Why Oakland Doesn't Need An Activist Mayor

Wikimedia Commons, photograph by Wikimedia user Miskatonic
Lake Merrit Oakland California looking west at the Tribune Building

Oakland is a great city with tremendous potential. The  parks are glorious, the views are to die for, the restaurants are renowned and the local food movement is a model for the nation, the creative expression through art, dance and theater is spectacular and the people are hard working, kind and community oriented. The things that Oakland could accomplish if the stars aligned would be truly awesome. Unfortunately, Oakland's leadership fails to shine again and again.

Mayor Quan's actions in recent days demonstrate that her loyalties simply do not lie first and foremost with the City of Oakland, but rather with the activist community. And while she has every right to champion the causes of the activist community as an unelected official, she should not have the right to do so as Mayor of Oakland. Many times the wants of the activists and the needs of the city conflict and she should not question where her allegiances lie in such instances.

Case in point, yesterday, Mayor Quan condoned a protest aimed at boycotting local businesses and shutting down the Port of Oakland, one of Oakland's largest revenue and employment sources, by giving government employees permission to participate. The Port of Oakland is self-funded. It receives no tax money from the city and in return provides the city with millions in tax revenue and about 50,000 jobs. I truly hope that today, the Occupy Oakland protesters do not take their anger with Wall Street and Mayor Quan out on the city itself.

I am tired of Oakland's perception being one of a rage-against-the-machine populace clashing against a highly aggressive police force. Most people in Oakland are like most people all over this country, hard working men and women who do the best they can to act as responsible humans and citizens and would like to see their government do the same. And most Oakland police officers are respectful and caring and should be honored for their durable commitment to an ever losing battle, made so by the city's shamefully poor public education system, shamefully high unemployment rate and tremendous economic woes.

These are the issues that should be the focus of Mayor Quan's daily fight, but instead her fight is too broad and overreaching while her focus is on building her image as a leader in the activist community. I don't care about her history in activism. I could take it or leave it. But her job does not include taking on the troubles of a nation. Her job is hard enough taking on the troubles of the eighth largest city in the state of California. A city I was born and raised in. A city that is filled with delicate eucalyptus trees and hills that turn to mountains of gold in the summertime. And a city that is crumbling all around her while she tries to defend her place in the activism world. After the botched raid on the Occupy protesters, her way of saving face was to claim ignorance of the police's tactical plan and then absolve herself by explaining that she wasn't even in town when it all happened. How totally lame.

Now she is trying to climb back into favor with the activist community by allowing the Occupy protesters to rebuild their encampment in front of City Hall. If they were not creating unsafe and unsanitary conditions then why did she say they were? And if they are, why is she letting them stay? Not to mention that the city's $76 million deficit grew a million dollars deeper after the police raid and city clean up of Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, which seems to have all been done in vain. And for tomorrow's protest, "The Oakland Unified School District plans to pay about $40,000 for at least 270 substitute teachers to cover classes for those joining Wednesday’s strike." For all of its problems, Oakland's lake still shimmers at night, lit with bright, yellow bulbs and reflections of the moon. Its Mormon temple radiates so brightly from atop the mountain that it can be seen for miles.

This city has so much to offer and deserves more respect than crippling deficits, terrible community-police relations and a mayor who seems to bumble about without a clue as to what really matters. What might matter the most is the involvement of Oakland's wealthy community, which could provide the capital for many enhancements that the city desperately needs. However, Mayor Quan's perception of what it means to be a good activist has led to the ostracization of many of the more wealthy people who had vested interests in the city.

Instead of proving all the machine ragers wrong, she is raging with them, trying to separate herself from the machine. What she should be doing is showing us how the system can be wonderful, how the system can help people, how the machine can work nonstop to educate our kids, safeguard our neighborhoods and put our adults to work. How it can foster creativity and innovation while also providing us with social safety nets. If she wants to participate in the Occupy movement she is welcome to do so as an unelected official. But until then, she needs to hang up her activism hat.

When I close my eyes and imagine my city I see it alive and sparkling from atop Grizzly Peak, the silver lights on the Bay Bridge like icing on the outer edges of a wedding cake, their reflection on the smooth, dark, luxurious bay below. And yet when I tell people I am from Oakland they ask me how many drive by shootings I have witnessed. By the way, the answer to that question is zero. I want this outsider perception to change. I want a mayor who will be dedicated to the image of the city more than her own. Whose advocating will be for the city, and nothing else. When the world thinks of Oakland, I want people to see the sparkling lights!