What the pundits missed.

I wrote this piece on why Batts and other chiefs often don’t last long in that job. Though Batts may be staying, the issues remain.

Local pundits, Chip Johnson and Tammerlin Drummond, have weighed in on why they think Anthony Batts wants to leave his post as our new Chief of Police. I’m confused by some of the assumptions they make when trying to second guess the Chief.
For one, Drummond and Johnson seem to think that Oakland is suffering from more severe budget problems than other cities. But we also know that San Jose came very close to laying off over a hundred of its officers last year before the San Jose Police Officers Association offered to share in pension costs. If you read the news about San Jose today, you will find that continued budget woes are causing their mayor to consider imposing police layoffs again.
Secondly, Johnson and Drummond like to promote the idea that Mayor Jean Quan has always had a “testy relationship” with the police so that’s why Batts might be thinking of leaving. This was never the truth unless you based that whole assumption on her vote to lay off 80 officers after pension negotiations failed last year.
Quan was a council member at the time and voted with the majority to reduce the force when all other options had been exhausted. Even after the incident where the Oakland Police Officers’ Association used a public meeting to endorse her opponent ( Batts had been present but left just prior to the announcement), Don Perata, Ms. Quan had only positive things to say about the Chief and looked forward to working with him.
Let’s see Batts wants to leave, if he does, because of our crime rate. I think he knew about that when he came and pledged to make a difference. By the way, Drummond mentioned that Batts constantly restates his commitment to young African Americans, but no one has noted a change in community relations with those young folks, not yet anyway.
Lots of folks think he’s looking elsewhere because he thought Perata would be mayor and the Don had made some promises to OPD and the OPOA that would give them all the funds they needed. But even if he had won, Batts is way too smart a guy to believe Perata was an alchemist and could turn common metals into gold (also he applied in October when popular wisdom had Perata winning, but okay, maybe he hedged his bets.)
Batts has even been fairly successful in getting Oakland to buy the idea that gang injunctions are a good use of city crime fighting funds and to consider extending them over broad swathes of the city (to his credit, City Attorney Russo has crafted the injunctions much more narrowly than originally designed.)
So I can’t claim to have any idea what’s in Batts head or how he views his future. My first impression of him was that he’s more concerned about his own political ambitions than his policing ambitions, but of course, in so short a time, it’s hard to know.
Another problem is that Oakland’s Negotiated Settlement Agreement (based on the pattern of abuse discovered during the Riders scandal) continues to be extended. The federal judge in charge of overseeing compliance with the consent decree (NSA), Thelton Henderson, is said to be getting impatient with the department’s inability to comply and is threatening to put the OPD into receivership under which OPD loses control of its department. Losing the department to receivership would be a real blow to any police chief’s political career.
If you look closely, you can notice a recurring theme in many of the problems confronting an Oakland police chief. The police union, the OPOA, continues to stand in the way of making real change to Oakland’s police culture, change that might really affect how crime is fought and what funding is available to fight it.
For one, if the OPOA had been willing to give what every other Oakland union had given along with police unions in other cities, those 80 officers would not have been laid off. If the OPOA leadership really had confidence in the chief, he would have been able to convince them to seriously consider that concession. As to the other problem, the NSA, if the Chief were able to influence the rank and file to make the necessary changes, Thelton Henderson would not be threatening to take over the department.
I have watched many chiefs come and go back to long-time Chief Hart who retired in the 90s. I can’t prove it in a court of law, but it has been common knowledge that OPOA has ruined any chief who really tried to change the culture of the force. The OPOA IS the police department and can determine the success of any chief. The union holds sway on an almost impenetrable culture where change is deeply suspect.
Back in 1994 I was on the first Community Policing Advisory Board (as was Dan Siegel), we studied how other cities had implemented a type of policing that is less about responding to 911 calls and more about being integrally tied into the community as a way to prevent crimes from being committed.
We traveled to Portland and heard that their department was really integrated into neighborhood structures and knew which folks could help and which folks might be the cause of the problems. We were very excited about changing the way the department was viewed from an invading force to a shared network of police personnel, social service agencies, city departments, and neighborhood schools.
But we kept hearing the naysayers and most were in the police department. They told us that old timers would not cotton to doing “social work” rather than being able to “collar” the bad guy after the crime was done.
We were told that union rules would have to be changed in order for officers to work varying hours in which they would sometimes be called to an evening meeting with neighborhood folks. We were told to wait until the force turned over and a new contract could be negotiated in which the officers who actually found preventing crime more gratifying than arresting criminals, could be supported and promoted.
Meanwhile the union kept control of officer hours to such a degree that neither the mayor nor any chief could schedule them during the times they were most needed. Community policing was reduced to a program of the department rather than an overall philosophy of policing.
I have been waiting to see a change, and I do believe that many rank and file members appreciate the needs of the community and willingly embrace community policing, but the union maintains the same stance as it did more than a decade ago.
I’m a union member in good standing, that is, in as good standing as I can be when my whole unit was laid off after adult education was axed in this town. I believe that every union should be able to advocate for the best benefits and working conditions they can get for their members.
I am not part of the growing chorus attacking public workers for getting taxpayer largess when I know it’s the corporate leaders and investment bankers who got the bailouts.
I know being an Oakland officer, is tough and deserving of good pay and benefits. I believe that Oakland officers probably should get more money to work here than some other places. It’s also not the OPOA’s fault that our economy crashed.
But, since the crash most unions have offered to help because it keeps more of their workers employed and, therefore, makes sense (ask the 80 laid off officers if they think the union represented them.) Most other union workers also live in this town and are truly invested in its future. I’m not going to waste space talking about why officers don’t live here. That’s another whole discussion and irrelevant so long as the courts agree that residency cannot be a requirement for employment.
Once again I can’t claim to know why Chief Batts is considering leaving his post in Oakland. But I know from years of watching and closely observing that OPD is difficult for any chief to govern without the consent of the leadership of OPOA. Trying to change that is a recipe for failure for an ambitious chief.
You’re the taxpayer. Who represents you, your elected council member or the police officers union? I’m not saying Batts was influenced by any of this, but what I am saying is that there’s more to policing in Oakland than funding, crime rates, and who’s mayor (or who the mayor’s advisor is). The pundits seemed to have missed that but the rest of us should know better.

Oakland Councilmember Jane Brunner Wrong On Chief Batts

Oakland City Councilmember Jane Brunner (District 1 - North Oakland) is unfortunately just plain wrong in her comments on Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts, and shows why many say there has been a "leadership void" that Oakland's elected officials have not effectively filled.

This is what Cecily Burt quoted Councilmember Brunner as saying in The Oakland Tribune regarding why Batts elected to try and leave Oakland:

"I don't even know if that is the reason. We don't know if there are other issues, it's not clear...He is very popular, we think he is a good chief, but in my opinion, he needs to want to be here. And if there are things that are preventing him from wanting to stay, he needs to be in the room to have that discussion...If he's going to stay, he needs to work with us as a team."

No. Councilmember Brunner has it backwards.   It's her job to make sure working conditions are excellent for a person who is essentially one of her employees.

To ask the employee (think about that) to lobby for improved working conditions says little good about the employer.  The employer is supposed to take responsibility to improve working conditions for the employee.

And she wonders why Batts would consider leaving?

Chief Batts has talked to the media (including this blogger several times), to local officials, and to anyone who would listen regarding the Oakland Police financial situation and the need to improve it.  But it's Jane Brunner's job, as one of the Oakland Councilmembers who hired Batts let alone as a senior member of the Oakland City Council, to set up a meeting such that the Brown Act is not violated, and determine what problems there are and pledge to help him solve them.

That's what leaders do and Jane's certainly capable of doing that.  In fact, I'm surprised she'd allow herself to express such weakness.

Complaining about Batts in the media was the wrong action to take.   I understand what she's saying, but it didn't come out the right way.  Politically, it was better left unsaid.

Chief Batts is not some one to fear, and anyone who might paint him in that way, as someone that a person needs to "stand up to" - thus calling up age-old American white fears of black men - should be ignored and shunned.

That aside, Councilmember Brunner's job one is to set up a direct dialog with Chief Batts, and stop waiting for others to do it.

That's what leaders do.

Jerry Brown's Plan To End Redevelopment In California Wrong-Headed

California Governor Jerry Brown is known for attacking sacred cows but sometimes he does so without a clear vision of the real objective and how to achieve it. Such is the case with California Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs), which Brown wants to do away with as part of his State of California Proposed Budget.

Governor Brown thinks the move will return $1.7 billion to the general funds of California cities; but such a claim shows Brown doesn't understand Redevelopment, how it works, and what it's supposed to do.  The real objective of returning $1.7 billion will not be done in the way he says, and for several reasons.

First, California Redevelopment is designed such that it allows cities to establish redevelopment areas to keep property taxes. And contrary to popular view, redevelopment revenues from project areas can be used to provide services in those project areas. Many cities have done this, including Oakland.

Indeed, California Redevelopment Law was used by the City of Santa Ana to keep all of its property tax revenue. And while the law was changed to prevent that action by other cities, the City of Santa Ana's example proves that Redevelopment itself keeps property tax revenue under civic, and not state and county share, control. Yes, counties hate CRA's because they keep city property tax revenues from county collection and use. But counties can and do negotiate "pass-through" agreements to get some of that CRA prop tax revenue.

The bottom line is Governor Brown's wrong here and doesn't "get" how Redevelopment works.  The truth is that cities use California Redevelopment to keep property tax revenue and can use it for services.

Second, such a proposal as Brown's brings out every wingnut who has an issue with Redevelopment jumping on the Brown bandwagon, bringing up issues that can be easily fixed with a tweak in the law. For example, many suburban cities don't use their affordable housing set-aside monies. They should be forced to give 50 percent of those funds to a total pool that's then redistributed to the CRAs that have the greatest predetermined need.

Third, if Governor Brown really wants to attack a sacred cow and solve this budget problem, go after Prop 13.

Proposition 13 got us into this mess by throwing an intergenerational choke-chain around California's revenue collection system in 1978. Now, the near-depression recession we faced added another choke chain California has to deal with. The state has too many people chasing too few resources. The only way to reduce the population and increase the resources is by a three-percent increase in property taxes state-wide.

It would present a brutal and ugly fight. Hell, it might cost Brown his job and he'd have the shortest executive career since that pope who got poisoned, but it would be worth doing to really get at the actual problem plaguing California today: it's property tax system.

Be brave Jerry. Do it.

Pork Loin at Plum in Oakland Good, Overpriced

Pork Loin at Plum in Oakland, originally uploaded by zennie62.

Last night, I paid a visit to the new Plum Restaurant on Franklin near Broadway. It's a new addition to the Uptown Oakland food scene, joining Luka's, Osumo, Pican, Vo's, and Bakesale Beattie's, as well as Farley's Cafe and forming a nexus of food places at Broadway and Grand.

Now, I'm not a restaurant reviewer. In fact, I was spurred to try Plum because of Michael Bauer's review at SFGate.com. Plus, living in Oakland, I think its important to support Oakland business whenever I can.

Now, I've got to put this in perspective. The Pan-Roasted Half Chicken at The Wood Tavern is the best in the SF Bay Area. It's a 23 dollar meal that will more than fill you up; you'll have to take some of it home.

I asked what the most filling dish at Plum would be and the patron next to me recommended the Pork. So I ordered it. I inhaled it. It's $18 and yet is the size of a small salad. For the money, not far from the Wood Tavern's Chicken, it was too small a dish.

Good, yes. Awesome. But too small a dish, and that impacts its overall value. Sorry to say.

But here's the weird thing: the meals that have the best price / quantify relationship at Plum are in its late night menu. The Plum version of a Reuben Sandwich is one example, and at $12 is reasonably priced and will fill you up.

Plum's a lovely place, but it seems like the menu's upside down. Hopefully, they'll correct that, soon.

Oh, That Service Charge Thing

Also, Plum has a 16.5 percent service charge that the waiter said "is shared with the kitchen staff," which is fine. I have no problem with that, but it would seem to discourage tipping. I also wondered why they imposed it. Were they afraid that certain Oaklanders wouldn't tip? I commonly leave double the tax as the tip. It was interesting that the waiter pointed directly to the service charge, even though I didn't ask about it.

I gave him an additional $5 because the service charge was less than what the tip would have been. My entire meal, for just me, was $50 with the service charge, which I spent the night before for two people at Miss Saigon Restaurant on Grand next to The Alley.

Plum needs to work that out, and the price / quantity thing, before I can say it's really perfect.

Oakland News: Southy New Restaurant, Arizona Shooting, Oakland Raiders

This edition of Oakland News has a lot of information for you.

First, if you've ever eaten at the North Oakland restaurant called Wood Tavern at 6317 College Avenue (with the best half-chicken in Oakland, if not the SF Bay Area), then you'll be able to picture it's new spring-off called "Southy."

Why that name? Because it's going to be right next door and south of The Wood Tavern. Set to open in about 10 days, Southy's going to cater to a younger crowd. There's going to be a sliding door to deliver take out orders, to which I suggest offering sliders to go with that slider!

Also, on the Oakland / College Avenue restaurant gossip beat, if you're wondering how some eateries are doing, I understand that one of them, once a large, popular place this blogger visited regularly, eventually fell off and started "floating" its liquor accounts.

Let's say you own a restaurant in Oakland. As I understand it, if you purchase beer, you have 30 days to pay the beer vendor for the volume you bought. That means you can make the money to pay the person. If you don't pay within 30 days you lose the account. What this one establishment - since closed, then split into two, and now is being remodeled - did was float liquor account after liquor account, allowing each one for beer to expire, then setting up new ones with other distributors. Eventually, it caught up to them.

Are there any restaurants taking up that practice now? My source says no. In fact, my source asserts that the Oakland Restaurant scene is hotter than ever, especially downtown and because of The Fox Theater.

The Fox sells out concerts, and so brings about 2,000 to 3,000 people downtown per show, many who eat before or after performances, keeping eateries like Flora across from the Fox and Luka's on Grand and Telegraph active, and creating enough of a market and word-of-mouth for other places like Lake Chalet on Lake Marritt, as well as old establishments like The Alley, which is both a bar and restaurant (great steaks).

Shifting Gears: Arizona Shooting Candlelight Vigil

The East Bay Young Democrats will hold a candlelight vigil for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the victims of the Arizona Shootings in front of Oakland City Hall, at Frank Ogawa Plaza from 5 PM to 6:30 PM on Wednesday, January 12th (that's tomorrow). The community co-sponsors listed are Cal Berkeley Democrats, Courage Campaign, CREDO Action, City of Alameda Democratic Club, East Bay Democracy For America, NWPC-AN, South County Young Democrats, and Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club.

Mayor Jean Quan Needs To Tweet More Often

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan has just 1,377 followers on Twitter, and she's now over a week into the job of Mayor. One reason why she has a small following is that she doesn't sent out enough Tweets. At best it's once a day.

Mayor Quan's got to designate someone to tweet and also tweet herself. Quan has a wealth of material in Oakland's City Services and helpful numbers to call. Then there's the news from her own website. Then there' retweeting of Oakland and SF Bay Area news. Her tweet count needs to be ahead of her follower count by almost two, right now, it's about half.

She also needs to tweet when she's out visiting and helping people from time to time. Newark Mayor Cory Booker's become the Twitter master for tweeting where he's helped his residents dig out of the massive snow storms that plagued his city.

Get to tweeting, Jean!

Oakland Homicides: Six In 11 Days?

That Oakland has had six homicides in 11 days is an outrage. We need to have a zero-tolerance gun policy here and enforce it. If a person brandishes a gun for any reason other than on-property or personal self-defense, they go to jail. Period. Note, that's even before shooting the gun. We have to stop this crap.

Also, Oakland Police need to send a patrol car up Grand Avenue, then Euclid Avenue and then around Adams Point between the hours of 1 AM and 3 AM. As I was returning home in a cab from San Francisco International Airport on the Friday before New Year's Eve, I saw young near-teenaged brothers walking around at that time, some without shirts on in the cold. Just what the heck were they doing out at that time of night and in Adams Point?

The sad fact is that a number of late-night crimes around the Lake have been committed by very young boys of color, many below 21 and 18 years of age. It's a reflection of Oakland's racial economic disparities; we have to get them off the habit of roaming streets and into clubs and other activities, and get jobs for their parents.

Al Davis And The Oakland Raiders

I'd wish the Oakland Raiders would just tell Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha they just don't have the money to pay him rather than making it look like he wasn't a top performer in 2010. One of the reasons his contract is voided is that he had fewer interceptions than in 2009. Well, how many times was he thrown to? Nnamdi Asomugha's one of the league's top corners, so some teams just aren't going to throw his way.

But let's face it: if the Raiders could afford Asomugha, they'd have kept him.

With a league high of game blackouts and a hyper-high unemployment rate damaging attendance in 2010, the Raiders just don't have the money to afford him for 2011. That's the problem.

Stay tuned.

San Francisco News: Transbay Terminal Construction Schedule

In this San Francisco News, construction of The Transbay Terminal is under way. This space will have updates from the newsletter of the Transbay Terminal organization. If you're wondering what this is all about, the idea of a new transportation terminal in downtown San Francisco started almost 20 years ago. It culminated in this design competition:



From the newsletter of The Transbay Terminal organization:

This week at Transbay...

Weekend Work (1/7/11 - 1/9/11): This weekend, work will take place on Saturday, between the hours 7:00 AM and 11:00 PM. The contractors will move the crane known as “Big Red” into the west portion of the old Terminal footprint in order to continue demolition of the West Terminal building.

Weekday Work: Weekday work between Monday, January 10, 2011 and Friday, January 14, 2011 will focus on the demolition of the West Terminal building using the wrecking ball. Work began on Thursday, January 6, 2011 to demolish the ramp between Howard and Natoma and will continue for the remainder of the week.

Webcor’s subcontractor, Trinet, will continue utilities work along on Minna Street. Sewer trenching along Minna Street will begin on Monday, January 10, 2011 and will work its way towards Second Street. Due to the trenching, a small portion of Minna Street will be closed entirely, however all affected buildings will be granted full access to their loading docks.

The contractor will work between the hours of 7:00 AM and 11:00 PM.

Street and Sidewalk Closure: The sidewalk on the east side of Fremont Street is closed. Pedestrians must use the west side of Fremont Street. Pedestrian protection will be provided.

Lane restrictions will remain on Natoma Streets. A small portion of Minna will be closed, however all affected buildings will be granted full access to their loading docks. Lane restrictions will be in effect on both Fremont Street and First Street between Mission and Howard Street between the hours of 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

What to Expect Next Weekend (01/14/11 - 01/16/11): Demolition of the West Terminal building using the wrecking ball will take place on Saturday, January 15, 2011.

Should you have any general questions about the Transbay Transit Center Project, please call Courtney Lodato or Adam Alberti, Transbay Outreach Team, at: (415) 227-9700 or via e-mail at: info@transbaycenter.org

If you have any urgent questions regarding site-specific demolition or construction activities, please call our construction activity number: (415) 409-TJPA (8572).

Please continue to check our website for the most up to date schedule of activities at: http://www.transbaycenter.org/demolition

Oakland Inauguration: Jean Quan Libby Schaaf and Pat Kernighan Take Office - Part 1

Oakland, CA: Live From The Fox - Today's a special day in the City of Oakland, because Jean Quan, formerly District 4 Councilmember, then the (to some) surprising new Mayor-Elect of Oakland after beating front-runner Don Perata thanks to Ranked Choice Voting, today becomes Mayor of Oakland.

Quan started the day with a walk from Chinatown through Oakland, and ending at the Fox Theater, where we are for the inauguration ceremonies. She held an inpromptu "thank you" chat with supporters and onlookers in front of the Fox, and was joined by Assemblyman Sandre Swanson.

Sandre, a protege of former Congressman and now outgoing Mayor Ron Dellums, issued what in retrospect, was the first sign that Dellums wasn't going to run for reelection: he announced his support for Quan. Moreover, Sandre's support for Jean never wavered. Now, today, he looks like a proud papa, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Libby Schaaf, Pat Kernighan, and Courtney Ruby Take Office

Today's also the day my long-time friend Libby Schaaf, who I said should run for Mayor, ran for City Council, and won in a landslide. She's now the new councilmember for District 4 (Oakland Hills - Montclair), replacing Quan.

With all this, Libby's still new to Oaklanders. I had to get the Fox Theater usher to let her in without a ticket, explaining Libby was one of his new representatives and she was about to be sworn in. That problem won't last for long.  Libby's going to make a big name for herself.

Pat Kernighan, the incumbent District 2 Councilmember (Chinatown - Lake Merritt) also won big over her challenger Jen Pae. For a while, it looked like Jen might upset Pat, but Councilmember Kernighan's vast set of long-established relationships formed a base that was hard to overcome.

Courtney Ruby, the incumbent City Auditor, also won over a chalenge from Michael Killian. Moreover, Killian's focus on auditing issues at CEDA, the Community and Economic Development Agency of Oakland, may have caused her to release her study on CEDA loans and fiscal reporting. One that Oakland City Administrator Dan Lindheim took offense to.

Right now, Oakland School Board member Chris Dobbins is doing his best Sarah Palin impersonation, even to the point of bring up his entire family, "from Wasila, Alaska," he said.

And now we have Sanjiv Handa,long time journalist and City Council "whip, if you will, giving a speech to the Council. He is starting a new precendent. There are 100s and 1,000s of PTA's that are doing the things the city used to do, he says. Who ever is elected can revisit the basic purpose of government interaction: every aspect of public business must be discussed on public. He also wants an extension of time for speakers.

Handa was making good points, but is now putting the crowd on edge with some hissing, as he recounts his version of what now Governor Jerry Brown did to Oakland's School system while he was mayor.  That's not something Gary Yee cares about; today, he's the new President of The Board of The Oakland Unified School District.   He says that the Oakland School Districtis on the right path and is on a mission to graduate every student.  Yee also says we have a long way to go.

Fox Theater Attendance OK

With all of this, you'd think the Fox Theater would be filled to the brim, but no.  Even in the lower level area, there are empty seats.

Stay turned for Part Two.