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A LETTER FROM EBRHA CEO DEREK BARNES

July 5, 2022, I had an opportunity to listen to a 12+ hour Oakland City Council meeting where Councilmember Dan Kalb’s proposed modifications to Oakland’s Just Cause Ordinance. Several members threatened to abstain from voting on the changes, citing general process issues and no evidence of production impact studied. The agenda was packed with many other resolutions council members needed to hear, debate and ultimately vote on in a single session. A few items were highly complex and controversial policies with enormous economic impacts on the city that members were hearing for the first time.

While listening, I was particularly challenged by a few areas and shocked by how Oakland government works or isn’t working for us. Oakland City Council at work and councilmember’s interpersonal dynamics would make a great case study at some point. For now, I’d like to share my observation for those who rarely get a glimpse into the business of policy making as we close out a heavy legislative period.

First, nearly every day, I look at our magnificent City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza. While in the virtual City Council meeting, staring at City Hall, I wondered when it will be fully occupied and active again doing the work of the people. Now, it stands eerily vacant and desolate with no signs of life except the surrounding encampments, people without shelter seeking refuge, and derelict activities that aren’t regularly monitored by OPD. With a stabilized economy and Alameda County lifting its mask mandate in June, it’s time for our elected officials to return to their public offices at City Hall where Oaklanders can meet with them again.

During the marathon meeting, I also had this overwhelming feeling that many council members don’t think they need to engage all of their constituents. Perhaps that’s strategic. Learning more about the city’s problems from different perspectives wasn’t necessary – rising crime, the housing crisis, increased addiction and drug use, and more homelessness.

Teleconferencing and Zoom video meetings are convenient modes of communication, but certainly not the best method for sharing ideas. It’s difficult to engage with people in virtual environments that limit other senses we need to make good decisions and informed judgments. It’s even more challenging when half the members of City Council don’t have their cameras turned on – usually the same repeat offenders. It’s offensive and disrespectful to their colleagues who are visibly engaged and to the public who are showing up to provide comments.

When constituents can’t see or interact directly with their elected officials, it creates a real barrier to access and that shouldn’t be the case for those in public service. It also contributes to the divide between the inaccessible elite (those holding power) and everyone else. Opportunities to connect and converse with the wide array of Oakland voters and constituents should excite and encourage all our city leaders, even if tensions and emotions are high. If it doesn’t, they should look for other jobs that are less dependent upon listening to and uniting the public.

Finally, I observed little to no performance accountability and program monitoring or continuous improvement systems in many city department reports. There wasn’t clear or accurate information delivered to the City Council from city staff. Not being subject matter experts, council members didn’t always know the right questions to ask either. Many EBRHA members and Oakland residents have seen this for years. The lack of data was apparent in areas providing city services connected to human resources, public safety, housing, building, and permitting. Lack of accountability is a predictable outcome when there’s

no consistent planning and program development framework, a lack of defined success measures, little application of uniform standards, and an underlying culture of noncompliance – doing our own thing, our way.

Problem identification, asking the right questions and getting the right people around the table are essential for good policy-making and solutions-driven action. City leaders already know what the problems are in many areas of Oakland but aren’t willing to take risks politically to do what’s right to ensure long-term success. For example, Oakland’s City Auditor does a very good job of bringing a plethora of issues and recommendations to the attention of city councilmembers, the mayor and department leaders. However, action and solutions fall into the abyss of city bureaucracy and apathy. Who holds our public officials accountable for the lack of stakeholder involvement they engage and the bad policies they create as a result?

Historically, the media has always been a reliable gatekeeper to hold our elected officials accountable. But the industry has contracted so much that good journalism just isn’t available to us locally – especially dealing with complex topics like housing. Today, reporters don’t have the resources or the attention span to go deep on issues, uncover the truth with facts, and get all sides of the story. Sadly, the reporters we do have may be so biased about the industry of housing and rental housing providers, specifically. Short-term gains of clickbait reporting is an easier payoff. Reporters will exploit the manufactured tension between “landlords and tenants” because it will always make headlines and get the impressions needed for advertising.

For those candidates running for Oakland's next Mayor, especially sitting councilmembers, let this be a cautionary message. You must do better and be better. With so many problems to solve in the areas of housing, education, conservation, and public safety, Oakland needs visionary and transformative leadership that can bring people together, inspire new ways of thinking, and include equity and benefit for everyone. The city needs someone courageous who isn’t afraid to disrupt the status quo and an embedded culture that makes the city so difficult to do business with for those who are part of Oakland’s $3B+ rental housing economy.

To solve big 21st century challenges, Oakland needs extraordinary public servants, not more people vying for political power. For all the taxes and fees collected to employ 5000+ city personnel, what value are city services delivering to all of its residents and small businesses? Who’s accountable for what’s not working and fixing poorly constructed policies? These are some of the questions that EBRHA members need answered.

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