Oakland (Special to OaklandNewsOnline.com) – On Monday, now formed U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee filed her papers to announce that she’s running for Mayor of Oakland in the April 15th Special Election to replace the Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins (just installed on Monday by the Oakland City Council), who in turn replaces the recalled Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. The question this Oakland vlogger and Oakland blogger had was and is a simple one: how many jobs did Congresswoman Lee bring to Oakland over her time representing our city from her perch as California’s legendary 12th congressional district leader?
The Job of The Mayor Of Oakland Is Job Creation, Something Barbara Lee Did Not Have As Her Focus In Congress
If you look at Barbara Lee’s own list of accomplishments, “bringing jobs to Oakland” is not one of them. In fact, the list starts with “Her accomplishments include authoring or co-authoring every major piece of legislation dealing with global HIV/AIDS issues since she was elected to Congress” and does not list a single action tied to local business and economic development and job creation. The fact is that Congresswoman Lee’s focus has been more national and civil right oriented, and not at all economic development directed. That is in direct conflict with the job of being Oakland’s Mayor.
So, in response, I issued this Oakland Vlog Livestream called “Barbara Lee To Run For Mayor Of Oakland How Many Jobs Did She Bring To Oakland As Congresswoman?” and is here and here at ZennieReport.com:
The trouble is, some Oakland residents, in their zeal to oppose Congresswoman Lee during her run for Mayor, also do not see that the Mayor’s job is economic development, AKA job creation.
Take this exchange I had with a man named “Jeff” on NextDoor, the social media platform, where Jeff blasts Lee for not knowing business but then says jobs are not the concern of the Mayor. He wrote that. Read:
Regardless of jobs, that’s not one of the main issues facing Oakland. She has zero experience running a business. She is a professional politician. Not what Oakland needs. We have those and they were disasters.
To which I replied with this, well, teach-in on the job of the Mayor and how that responsibility of job creation translates to helping business in Oakland.
Jeff you do not understand urban economics and the business of cities, which is job creation. A City like Oakland has buildings built by developers that pay property taxes, which go to the City’s general fund. The buildings hold businesses that employ people, so those JOBS are a reflection of income earned, part of which is spent in the City by buying from other businesses and becomes the sales tax revenue those other businesses pay that goes to the City’s general fund. The property tax and the sales tax combine to give the City enough money to pay for its service-providing employees.
So a person running for Mayor like Barbara Lee or yourself, has to understand that their job is maintaining the City’s coffers by increasing business activity in the way of development, which then yields more jobs, or business growth, which causes more job creation. The City providing police and fire services and economic development, together assures that will happen. And that’s why the Oakland City Charter SAYS that one of the duties of the Mayor is Economic Development.
Under Section 305. Functions, Powers and Duties. in the Oakland City Charter, the text reads plain as day, the following:
The Mayor shall have the following powers, duties, and responsibilities:
a) The Mayor shall be responsible for the submission of an annual budget to the Council which shall be prepared by the City Administrator under the direction of the Mayor and Council. The Mayor shall, at the time of the submission of the budget, submit a general statement of the conditions of the affairs of the City, the goals of the administration, and recommendations of such measures as he may deem expedient and proper to accomplish such goals.
(b) Recommend to the Council such measures and legislation as he deems necessary and to make such other recommendations to the Council concerning the affairs of the City as he finds desirable.
(c) Encourage programs for the physical, economic, social and cultural development of the City.
(d) Actively promote economic development to broaden and strengthen the commercial and employment base of the City.
(e) Appoint the City Administrator, subject to confirmation by the City Council, remove the City Administrator and give direction to the City Administrator. The Mayor shall advise the Council before removing the City Administrator.
(f) Serve as ceremonial head of the City.
(g) Represent the City in inter-governmental relations as directed by the Council.
(h) Provide community leadership.
You see, Jeff? So, you also need to understand the business of the City and how that interacts with the needs of business. Businesses need affordable rents, a patronage that buys their goods and services, and a safe neighborhood within which to do their work. Economic Development can provide financial aide to the business (large or small) in the form of grants or loans. It can also have security programs for businesses that activate the local police. And it can cause affordable housing to be built, as we used to do before 2012. Oakland had that kind of Economic Development function within its downtown business improvement district before Jerry Brown got rid of redevelopment in 2011. Now that redevelopment tax increment financing is back, and has been since late 2014, Oakland has STILL NEVER USED IT. See, Jeff?
Are you now getting how all of this fits together? That’s why it’s really about the economy and the best measure of what a Mayor does is job development. If you have a growing homeless population, as Oakland and America does, it means we have a lot of elected officials that are not doing their jobs.
U.S. Congresspeople and Job Creation Normally Go Hand-In-Hand
The focus of Barbara Lee away from job creation and economic development is to be of concern to Oaklanders because it does fall outside the normal range of expectations of a congressional representative. Type “congressman and job creation” in Google and the artificial intelligence engine spits out this (for now):
Congressman Hank Johnson has consistently championed policies to strengthen the economy and uplift working Americans. He’s supported job-creating legislation, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package and investments in projects and training programs for local industries in Georgia’s 4th District.
Now Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia’s 4th District served with Barbara Lee, but by contrast, makes it clear his objectives are focused on bringing home the bacon for the people of his district.
And then there’s my friend California Congressman John Garamendi, who says “My top priorities in Congress are creating good-paying jobs for Americans and combating the growing gap between the wealthy and working families.”
Where’s Barbara Lee with such a concern for the economic well-being of her people in CD-12, which includes Oakland? Where is it? Where was it? Why doesn’t Oakland have an Economic Development District in it or is part of one?
What’s that?
It’s part of the reauthorized U.S. Economic Development Administration and….
Economic Development Districts (EDDs) are multi-jurisdictional entities, commonly composed of multiple counties and in certain cases even cross-state borders. They help lead the locally-based, regionally driven economic development planning process that leverages the involvement of the public, private and non-profit sectors to establish a strategic blueprint (i.e., an economic development roadmap) for regional collaboration.
The strategic blueprint, known as a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), is a strategy-driven plan for regional economic development. A CEDS is the result of a “regionally-owned” planning process designed to guide the economic prosperity and resiliency of an area or region. It provides a coordinating mechanism for individuals, organizations, local governments, and private industry to engage in a meaningful conversation and debate about the economic direction of their region.
And Oakland, with all of its problems of crime and lack of business retention is not a player in this game of job creation. And that falls at the feet of Congresswoman Lee. I don’t feel good about this report, but we have to ask the question why is this the case?
You know and I know Oakland needs to develop its economy. That should be job number one for anyone running for Mayor of Oakland.
Stay tuned.