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Tom Steyer: Co-chair Governor Gavin Newsom’s Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery

Published

5 years ago

July 29, 2020

Kiki

One percent-er Tom Steyer, who made his fortune as a hedge fund manager, cares about the 99%ers and is woke and doing something about it.

Now an activist, Steyer says “[t]he issues of economic, racial, and environmental justice keep me focused and determined, and I’ll never stop working toward them . . . [t]he establishment has failed many hard-working people. If we don’t call it out, nothing will change.”

He ran for president of the United States in 2020 and now is doing everything within his power to get the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, elected, and defeat the sitting president.

Steyer says, “I am more passionate than ever about spending all my time and money to change the political neglect in this country.”

Recently, he was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to co-chair a 70-person economic “Task Force on Business Jobs and Recovery.” Steyer is working with Newsom’s chief of staff, Ann O’Leary, Apple’s Tim Cook, Disney’s Bob Iger, former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and PolicyLink President Angela Glover Blackwell are a few of the other members of the task force.

According to politico.com, the focus topics of the task force are “climate change and innovation; banking and housing; workforce equity and food insecurity; the economic recovery; and small businesses.”

O’Leary says of Steyer that he is “ . . . an incredible doer. He gets things done, and he’s dogged in his approach to doing it.”

Steyer is not a “Johnny come lately” to the #BLM movement and helping women and business owners of color. 15 years ago he founded Beneficial State Bank, a community development bank in Oakland, after learning about the discrimination Black business owners experience with mainstream banks.

Beneficial State Bank is “dedicated to the ideas of economic justice, environmental sustainability, and supporting businesses owned by women and people of color.”

Steyer’s net worth is estimated at more than $1 billion and he and his wife signed “The Giving Pledge” (along with Warren Buffet, Bill and Melinda Gates and others) in 2010, vowing to donate half their fortune to charity during their lifetime.

“The idea of shared prosperity is not new to me,” Steyer said. “Health and safety remain the most important points.”

The task force published and signed a letter shared below on June 15, 2020, “an equitable recovery for California and the Nation:”

“We are business, labor, non-profit and philanthropic leaders and elected officials from across California, tasked by Governor Gavin Newsom with charting a path toward economic recovery from COVID-19. We write this letter as a collective acknowledgment that there can be no recovery until the state and the nation value Black lives. . . . taking a stand against racism is not just a moral imperative for our collective future, but an economic one. . . . . California is the world’s fifth-largest economy . . . [the task force] pledge to:

Create jobs that are inclusive, sustainable and equitable, building ladders of opportunity for Californians who have been locked out of our state’s prosperity;
Commit to a robust, equitable educational system in which learners of all ages can succeed, including closing the digital divide and supports for parents furthering their education;
Address the long-term housing crisis in California with a full understanding of the racially disparate patterns of homeownership, rent burden and homelessness;
Think long-term by collaborating with the Governor’s Office and in our own organizations to design jobs programs for California’s diverse youth so that their futures are not permanently derailed by coming of age in a recession.
California cannot do it alone, but we can lead. This Task Force cannot do it all, but we can leverage our experience, commitment and resolve to reimagine and restructure our economy. And while we as individual leaders understand the magnitude of the work ahead, we believe that together, we can forge a more inclusive, more prosperous and more just Golden State.

Kiki

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Uncategorized

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

6 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

10 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

11 months ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.