During her administration, Schaaf capitalized on public private partnerships, using fundraising to launch new city programs. But she paid a price for her pragmatism. Mayor Libby Schaaf's Final Report Dearest Oaklanders, Born and raised in Oakland, I've always felt such pride in our beautiful, diverse city. Most famously, she sparred with former President Trump after alerting residents that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could conduct a raid. Oakland Police Officers' Association The state auditors financial-risk review of California cities ranked Oakland the 11th-worst for 2020-21. The department is tantalizing close to ending nearly 20 years under federal oversight in May, if it can continue to comply with court-mandated reforms. We achieved OPD's long-sought compliance with court-ordered reforms with our new Police Commission. Despite those advances, some city leaders criticized Schaafs administration for failing to deliver basic city services. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Despite the unrelenting challenges of these times, we made historic accomplishments together. Libby Schaaf was born on November 12, 1965, in Oakland, California. "As far as frustrations and disappointments? OAKLAND -- At her final news conference Wednesday, outgoing Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf reflected on her eight years at the helm of one of the Bay Area's most enigmatic cities. But later, as gun violence in the city swelled, Schaaf was stymied politically in her attempts to increase money for police. When it came to the mayoral race this year, Schaafs popularity was so tarnished that business leaders who shared her concern about a labor takeover of city government failed to unify behind a candidate, and some dismissed Taylors candidacy because he was endorsed by Schaaf. She oversaw the city as it dealt with tragedy when the Ghost Ship fire killed 36 people at a warehouse party. In the citys housing element from 2015 to 2023, which lays out how a city will plan for new homes, Oakland reached 174% of its goal for above-moderate-rate housing. A city audit found that nearly half of the participants returned to homelessness. [11], In 2006, Schaaf joined the Port of Oakland as the Director of Public Affairs,[12] helping to secure state and federal funding for the city of Oakland, as well as directing all strategic communications for the port. Office chairs and a blue bird statue: Heres everything you can bid on Woman found dead near tree limb at Golden Gate Park identified as San S.F. [2][3] Schaaf won re-election in 2018 with a 27% margin. The housing shortage in California is at the root of the states biggest problems,said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who wants to expand the use of local bonds to promote more building in one of the countrys priciest areas for real estate. The persistent level of vacancies that Oakland has had in key departments, like public works, planning and building, has really impacted Oaklands ability to provide the basic services, Bas said. Under Schaafs watch, displacement has accelerated drastically. OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf says the city is working to deal with a spike in homicides with more than a dozen seen this year so far. If we follow her actions, we think we can feel she loves what she does. Schaaf has been mayor here for a year, a surprising victor who used an endorsement from Governor Jerry Brown to vault herself to a decisive 63 percent victory. Since Schaaf took office, the number of unhoused Oaklanders has increased by 130%. She is dedicated to public service, community work and is devoted to . It is a human right.". Schaaf nodded her head and told the woman that the city has nearly quadrupled its shelter bed capacity over the last eight years. This bloated police budget has done nothing to improve public safety; in fact,annual homicides increased from 93 when Schaaf took office to 133 in 2021. On her very first day in office, Schaaf was awakened by protestors at her home, and she was later criticized for touring the city with police officers. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and City Administrator Ed Reiskin today released a two-year Proposed Policy Budget for fiscal years 2021-2023. The Mayors Housing Cabinets 17k/17k Housing Plan helped protect more than 36,000 low income Oakland households from displacement, roughly doubled affordable housing production, and built nearly 20,000 new homes Oaklands biggest building boom in more than a century! Schaaf said building housing at all income levels is key if the city hadnt, high-income workers would have taken over the existing naturally affordable units. Oakland is grappling with high vacancy rate with nearly one-fifth of governments jobs currently vacant. Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The cabin community idea was really unheard of at the time, said Moss, who also served as Schaafs chief of staff for the first two years of her mayoralty. Facts of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf got on her knees for Black Lives Matter amidst the Floyd riots last year and scolded all white police officers as evil racists and oppressors of innocent black people before wholeheartedly embracing the "Defund the Police" movement. Every so often, shed pause and point to the building where her mother lived or the white Victorian home where she got married. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Two sports teams left the city and a third, the Oakland As, has threatened to leave if their proposed multi-billion dollar waterfront ballpark and surrounding development doesnt move forward. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf (left) and her assistant, Sun Kwong Sze, wave to honking motorists as they stand at the intersection of 82nd and Bancroft avenues during a Ceasefire Night Walk in 2020. Schaaf has also been a strong advocate for locating a ballpark for the A's at Howard Terminal in the Port of Oakland. In the business community, there were a lot of people concerned about Loren initially based upon his support from Libby, said Greg McConnell, who spearheaded an independent expenditure effort for former Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente. My general sense is if Libby cant do it, boy, its going to be hard for anybody because she really had the experience, the skills and the general chops to be able to do it.. While market rate housing is constructed for new residents, Oakland has become the third most expensive city in the country for renters, and Black Oaklanders especially face overwhelming displacement pressures. 311 is an easy-to-remember telephone number that connects you with highly trained City of Oakland Call Center representatives who are ready to help you with requests for non-emergency City services. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Funding for the Department of Transportation came from many public resources, including Measure BB,[27] a sales tax approved in November 2014 to fund transportation projects in Alameda County. Outgoing Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf reflects on trials and triumphs in office, Public File for KBCW-TV / KBCW 44 Cable 12. Mayor Libby Schaaf was born and raised in Oakland, which she proudly describes as, "The most unapologetic Sanctuary City in America.". Oakland politics do not divide between Democrats and Republicans, or liberals and conservatives. She equipped an entire generation of children with college savings accounts and universal preschool. And with the passage of Measure U, an $850 million bond measure that Schaaf co-wrote with council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, the city will have more money to put toward creating affordable housing. But, he said, She should get real credit. As Schaaf exits on Jan. 2, she leaves behind a crime-ridden city with inadequate police staffing, unfunded retirement liabilities that have grown from about $2.4 billion a decade ago to $3 billion in 2021, and general fund budget shortfalls projected to reach more than $100 million in each of the next two fiscal years. Click To Know: Diane Sawyers Massive Net Worth from ABC Network. Weve had to respond to the crisis while building a whole new system that did not exist in City Hall just six years ago.. Libby Schaaf is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. Under Schaafs watch, Oakland Public Works has downplayed and covered up toxic sewage leaks into city creeks and Lake Merritt. Unless the two groups can somehow coalesce, labor leaders will continue to fill the political vacuum. She joined The Chronicle in 2016 after graduating from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. We did not have a structure in place to deal with it. I was surprised by the lack of willingness or interest to run for office in Oakland, Schaaf said. The mayor, on the other hand, never seemed to find her political message, vacillating between her progressive goals and claims of fiscal responsibility and unable to articulate a vision that captured both. The numbers speak for themselves. Jeff Tumlin was named Interim Director[25] of the department in June 2016. has a bold reparations 17 cars broken into on a single night in this San Francisco neighborhood. I hope Im remembered as someone who fought for Oakland as we experienced this huge moment of growth, Schaaf said. Despite voters suggesting a different form of leadership, Schaaf said she hopes residents will remember her as a fighter. Stop giving all our money to an inefficient police department without making necessary changes. But the 50-year-old former city councilwoman, whose profilers seem unable to describe her without mentioning her high school . People tend to be remembered by the end of their administration and if that Oakland Chamber of Commerce poll is any indication, shes not being well remembered, said Dan Lindheim, a former city administrator and current professor at UC Berkeleys Goldman School of Public Policy. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served on the Oakland City Council. Apple Delays AR Glasses, Plans Cheaper Mixed-Reality Headset, Saudi Arabia Says Open to Settling Trade in Other Currencies, Stocks Snap 4-Day Rally; Dow Drops Most in a Month: Markets Wrap, Apple Gets a Boost in India as Chinese Suppliers Given Clearance. Universal Pre-school Access for all 3 and 4 year olds within a decade, funded by the voter-approved parcel tax Measure AA. Most famously, she sparred with former President Trump after alerting residents that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could conduct a raid. But the city reached 43% of its very-low-income housing goals, 26% of its low-income housing and 3% of its moderate-income housing goals. Its a humanitarian crisis, Schaaf said. He pointed out the citys facing the highest levels of crime and violence in a decade, a huge increase in homelessness, a potential financial collapse and the loss of more than a third of Oaklands Black population. There have been 13 homicides in Oakland . And while crime in Oakland dipped to some of its lowest levels early in Schaafs tenure, the spike in violent crime is at an all-time high for the first time in nearly a decade. We did not have a structure in place to deal with it. As Schaaf exits on Jan. 2, she leaves behind a crime-ridden city with inadequate police staffing, unfunded retirement liabilities that have grown from about $2.4 billion a decade ago to $3. Why hasnt it She failed to save her daughter from fentanyls grip. Police officers told them to keep to the sidewalks, and cited California Vehicle Code Section 2800, making it an arrestable offense not to comply with the police order. That is understandable because that is what developers want to build, but thats not necessarily what Oakland needs.. Speaking more about her educational background, she holds a B.A. But Schaaf, attempting to placate the Left, failed to alert her public to the extent she could and should have. libby schaaf eye problems. The homeless crisis is just a moral outrage," she said. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. In the citys housing element from 2015 to 2023, which lays out how a city will plan for new homes, Oakland reached 174% of its goal for above-moderate-rate housing. 2022-12-11 - Daniel Borenstein is editor of the East Bay Times opinion pages. As the town awakened that February morning and more people flocked to the lake for their daily jog or walk, a woman approached Schaaf.

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