"It’s time to reject that crime is an urban tax we must pay for living in Oakland. Oaklanders need to know police will be there when we need them, and that we and our neighbors will get prompt responses to 911 calls. We must expand community policing so that we connect our police with our neighborhoods in a way that prevents crime before it happens. We must address the root causes of crime, starting with better schools, wages and jobs." –Libby Schaaf
Read Libby's Community Safety Policy Paper (PDF).
Not only will Libby hire police we need, she will also institute better policing practices and drive crime prevention and school outcomes for our children. As Mayor, Libby Schaaf will:
Work to hire more police officers to protect every Oakland neighborhood and bring the Oakland police department up to full strength.
Speed up police investigations and keep police officers out in our neighborhoods.
Build an improved 911 system to speed up response times so the police come when you call.
Improve neighborhood policing that reduces violence by building trust, identifying the specific needs in the neighborhood, and using data to know where to step in before crime happens.
"The best way to fight crime is to address the root causes—particularly through crime prevention and education. I will use my experience of mentoring at-risk youth and building education coalitions to improve Oakland public schools." –Libby Schaaf
Read Libby's Education Policy Paper (PDF).
As Mayor, Libby Schaaf will:
Make it an Oakland priority to increase graduation rates in city high schools with successful dropout intervention and truancy prevention strategies.
Work with Oakland businesses to create job-training pathways for Oakland high school graduates to help them gain practical skills.
Aggressively pursue strategies to ensure ALL Oakland kids succeed in school — with special focus on correcting unacceptable disparities for underserved communities.
"Oakland can do so much better at improving our basic quality of life here by doing simple things like picking up trash, erasing graffiti and filling potholes. We need to make it easy for residents to get their requests to City Hall and we need to do a better, quicker job of solving their problems. You shouldn’t have to drive down to City Hall to have your voice heard. You should be able to interact with government anytime in your home, office, and from your laptop or mobile phone. Government shouldn’t be so time consuming." –Libby Schaaf
Read Libby's Government Policy Paper (PDF).
"Getting Oakland on sound financial footing is entirely doable. Oakland has significant financial problems to address; Oakland didn’t get into these problems overnight, and they won’t be fixed overnight. It is urgent that we reach community consensus on what the problems are, then implement and stick with a long-term program to put Oakland on a solid, sustainable financial footing." –Libby Schaaf
Read Libby's Plan to Address Oakland's Financial Challenges (PDF).
Libby Schaaf has always fought for greater transparency and a more responsive government. As Mayor, Libby Schaaf will:
Put an end to wasteful spending practices such as purchasing $1.87 million in police technology systems that were underused or never used at all.
Make information more accessible, champion transparency, and engage residents in decision-making.
Establish a 311 system that allows citizens to report problems like potholes and streetlight outages and hold managers accountable for fixing them.
"Oakland should be and can be the most dynamic, vibrant city on the planet. We have the architecture, the climate, and we have the people. We should also have safe, easy to use, sustainable transportation get around the City, and world-class parks and spaces for civic celebration and interaction." –Libby Schaaf
Read Libby's Livable Neighborhoods & Sustainable Transportation Policy Paper (PDF).
"We can revitalize our city, have progress and development, invite new people to be here, have new businesses open up, and we must do it in a way that the people who have always been here don’t get displaced and directly benefit from that new prosperity." –Libby Schaaf
Read Libby's Plan for Preseving Affordability in Oakland (PDF).
"We need to create infrastructure that encourages social connection, supports neighborhoods and job creation, and healthy living. Oakland should be strong from the inside out: a city with strong infrastructure that can withstand shocks and recessions; strong businesses that can grow and thrive in Oakland; and a range of jobs and industries where Oaklanders can move up the ladder." –Libby Schaaf
Read Libby's Plan for Economic Revitalization, Oakland-style (PDF).
As Mayor, Libby Schaaf will:
Raise the minimum wage in Oakland to $12.25 per hour.
Make "Made in Oakland" real by growing local manufacturing and providing incentives and assistance to small manufacturing enterprises that hire Oaklanders.
Start serious funding of street and pothole repair.
Encourage new startups from high tech incubators and co-work spaces to mobile food vendors and pop-up stores. Help small businesses expand by cutting red tape and streamlining city regulations and permits.