphasized the work in progress to confront the supply chain crisis and improve our economy.”

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Congressional forum on supply chain - Representatives left to right - Jim Costa (D-Merced), Mike Thompson (D-Napa), Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), John Garamendi (D-Fairfield), and Federal Maritime Commission Chair Daniel Maffei.
Congressional forum on supply chain - Representatives left to right - Jim Costa (D-Merced), Mike Thompson (D-Napa), Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), John Garamendi (D-Fairfield), and Federal Maritime Commission Chair Daniel Maffei.

By Port of Oakland Communications Office

The Port of Oakland hosted a congressional supply chain stakeholder meeting this week in Jack London Square. The event was designed to address constituent business and trade industry stakeholder concerns about congestion and supply chain issues at the Port.

The meeting was led by Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Napa) and included Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and Rep. John Garamendi (D-Fairfield).

In addition to the Congressmembers, the forum featured federal and state government officials including Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel Maffei, and representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, CA Department of Food and Agriculture, CA State Transportation Agency and the Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development.

Additional attendees included a wide range of supply chain stakeholders, with an emphasis on representation from the agricultural export community.

Congressional representatives and government panelists discussed challenges faced by port congestion and ways to improve local and national supply chain issues.

“During the pandemic, international trade on the California coast was disrupted in an unprecedented way. We know how much these delays have harmed California’s critical agricultural industry and those who rely on these producers,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland).

“We can’t stop here,” she continued. “We’re going to continue this discussion to improve maritime backlog in the future with a conservation approach. I’m thankful to my colleagues in Congress, community leaders, agricultural producers, and the Port for their contributions to this effort, and look forward to lending federal support for a more efficient and resilient supply chain.”

Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel Maffei said getting empty containers into the interior of the country to service exporters is still a problem, but the situation is improving.

“Congestion is down substantially here on the West Coast,” said Maffei. “We’ve expanded our audit program to promote exporters and many of the major carriers have adopted comprehensive export strategies,” he said. “Certainly, willingness to meet agricultural exporters halfway is much more prevalent in the industry now than it was two years ago.”

Representative Jim Costa (D-Fresno) stated we’re all in this together.

“We are working to enhance our supply chain security by investing in our infrastructure and making products in America,” said Costa. “Today’s roundtable emphasized the work in progress to confront the supply chain crisis and improve our economy.”

“We are intensely focused on restoring key ocean carrier services that our trade community relies on to ship their goods into and out of Northern California,” said Danny Wan, Port of Oakland executive director.

Barbara Leslie, president of the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners said this is a group effort.

“We have built a strong foundation between the Port and our state and federal partners,” said Leslie. “We will need to continue to expand these partnerships to meet the needs of our trade community and to deliver benefits to our local residents and community members who rely upon on us and are impacted by our work,” she said.

Costa concluded that the day’s forum was important because food is a national security issue.

“Collectively we have a focus in terms of how we want to move forward. Clearly, we need to invest in our infrastructure, and there were a number of areas that were pointed out where we can make those investments, not only for the Port of Oakland but for California and therefore for our nation, to ensure that we maintain our competitive edge,” said Costa.

Prior to the meeting, the Port of Oakland hosted a tour of the Oakland Seaport, where leaders learned about Port operations. They viewed the Outer Harbor to highlight the location of the recently announced Port Infrastructure Development Program grant for $36 million to rehabilitate and restore a portion of that site for a green container support yard.

About the Port of Oakland

The Port of Oakland oversees the Oakland Seaport, Oakland International Airport, and nearly 20 miles of waterfront including Jack London Square. The Port’s five-year strategic plan – Growth with Care – pairs business expansion with community benefits, envisioning more jobs and economic stimulus as the Port grows.

Activism

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

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U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Right).
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Right).

By Scott Horton

United States House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) will be a speaker at the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series on Friday, Feb. 21.

The event will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 Tenth Street in Oakland, at 7 p.m.

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

The overarching goal of the lecture series is to provide speakers from diverse backgrounds a platform to offer their answers to Dr. King’s urgent question, which is also the title of Jeffries’ latest book: “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?”

In addition to Jeffries, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) will also speak.

“Certainly, now is a time for humanity, in general, and Americans in particular to honestly and genuinely answer Dr. King’s question,” said Dr. Roy D. Wilson, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Executive Producer of the lecture series.

“Dr. King teaches that time is neutral but not static. Like the water in a river, it arrives and then quickly moves on,” continued Wilson. “We must urgently create conditions for listening to many different answers to this vital question, and generate the development of unity of action among all those who struggle for a stronger democracy.”

In his book, Jeffries shares his experience of being unanimously elected by his colleagues as the first African American in history to ever hold the position of House Minority Leader.

In January 2023 in Washington, Jeffries made his first official speech as House Minority Leader. He affirmed Democratic values one letter of the alphabet at a time. His words and how he framed them as the alphabet caught the attention of Americans, and the speech was later turned into a book, The ABCs of Democracy, bringing Congressman Jeffries rousing speech to vivid, colorful life, including illustrations by Shaniya Carrington. The speech and book are inspiring and urgent as a timeless reminder of what it means to be a country with equal opportunities for all. Jeffries paints a road map for a brighter American future and warns of the perils of taking a different path.

Before his colleagues unanimously elected him Minority Leader in 2022, Jeffries previously served as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and as an Impeachment Manager during the first Senate trial of the 45th President of the United States.

Jeffries was born in Brooklyn Hospital, raised in Crown Heights, grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church and he is a product of New York City’s public school system, graduating from Midwood High School. Jefferies went on to Binghamton University (BA), Georgetown University (master’s in public policy) and New York University (JD).

He served in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.

Admission is free for the Feb. 21 Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series featuring Congressman Jeffries. Please reserve seats by calling the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center at (510) 434-3988.

Signed copies of his book will be available for purchase at the event.

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Activism

Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

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Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.
Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.

By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3

The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.

Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.

This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.

“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.

Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.

Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”

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Alameda County

Lee Releases Strong Statement on Integrity and Ethics in Government

In a statement released recently, Lee said she fully supports current efforts by the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, ACLU and Oakland Ethics Commissioners to look at how to strengthen accountability and trust in government. She said she supports a review of the city charter to clarify lines of accountability between the city administrator and elected mayor, so the City of Oakland uses every tax dollar wisely to deliver essential services in the most efficient ways. 

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Barbara Lee. Courtesy photo.
Barbara Lee. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The people of Oakland expect and deserve a transparent, accountable government that serves the people, not special interests, according to Oakland mayoral candidate Barbara Lee, who pledges to bring the same “energy, ideas, and dedication” to ethics in City Hall that she had in Congress.

“There should be no tolerance whatsoever for secret pay-to-play schemes that erode the public trust. Oaklanders expect and deserve leaders who have only one agenda—honest, accountable leadership that serves the people of Oakland,” she said.

In a statement released recently, Lee said she fully supports current efforts by the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, ACLU, and Oakland Ethics Commissioners to look at how to strengthen accountability and trust in government.

She said she supports a review of the city charter to clarify lines of accountability between the city administrator and elected mayor, so the City of Oakland uses every tax dollar wisely to deliver essential services in the most efficient ways.

In addition, Lee said, the current prohibition on gifts to elected officials is too loosely worded and should be strengthened to ensure no one is prone to influence. There is also no user-friendly portal where any member of the public can view contract scopes and amounts, which should be available online for public review.

She also supports the city pursuing available legal remedies to secure financial relief or judgments against persons or entities convicted of defrauding the City or using illegal means to profit on the backs of Oakland taxpayers.

Though Oakland’s governmental structure is complex, leadership is what matters, she said. The city needs reforms to ensure accountability and transparency and needs leadership.

Lee said she is proud of her strong track record on ethics and integrity.

As a congresswoman, she was a leader in one of the most sweeping political ethics reforms, which banned gifts from lobbyists and prohibited House members from traveling on private planes, among other vital reforms. That reform law ended pay-to-play schemes that had run rampant in Washington, D.C.

Congresswoman Lee also played a key role in the comprehensive ethics reform package in 2007, which required lawmakers to disclose how much campaign cash lobbyists raise on their behalf and what earmarks they have requested.

Starting from her very first day in Congress, she supported campaign finance reform to get big money out of politics, including limiting the size of campaign donations.

She spearheaded efforts to overturn the Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgate to unlimited spending by billionaires to buy elections.

She supported public campaign financing to combat the influence of big money in politics, including the Government By the People Act.

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