Build a Thriving Economy & Responsible Government

By Libby Schaaf

I've brought millions of dollars to Oakland, to build parks and transit-oriented development, and I've helped reduce pollution, cut red tape, and support businesses and artists. I'll make Oakland more business-friendly, attract new living-wage jobs, and invest redevelopment funds more wisely. I'll bring decades of experience to create a sustainable budget and make tough choices to get City finances under control.

Oakland's business advantages are many, including the city's top-notch seaport, which continues to grow at a rate that outpaces all ports on the West Coast; its established industries, such as health care and food production; its potential for expansion, through underused real estate located at the center of the Bay Area's transportation corridors; and its proven ability to innovate with inspiration and energy from an educated and enlightened population.

Unfortunately, during the past several decades, Oakland's substantial business tax rates have not been offset by attractive tax incentives or aggressive promotion of Enterprise Zone tax credits. A daunting permitting and licensing bureaucracy has stymied many fledgling businesses. In addition to these issues, the city's general reputation for high crime and underperforming schools has made business attraction a long-standing challenge.

We can stimulate business and incentivize investments in improving our building stock, by creating a discounted, express building permit for minor renovations and allowing self-certification of building plans.

As a councilmember, I will work to tear down the city's barriers to business while facilitating economic growth and promoting the city's many strengths. I will push for change on substantive economic issues and strive to alter negative perceptions about doing business in Oakland.

In my former role as the community and economic policy adviser to the Oakland City Council, I examined how to encourage business while requiring good corporate citizenship.

Looking to the future, the Army Base redevelopment project proposes to double the port's existing cargo and warehousing business, expanding rail capacity and moving more goods from overseas and the Bay Area to the Midwestern and Eastern U.S.

The project will need assistance as it seeks zoning and land use changes. Once it is approved, local companies making manufactured goods that can be transported by rail or ship must be supported and promoted. For example, food production, an historic Oakland industry, has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, and shows great potential for growth. Also, evolving health care and environmental industries, such as solar panel production, also need the city's assistance. But, while corporations and large enterprises are crucial to Oakland's future success, small businesses are the biggest contributor to our expanding economy. In the past several years, cutting edge restaurateurs have flocked to the city for its relatively cheap commercial space and untapped audience for gourmet and creative cuisine. This evolution has been fostered in conjunction with Oakland's burgeoning art and music scene.

Oakland has all the ingredients needed to become an economic powerhouse. What it lacks is a coordinated effort to harness those elements and facilitate their expansion. As a city councilmember, I will lead that effort. Oakland will be hindered in championing economic growth as long as its own finances are in disarray. I will be a leading force in Oakland to make our city government responsive and accountable to all its citizens, to implement budget reform, and to bring responsible, long-term planning to city government. Our City's budget must be permanently, structurally reformed. Living beyond our means must stop now. We can no longer balance Oakland budget by selling property, applying one-time sources income sources to ongoing expenses, or by bookkeeping maneuvers. The city faces very difficult financial times, and our long-term budget solution must involve policies that pave the way for significant economic development. Until that development occurs, however, we must reduce the cost of government and eliminate the City's structural deficit.

Because the great majority of our city's expenses are for personnel, balancing the city's budget during these hard times can only be accomplished by examining these costs. Specifically, we must bring long-term, meaningful reductions to the cost of pensions and other benefits, and we must take a hard look at second-tier salaries and benefits for every job classification. We must also aggressively pursue efficiency through the reduction of Operations and Maintenance costs and consolidation, both within the city and with other governments and agencies.

Oakland must also engage in strategic long-term planning. We must have a five-year, balanced budget that is readily available to our citizens and is updated on a regular basis. Our city budget should clearly show Oaklanders the projected cost of each city service, the projected income from all sources, and, on an ongoing basis, whether actual costs and income are meeting projections.

Furthermore, we must have a long-term plan for repairing and maintaining our streets, sewers and storm drains. The residents of District 4 suffered while the paving of some of our major thoroughfares deteriorates to completely unacceptable levels. We cannot continue to balance our budget by ignoring our city's infrastructure. This is why I strongly support a Rainy Day Fund, and helped make it a key advocacy issue for Make Oakland Better Now! Oakland needs to stabilize its operational budget and, when revenue increases from the baseline, the majority of that increase must go toward infrastructure maintenance and capital improvements.

In my years of service to the City, I have proudly led programs to develop waterfront parks, advance transit-oriented development, re-landscape Park Blvd., reduce Port pollution and build affordable housing. My record with the City of Oakland is a record of getting things done. As District 4's representative to the City Council, I will work tirelessly in favor of the hard decisions that ensure City government works efficiently, effectively and responsibly for all the residents of this District and for all Oaklanders.