Candidate for
Council Member; City of Oakland; District 2

Public Service is at the root of politics and should be viewed as an opportunity to establish public policies which would be beneficial to all of the citizens of Oakland. Public policy if crafted correctly touches real people and improves the quality of their lives. Good public policy stands up to the test of time and is as relevant tomorrow as it was years past. It also reaches out to all economic levels of the community and uplifts people throughout the city and distributes resources in a fair and just matter.

Community leaders and activists are civic minded individuals who have taken it upon themselves to try to make a difference in their community. We should honor and seek them out so they can help public officials develop good public policy and make important expenditure decisions.

Community leaders sometimes are made by extraordinary events and sometimes they are made by a persistent desire to make a crucial change to the status quo. Whatever the origin, citizens in general are well served by community leaders who have a strong moral center and whose cause has integrity.

The political process is the means by which public policy is debated, examined and developed. Because the allure of power is great, it is in the best interest of public servants to keep all processes transparent and above board so citizens can help craft out policies which will ultimately be relevant to them instead of self serving to the public official.

It is always good to have a "kitchen cabinet" filled with local and everyday citizens (your supporters and non-supporters) to test ideas and solutions.

As a representative of large numbers of people, I feel a tremendous responsibility to get it right . In the same way that we can make decisions which have impact on our immediate or extended family, public officials can make decisions which have impact on an entire community.

For this reason, public officials in the political arena must always keep themselves in check and not let their own vanity, influential people and the corrosive effect of money to derail or distract them from the "people's business" Public officials need to leave their egos and political aspirations outside the Council Chambers and listen actively because in most instances . . . the people do know what is best for them and their City.

As a mother who is raising the 3rd Generation of Oaklanders, it is my sincere hope that the citizens will provide me with the opportunity to serve so I can help build a meaningful legacy for the next generation and beyond.

In the final analysis, it is about people and whether we have truly touched their lives in a positive and meaningful way.