Oakland residents worry about state of city amid leadership change and growing concerns

When Cherry Chan moved back to Oakland last year after living in Hawaii, she found a city that was struggling with a host of social issues, among them, brazen property crime. Chan works at a shoe shop in Oakland’s Montclair neighborhood, where she says she often sees car break-ins.

“It’s become like the wild west,” she said.

Early this year, In-N-Out Burger closed its location near Oakland International Airport “due to ongoing issues with crime.”  Then Denny’s Restaurant followed suit. Shop owners have complained about rampant thefts that aren’t prosecuted. Chinatown restaurant owners say many of their customers are afraid to venture there at night.

Many Oaklanders are like Chan, worried about the city’s future. They want to know how the city intends to address public safety concerns, homelessness and budget woes in the new year. 

“The city needs real investment, it needs people to pull together to move it forward and deal with the issues it faces,” said Jim Ross, a political consultant and founder of Oakland-based strategic communications firm, Telegraph. “To do that, you need a mayor who can inspire people and bring people together on a shared vision for the city.”

Residents will have to wait longer for that to happen, as four different leaders will be sitting in the mayor’s seat over the next five months.

In November, Mayor Sheng Thao became the first Oakland mayor to be recalled. Her two years in office were marred by an FBI raid on her house amid an ongoing corruption investigation and residents’ dissatisfaction with the city’s direction, notably its escalating thefts and other property crimes. 

With Thao’s removal from office, the city will go through some instability before a new leader takes the helm. 

Thao officially stepped down when the City Council declared her office vacant Tuesday, about a week after Alameda County certified election results. Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas assumed the role of  interim mayor until Jan. 6. After that, she will move on to her newly elected post on the Alameda Board of Supervisors. Oakland’s newly elected City Council — which includes three fresh faces — then will elect a new president, who automatically will become the interim mayor until a special election on April 15.

Several people have announced a run for mayor in the spring, including Loren Taylor, Thao’s opponent in a close 2022 mayoral race.  

“Our major challenges have been persistent for a while, as well as the more recently exposed fiscal crisis that, I think, has been decades in the making but, unfortunately, has been exacerbated by decisions of the recent administration,” Taylor said.

Former Councilmember Ignacio de la Fuente has confirmed a run. Lobbyist Isaac Kos-Read has expressed interest. And U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee’s name has circulated, though Lee’s office declined to say if she intends to run for the position. 

Time and again, at City Council meetings and other forums, residents mention safety as a priority, and many say the city needs more alternatives to traditional policing. 

This year, the city has recorded around 70 homicides, about 40 more than last year. Joe DeVries, a deputy city administrator, said the data shows public safety plans are working.

“Our crime rate has fallen dramatically because of our Ceasefire program,” he said. ”We took the foot off the pedal and we shifted.”

A year after assuming office, Thao reintroduced Ceasefire, a gang violence strategy initiated in 2012 by a group of pastors to combat killings in Oakland. 

The program tries to prevent crime before it happens. Community safety experts long have advocated for proactive alternatives to policing. Resident Tracy Williams suggests the city do more to address the root causes of crime. “Homelessness, lack of education, and employment. I think that’s the crux of the issue,” she said.

DeVries said residents have to get involved in public safety conversations with the new administration.

“The message to the voters is, we need to do this together. We need people to get involved,” Devries said. 

Day of fiscal reckoning is here

Public safety is not likely to improve if the city has to cut back on resources. That’s a big concern as Oakland tries to reel in its budget. Deep cuts are likely necessary to remedy the structural deficit projected in the 2025 fiscal year through the end of the 2027 budget cycle, according to the city’s Finance Department.  The city is spending more than it is making in revenue. 

“We need to address this immediately and urgently to avoid possible future negative fiscal consequences,” said Bradley Johnson, the city’s budget administrator during a City Council meeting in November.

Johnson warned council members that the city could face fiscal insolvency if cuts aren’t made. If the city becomes insolvent, it will be unable to afford its full workforce, and its ability to borrow money would be hindered due to a downgrade with rating agencies.

Dan Lindheim, a former city administrator who teaches at the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy, said revenue losses during the COVID-19 pandemic are contributing to the budget crisis. He said the city will likely have to cut the number of people in its workforce or reduce salaries to avoid continued losses.

“It’s a bad situation to be in,” Lindheim said.

The deficit is in the general purpose fund, which pays for police, fire and other services. As a result, the police and fire departments may receive the brunt of the cuts. Those agencies account for much of the city’s budget and have the highest rate of overtime spending.

Public safety cuts could lead to longer police and fire response times and affect public safety.

“We have a lot of problems to fix, and having a budget shortfall is just going to put us back even further,” said Uptown resident David Zhong.

‘Every sweep is a setback’

Oakland also is trying to reverse a trend that has left many people homeless. That population grew by 9% between 2022 and 2024, according to the latest Alameda County Point-in-Time count. About 67% of Oakland’s unhoused residents live outdoors or in vehicles instead of in shelters.

Latrice Gordon has been living out of her RV in West Oakland for the past six years but has not been offered a housing voucher. She teared up when thinking about where she would go if the police followed through and cleared the encampment that has sprouted along the industrial lots at Fifth and Kirkham streets. 

“We’re not trying to be in anyone’s way. We only want a safe place to live,” Gordon said.

Thao ramped up encampment closures in Oakland after the Supreme Court ruled that cities can evict people from them. But Oakland, like other cities in the region, doesn’t have enough shelter beds to meet the demand. 

The city has 1,627 shelter spaces available at community cabin sites, RV parking spaces and other transitional housing options. But according to the latest Point-In-Time count, there are about 5,500 people in need of beds — more than three times the number of beds available.

Advocates have criticized the encampment closures policy, saying it just moves people around and isn’t a solution. Sathya Baskara, who often offers support to unhoused people forced to leave encampments, said the city needs to invest in long-term, deeply subsidized — or free — permanent housing because “affordable” housing rental rates are out of reach for many people.

“Every sweep is a setback and makes people more homeless,” Baskara said. 

Much hope is riding on the new council and administration’s ability to make headway on issues that are keeping Oakland from progressing and retaining residents and businesses. 

“I can’t say that I have a lot of confidence that there are easy solutions ahead,” said Tommy Hayes, who lives in the Montclair neighborhood.

“Oaklanders are ready for tough decisions.”

(Top photo: Latrice Gordon sits by her RV, by Amy Osborne)

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