Oakland Tribune, June 26, 2014
In order to achieve safer Oakland schools, the community must seek out caring teachers and give them the resources to ensure student success.
Those were at least two of the conclusions reached by a panel of nonprofit professionals during a Sunday forum on school safety and achievement. The gathering was organized by Councilmember Libby Schaaf as part of her Safe Oakland Speaker Series.
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"Oakland is never going to be safe until we achieve better success with our young people," Schaaf said. "It's an important part of our conversation on safety."
Oakland Local, June 25, 2014
The Oakland City Council passed legislation last week to reform Oakland Animal Services and make it independent from the Oakland Police Department.
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Schaaf, an owner of two rescued cats from OAS, found that the shelter's volunteers really know the animals and their dispositions, providing them the unique ability to match families with compatible pets.
"The heart of the animal shelter is its volunteers," Schaaf said. "They really drove this very important move - the credit really belongs to them."
San Francisco Chronicle, April 10, 2014
The number of police officers patrolling Oakland's streets has declined since Jean Quan became Oakland's mayor in 2011, and Quan is using budget tricks and campaign half-truths to suggest otherwise, a rival for her mayoral seat wrote in a scathing letter to the mayor on Wednesday.
"You are hiding from the citizens of Oakland the fact that there are fewer officers working today than when you became mayor," wrote Councilwoman Libby Schaaf, who is running to unseat Quan, serving up the first serious swipe against Quan in what could be a testy election year.
San Francisco Chronicle, June 18, 2014
The new shelter configuration also frees up at least three police officers for more patrol work. Instead of doing clerical duties at the shelter, as many do now, they'll spend more time in the field responding to animal-related issues like abuse cases, barking dogs and dead animals, as well as regular police work, according to the report.
"My hope is that this will improve public safety and help us move toward our goal of having a no-kill shelter," said City Councilwoman Libby Schaaf, who worked on the overhaul with council members Rebecca Kaplan and Noel Gallo. "We've been working on these changes for more than a year, and it's great that we finally have the political will to make this move."
East Bay Express, June 18, 2014
For months, Oakland Animal Services (OAS) has been plagued by a steady stream of controversies surrounding the shelter's chronic understaffing and repeated accusations of officials unnecessarily euthanizing animals. After an onslaught of negative headlines, a number of city councilmembers in April proposed a substantial restructuring of the city-run shelter - with legislation that the full council approved last night. Most significantly, the passage means OAS, which is currently a part of the Oakland Police Department, is on track to become a standalone city department.
The legislation also sets forth a timeline for filling vacant positions and establishes a so-called "animal services advisory committee" that will give local volunteers an opportunity to provide oversight for the shelter. The hope is that this package of reforms will improve the quality of care at the shelter and allow the city to better meet the demands.
San Jose Mercury News, June 11, 2014
Could crime be reduced by as much as 80 perfect in Oakland? It happened in Los Angeles.
Connie Rice and Susan Lee, co-founders of the Advancement Project, Urban Peace Initiative, addressed a crowd of more than 100 people at the Impact Hub on Sunday as part of the Safe Oakland Speaker Series, and explained how Los Angeles dramatically reduced crime in that city under similar circumstances as Oakland.
District 4 Councilwoman Libby Schaaf invited Rice and Lee to come and speak to residents because she believes residents can learn from the experiences and lessons of Los Angeles.
OakTalk, June 9, 2014
Apparently recognizing that Council is going to pass some modification of the policy, Council Member Schaaf has sought to couple that modification with the first steps toward a "Rainy Day Fund" to protect Oakland against the next economic downturn. Her plan is quite modest, with these elements:
- Set aside 25% of projected Excess Real Estate Transfer Tax in each budget;
- Set aside 50% of any year-end surplus following the audit each year;
- Half of this annual set-aside goes to immediately pay down the most pressing unfunded liabilities or debt;
- Half of this annual set-aside goes to a Stabilization Reserve (the "Rainy Day Fund"), only to be used to save services in years when revenues have declined.
Contra Costa Times, June 4, 2014
District 4 Councilmember and Oakland mayoral candidate Libby Schaaf will continue her Safe Oakland Speaker Series with forums scheduled Sunday and June 22 at the Impact Hub in downtown Oakland.
"I really want to continue to have a community dialogue about safety in Oakland," Schaaf said. "We have an incredibly educated citizenry. When we engage them, we will be more effective. All cities have become safer when their leadership has a unified vision."
Oakland Tribune, June 2, 2014
When animal advocates last pushed for an independent shelter in 2005, the city rejected the proposal, citing the benefits of having police be responsible both for the shelter and handling animal-related 911 calls.
But this time, Chief Sean Whent said he wanted police out of the shelter business and council members Libby Schaaf, Rebecca Kaplan and Noel Gallo pushed for the reform.
"I'm thrilled the administration is supporting making the shelter its own department, where it can receive the full focus that our animals and our caregivers deserve," Schaaf said.
CBS San Francisco, May 28, 2014
Two members of the Oakland City Council said the police department is significantly below its budgeted staffing level, and they want to make changes to assure staffing levels for the future.
Oakland's current budget calls for the city to have 675 police officers. But Oakland City Council Member and mayor candidate Libby Schaaf said the city had only 611 officers in March.
"This last fiscal year has been a frustrating one because we have remained under our budgeted strength every single month so far in this fiscal year, pretty dramatically," Schaaf said.
San Francisco Chronicle, April 10, 2014
The number of police officers patrolling Oakland's streets has declined since Jean Quan became Oakland's mayor in 2011, and Quan is using budget tricks and campaign half-truths to suggest otherwise, a rival for her mayoral seat wrote in a scathing letter to the mayor on Wednesday.
"You are hiding from the citizens of Oakland the fact that there are fewer officers working today than when you became mayor," wrote Councilwoman Libby Schaaf, who is running to unseat Quan, serving up the first serious swipe against Quan in what could be a testy election year.
Oakland Tribune, April 9, 2014
Misstatements about police matters have dogged Mayor Jean Quan since she took office, and now one of her rivals has seized on another apparent error.
In a bristling letter to the mayor on Wednesday, Councilwoman Libby Schaaf wrote that Quan's recent statements about taking office at a time when Oakland had the lowest number of budgeted police officer jobs was incorrect and created a false perception that the department had grown during her watch.
"The citizens of Oakland deserve honesty and transparency, especially when their public safety is on the line," wrote Schaaf, who is giving up her council seat to challenge Quan in the November election.
NBC Bay Area, February 27, 2014
“The proliferation of guns on Oakland streets is a terror,” Libby Schaaf said. The Oakland city council member and mayoral candidate co-authored AB 180 [PDF]. The bill would have given Oakland local control over gun registration and licensing. The plan would require gun owners to provide personal information to authorities, something that no other city in California currently requires.
“It would give us more information that would help reveal this illegal gun trafficking, Schaaf said. “Guns are flowing into our city and being used for crime all the time and it has got to stop.”
Oakland North, December 5, 2013
Nicknamed the “Girl Scout barracuda” by an unnamed colleague in City Hall, Schaaf can manage to seem disarmingly accessible, but said she doesn’t shy away from being aggressive in debates around key issues.
“I do like to keep it positive, but when people need to be held accountable, they need to be held accountable,” Schaaf said. “So I can be pretty persistent in a way that not everyone finds pleasant.”
A self-proclaimed “data nerd,” Schaaf has become known for pushing innovative technological solutions to long-standing Oakland problems, like crime. “She really was determined to figure out how we can add more police to our force,” Nosakhare recalls. “That was something she was more aggressive about when it came down to the budget back in June.”
San Francisco Chronicle, December 2, 2013
"I think that Oaklanders deserve to have the police come when they call, that the city can be safe and that Oakland is looking for some competent, strong leadership," Schaaf said moments after filing her paperwork in City Hall. "I have been very frustrated with the level of services and speed of progress in this city and as a lifelong resident, as a mom and as the daughter of parents that live here, I believe that Oakland can do better."
Oakland Tribune, December 2, 2013
Councilwoman Libby Schaaf made it official Monday. She's running for mayor.
"I'm very excited to take an optimistic, can-do message to the voters," Schaaf said after filing paperwork to raise money for next year's campaign.
Piedmont Patch, December 2, 2013
Speaking to reporters outside the Oakland city clerk's office late this morning, Schaaf said that reducing police response times and creating jobs will be among her top priorities.
"I'm very frustrated with the level of services and the speed of progress in this city," Schaaf said.
NBC Bay Area, December 2, 2013
Oakland City Councilwoman Libby Schaaf filed papers today to begin the process of running for mayor in 2014, saying that improving public safety and creating new jobs are two of her top goals.
Schaaf, who was born and raised in Oakland and was elected to the City Council in 2010, said, "I believe Oaklanders deserve to have a police force that responds quickly when they call" for help and promised, "I will have a relentless focus on having a city that is safe."
KTVU, December 2, 2013
Speaking to reporters outside the city clerk's office after she filed papers forming a campaign committee, Schaaf said, "I plan to run a positive campaign that focuses on issues, not on people."
But she strongly implied that she's unhappy with the job performance of Mayor Jean Quan, saying that, "Oakland can do better and its residents deserve to have basic services delivered."
CBS Bay Area, December 2, 2013
Oakland Focus, December 2, 2013
Libby Schaaf, my friend and Oakland City Counncil District Four Representative — who so scared the heck out of current Oakland Mayor Jean Quan when Libby openly talked about running that Quan sent supporters to talk her out of it — has officially filed papers to run for Mayor of Oakland.