Schaaf presided over a city that has gone through a complete transformation, from a housing boom to exploding homelessness. It also lays out her political achievements and failures as the citys 50th mayor for the past eight years. The home of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf was vandalized on Tuesday, just before she voted 'no' on diverting some law enforcement budget On the garage door were phrases including: 'Defund OPD,'. Nearly 5,000 new apartments were built in Oakland's downtown area between 2018 and 2020, but less than 4% of those units were below market rate. But, as Schaaf stood by passively, Oakland labor leaders over the past eight years built a potent campaign organization that financially and organizationally dominated the 2022 election. Lets learn more about her in todays article. Weve had to respond to the crisis while building a whole new system that did not exist in City Hall just six years ago.. Schaaf failed to expand MACRO, a model for mental health emergency support to Oaklanders that does not lead with law enforcement, and which could free up officers to handle actual crime. In 2016, Schaaf wrote a voter-approved $600 million bond measure that helped fund street improvements. A mayor who serves all of Oakland, not just the wealthy few, someone with the courage to undo the Schaaf painful legacy and allow Oakland to heal. And respondents were overwhelmingly concerned with gun violence 97% said its an extremely or very serious problem, and 88% said the same about crime. 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! But she paid a price for her pragmatism. 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. This was an unreasonable interference with the demonstration given that there had been no serious crimes committed." She instituted one of the nations largest guaranteed income programs for low-income residents and launched a widely-lauded program called Keep Oakland Housed, which provides rent checks and legal representation for residents at risk of homelessness. As Schaaf, a moderate, leaves office, the progressive Sheng Thao is preparing to take over. Libby Schaaf hosts her final news conference as Oakland mayor this month. Schaaf nodded her head and told the woman that the city has nearly quadrupled its shelter bed capacity over the last eight years. Schaaf's first roles in local government were as legislative aide to Oakland City Council president Ignacio De La Fuente[10] and special assistant to Oakland mayor Jerry Brown. For the first time in recent history, Oakland will have a progressive mayor and a progressive-majority City Council the outcome of the November election, which Ross called a repudiation of Schaafs time in office. We created Oakland's first Rainy Day Fund, adopted stronger fiscal practices, and grew the economy leading to Oakland's highest credit rating on record. 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. Before the sun rose on a brisk February morning, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf looked around Lake Merritt and counted the number of people sleeping on the street for the biennial point-in-time count. 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Moss said shes eager to see how Schaafs legacy will live on from her investments in education for Oakland children to implementing Ceasefire, the citys flagship anti-violence program. Despite the unrelenting challenges of these times, we made historic accomplishments together. But, some say, the last few years of her administration, particularly throughout the pandemic, were less successful. Some leaders have pointed to Schaafs tenuous relationships with city unions, who have protested long hours and understaffing during tense contract negotiations, as a reason for the vacancies. During her administration, Schaaf capitalized on public private partnerships, using fundraising to launch new city programs. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and City Administrator Ed Reiskin today released a two-year Proposed Policy Budget for fiscal years 2021-2023. They will now be fully in charge and accountable. John Ramos accidentally launched a lifelong career in journalism when he began drawing editorial cartoons and writing smart-alecky satire pieces for the Bakersfield High School newspaper. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Oakland is a challenging city to govern, said Doug Linney, a political consultant in the East Bay. document.write(sentence); When I became the mayor, it wasnt a top concern. Oakland is a challenging city to govern, said Doug Linney, a political consultant in the East Bay. 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.. "I have every confidence that the A's and the new mayor, Sheng Thao, will get this deal done," she said. Demonstrators met at Frank Ogawa Plaza before sunset for a rally. Her mother was a flight attendant. Further, she is the mayor of Oakland, California, as of 2020. [42], Since 2010, Oakland elections have utilized ranked choice voting.[43]. That is an increase from 93 the year she took office. In October of this year, those numbers had flipped to 64% wrong track and 18% right direction. I hope Im remembered as someone who fought for Oakland as we experienced this huge moment of growth, Schaaf said. The programs success is mixed. As a Black woman I never want to tear other Black people down, but Schaaf has endorsed Loren Taylor for mayor, and his values, which align with Libby Schaaf, are not the values that will support marginalized people in Oakland. [2][3] Schaaf won re-election in 2018 with a 27% margin. In addition toOakland Cares, Schaaf is also active as the Leadership Council atKiva, another non-profit organization. We created several public-private partnerships to test innovative approaches with private dollars, like the Cabin Community Shelter Model and Keep Oakland Housed that prevented 1800 families a year from entering homelessness and won HUD's National Partnership Award. Finally, when needed, we were unafraid to throw a few PUNCHES for Oakland and her values: We stood up against President Trump when he attacked our city and threatened Oakland's beloved immigrants. When elected in 2014, Schaaf benefitted from following Jean Quan and Ron Dellums, two largely ineffectual mayors, said veteran political consultant Larry Tramutola. But as she prepares to leave office, with the city still facing tremendous problems, Oakland's 50th mayor was reluctant to evaluate her own performance. By October, that had plummeted to 35%. Elizabeth Beckman "Libby" Schaaf (born November 12, 1965) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. She is the co-founder of the firm. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served on the Oakland City Council. However, she doesnt only do social works to gain peoples trust. De La Fuentes entry into the campaign, the division in the business community and the lack of a potent Schaaf-backed political operation cost Taylor the race. 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. As she comes to the end of her eight-year term, the Oakland. Elizabeth Beckman Schaaf (born November 12, 1965) is an American politician who served as the 50th Mayor of Oakland, California from 2015 to 2023. She equipped an entire generation of children with college savings accounts and universal preschool. Why hasnt it She failed to save her daughter from fentanyls grip. Libby Schaaf. Officers say theyre overwhelmed by call volume, and data shows the majority of these calls are for noncriminal events such as issues related to homelessness and mental health. Since 2015, the first year of Schaafs mayoral tenure, Oakland residents have become increasingly pessimistic about the city. Not only the lovely couple enjoy a blissful life together, but they are also blessed with two beautiful children,DominicandLena. Speaking more about her educational background, she holds a B.A. Sarah Ravani covers Oakland and the East Bay at The San Francisco Chronicle. Click To Know: Diane Sawyers Massive Net Worth from ABC Network. Libby Schaaf will go down as one of the worst mayors in Oaklands history. [8] She then became the program director[9] for the Marcus A. Despite new property taxes championed by Schaaf and rapidly rising revenues, the city remains plagued with the same key problems present when Schaaf was elected mayor eight years ago. 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. If Im looking at (her) legacy, I dont think she left her successor in a particularly great spot, Lindheim added. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. At best, her tenure has been mixed, said Jim Ross, a political consultant based in Oakland. When Oakland Mayor Elect Thao takes over, she may find -- as Schaaf did -- that in a city like Oakland, some problems are just too big for one person to fix. Is that fair for an overall eight year period? [1], Schaaf won the November 4, 2014 Oakland mayoral election in the 14th round in ranked choice voting with 62.79% of the vote. 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. Meet Mayor Libby Schaaf. The City Council today is similarly unpopular. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. But she didnt galvanize that into a political force.. Samantha Laurey, Visual Intern / The Chronicle. She has made good on the promise to invest in police: The Oakland Police Departments share of the Oakland General Fund ballooned from $194 million per year, in the last budget put forward by Schaaf's predecessor, to $353 million per year in 2022-23 an 80% increase in just eight years. The numbers speak for themselves. Libby Schaaf's Tweets. Oaklands next mayor is eager to hit the ground running. Before winning the mayors seat, Schaaf served on the City Council for one term, representing part of the Oakland hills. As a politician, she needs to maintain a healthy image in the crowd. Official Website for the City of Oakland | Mayor Sheng Thao. [36] According to the project's website, the income is funded by private philanthropic donations. 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. But later, as gun violence in the city swelled, Schaaf was stymied politically in her attempts to increase money for police. [34][35], In March 2021, Schaaf announced that non-white, low-income residents of Oakland would receive $500 per month "guaranteed income" for 18 months. Its a humanitarian crisis, Schaaf said. S.F.s Golden Gate Park has a new feature after storms: more lakes. While nearly 20,000 new housing units have been built in her time, homelessness also grew by 131% since 2015. 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. This is the gem of Oakland and its completely trashed, the woman said pointing to the people sleeping on the street. This is out of control.. We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Moreover, she never capitalized on her early popularity and the bully pulpit of the mayoral post to build an effective fund-raising and grassroots political operation that could be mobilized in support of political allies. But Schaaf, attempting to placate the Left, failed to alert her public to the extent she could and should have. Schaaf hired Matt Nichols as her Policy Director[22][28] for Transportation and Infrastructure in March 2015. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! 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. In addition to repaving, Schaaf created a Department of Transportation and a 311 system that residents can call to report potholes and damaged roads. But there were other problems that have proven far more difficult to repair. As an Oakland native, the town is a road map of Schaafs life history: Its where she grew up as the daughter of a shoe salesman and a flight attendant, where she graduated from Skyline High School and where she raised her two kids. [1] Schaaf won the November 4, 2014 Oakland mayoral election in the 14th round in ranked choice voting with 62.79% of the vote. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani. There is no doubt with a million worth fortune; she holds several lavish properties; however, nothing official has been released on this topic. This is out of control.. All housing helps the homeless crisis and all housing at all income levels has helped slow gentrification and displacement of Oaklanders, Schaaf said in a recent interview with The Chronicle. Oakland Mayor Schaaf touted the strides made in the last 8 years during her final State of the City address, while accepting responsibility for the current spike in crime, acknowledging that it . There is no treatment. There have been 13 homicides in Oakland . The chambers poll also found that 97% of respondents said homelessness is either an extreme or very serious problem. As she departs because of term limits, Schaaf leaves the mayors office and seven of the eight City Council seats in the hands of her political opponents, a hard-left, union-driven coalition that swept the table in last months balloting. That wasnt her goal, Schaaf said. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Then theyll need to lift us up. We fought against coal and for the planet, advanced public access to our waterfront while keeping our A's in Oakland, and became the first city to give municipal land back to our Indigenous people. Let's learn more about her in today's article. In addition to that, she's a former member of the Oakland City Council. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions. Stop giving all our money to an inefficient police department without making necessary changes. Your email address will not be published. long hours and understaffing during tense contract negotiations, Which Bay Area city has best quality of life? We cannot afford another year of the Schaaf neoliberal nightmare. It was her most-consequential failing. Required fields are marked *. Even the United Nations condemned Schaafs treatment of the unhoused, saying it constitutes cruel and inhuman treatment and is a violation of multiple human rights, including the rights to life, housing, health and water and sanitation.. It was a time when anyone in Oakland could have foreseen the dangers of the incipient "defund the police" movement. That dissatisfaction also extended to the citys leadership 42% of the polls respondents rated Schaafs performance poorly. 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. Most famously, she sparred with former President Trump after alerting residents that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could conduct a raid. As the town awakened that February morning and more people flocked to the lake for their daily jog or walk, a woman approached Schaaf. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. I have seen true heroism in the public servants who Ive had the honor of serving with and learning from -- especially those magical, brilliant professionals who made up the Mayors Office, aka Team MLS. "You know, I always tell little kids who ask, 'What's it like being the mayor of Oakland?' Oakland is grappling with high vacancy rate with nearly one-fifth of governments jobs currently vacant. Skelton: California has lots of catching up to do on flood management, Opinion: How facial recognition will transform airport security. Under her watch, Oakland has repeatedly and violently evicted residents of Oakland encampments closing as many as 12 encampments a month. Woman that the city grew by 131 % since 2015, the Oakland city Council tenure, Oakland have... Opinion: How facial recognition will transform airport security ; s article by 131 % since 2015, first... 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