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Rotating presidency
Many news cycles ago (on Monday), the big City Hall story was Councilmember Jane Brunner’s selection as City Council president — a position Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente (Glenview-Fruitvale) had held since its inception 10 years ago.
Now there’s talk that the council presidency should rotate on a regular basis, so as to preclude someone from holding the position for so long.
One of the strongest voices for such a change is the newly sworn-in Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan (at-large).
“I personally believe that the council presidency is not about any one person,” she said, “but that it should be a regularly rotating position, and that person’s role would be to make sure to utilize the best skills of everyone on the council.”
Kaplan is a former AC Transit board member. The transit board rotates the presidency every two years.
“That’s what AC Transit does,” she said. “What Oakland does, we don’t know yet.”
Others are a bit more guarded than Kaplan.
Brunner said that she is thinking the idea over, though she doesn’t want the selection of a council president to be automatic.
Her point: The board’s president should have the support of his or her colleagues — not just be the next person waiting in line.
De La Fuente gave a somewhat cryptic comment on the matter, but it wasn’t too hard to see which way he’s leaning.
“I believe in a system that allows the recognition of leadership and people that provide that,” he said. “That’s as far as I’m going to go. “… I’m very sure it will be an item that will be discussed, and I will take a position then.”
San Francisco Chronicle
Friday, January 9, 2009
Oakland Police Chief Wayne Tucker, newly elected Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan and Dellums deplored Wednesday night’s violence, saying it was unfair that minority-owned businesses were vandalized because of an incident their owners had nothing to do with.
“That’s no better than George Bush bombing Iraq to get back at al Qaeda,” Kaplan said.
The unrest resulted in arrests for a variety of offenses, including vandalism, arson, inciting a riot, gun possession and assault on a police officer, said Officer Jeff Thomason, an Oakland police spokesman.
The Oakland Tribune, November 5th, 2008
Kaplan wins at-large seat on Oakland City Council
Hamill conceded defeat shortly after early returns were posted. “I congratulate the council member-elect,” Hamill said. “She led a brilliant campaign.” Kaplan finished with 62 percent of the vote compared to Hamill’s 37. The Kaplan-Hamill contest was the only Oakland council election on Tuesday’s ballot. (Click Here for full story)
The Oakland Tribune, Nov. 6th, 2008 Chang Commends Kaplan
“OAKLAND — Outgoing Councilmember Henry Chang on Wednesday congratulated Rebecca Kaplan on winning the election to take his position as the council’s only citywide representative.”
For full story, CLICK HERE.
| Councilmember , At Large – Oakland Vote for One (1) Only |
||
|---|---|---|
| Total Precincts: 262 | Precincts Reported: 262 | Percent Reported: 100.00 |
| Contest | # of Votes | % of Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebecca Kaplan | 84530 | 62.07 |  |
| Kerry Hamill | 50387 | 37.00 | |
| Write-in | 1269 | 0.93 | |
These results and more available online at:
http://www.acgov.org/rov_app/current_election/customindex.jsp
The Oakland Tribune November 1st, 2008
Column by Byron Williams: Kaplan says that fixing Oakland is all about leadership
TO FULLY APPRECIATE the excitement candidate for the Oakland City Council-at large Rebecca Kaplan has created, sit down with her for approximately an hour. As we sat outside an Oakland café, a virtual composite of the city’s diversity stopped by impromptu to wish Kaplan well on her quest.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I sent interview requests to Kaplan’s campaign and her challenger, school board member Kerry Hamill. Only Kaplan responded to my inquiry.
When I asked Kaplan why she decided to run for the council seat vacated by Henry Chang, who decided not to seek re-election, she said, “I’ve spent so much time thinking about what we could be doing better, seeing what we could be doing better, thinking about ways Oakland really could have healthier, safer and more prosperous life here, and I have to get involved in making it happen because otherwise I’d be at home yelling at the television.”
Kaplan, who is currently a member of the AC Transit board, cites the economy, public safety and the health of Oakland’s neighborhoods as priority issues. But, for Kaplan, the local economy is the key.
“The economy undermines everything else. We talk about public safety and the response is, ‘we don’t have the money to do that’ and so the problems in Oakland’s financial situation are not separate from any of the other specific issues, whether someone is worried about how do we get more police or how do we get more after-school programs if our budget continues to go down every year we can’t solve any of the other problems,” Kaplan said.
I pressed Kaplan to explain why Oakland is unique from other urban areas when the problems of the economy, public safety and safe neighborhoods are the same challenges that every urban city confronts.
“Almost every city in America has the same problems, what’s unique about Oakland is the solutions. We have more potential here to solve those problems than anywhere else in the country,” she said.
Kaplan views improving Oakland’s low retail, sales tax retention, promoting local shopping and local business as key to any economic improvement. Kaplan, by her own admission, is not the first to identify these measures for revitalizing Oakland. But the intangible that stuck out in our interview was Kaplan’s belief in her leadership abilities to get things done, even with a City Council that has a long history of divergent viewpoints.
“When we look at the issues that are facing Oakland nobody has a factional solution,” she said. Kaplan feels with the right leadership all of the factions that currently exist on the council would be happy to support an idea that moves the city forward.
Kaplan has done her homework. She is well-versed on many of the key issues facing Oakland, along with ideas to address them. In terms of public safety, Kaplan cited some of the successful community policing programs in Atlanta that Oakland could replicate.
Moreover, Kaplan distinguished between what is within the city’s means to solve and what is beyond its jurisdiction that makes achieving the goals articulated during the campaign, especially at the local level, a somewhat insurmountable task.
But Kaplan also made it clear that she was prepared, if elected, to take an active role in lobbying for additional resources from the state. She referred to her experience on the AC Transit board, where she balanced budgets and lobbied Sacramento, as adequate training ground to assume the City Council seat that represents all of Oakland.
Kaplan is endorsed by the Central Labor Council and several unions. She is also endorsed by OakPAC, the political arm of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, the Oakland Builders Alliance and the East Bay Small Business Council PAC.
The Democratic Party, Sierra Club, California Nurses Association and several local pastors, including the Rev. J. Alfred Smith, Sr. of the Allen Temple Baptist Church, also have endorsed her candidacy.
Perhaps the most impressive endorsements came from the myriad individuals who randomly approached her during our interview to offer their support and encouragement.
Byron Williams is an Oakland pastor and columnist for the Bay Area News Group-East Bay. E-mail him at byron@byronspeaks.com or leave a message at (510) 408-6417.
Rebecca Kaplan for council
Oakland City Council, District-At-Large, Rebecca Kaplan.
“We endorsed Rebecca Kaplan, an AC Transit board member, when she ran against Kerry Hamill in the June primaries to fill longtime councilman Harry Chang’s seat. We happily do so again. Kaplan placed first in the field of five candidates with 40 percent of the vote compared to 21 percent for Hamill, a former staff member for state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata.
It’s not often in Oakland that one can actually get excited about any of the candidates running. The city desperately needs inspired, creative new leadership to help shake up the dysfunctional city leadership.
We believe that the energetic Kaplan, who would become the first openly gay woman to serve on the council, is just that person.”
Frank Rose, who ran for the At-Large seat in the June 3rd Primary election, endorses Rebecca Kaplan.
“Frank Rose, a community volunteer and one-time aide to outgoing at-large Councilmember Henry Chang, threw his weight behind AC Transit board member Rebecca Kaplan, saying he was impressed with her stances on public safety, senior citizen issues and youth programs, among other issues, and that she performed well in recent debates.” (The Oakland Tribune, Friday October 10th, 2008)
Frank Rose has extensive public service experience in Oakland, including: Chair of the Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council for Beat 34, Community Police Advisory Board, and as Chair of the Mayor’s Commission on Aging under Mayor Jerry Brown. He currently serves on the California Senior Leaders Alliance (CSLA) Steering Committee and on Oakland’s Central City East Project Area Commmittee.
Rebecca Kaplan is interviewed by Zennie Abraham, about the campaign, plans for Oakland, and more!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35Gs8-4RMEM
On November 4th, 2008, voters throughout the city of Oakland will choose a new “at-large” councilmember. This city-wide policy leadership position can be an essential voice for Oakland – strengthening our connections with other levels of government.
Now, Oakland’s representative in the California State Assembly, Sandre Swanson, has endorsed Rebecca Kaplan. Swanson stated:
“We are fortunate to have a candidate with the experience and commitment that Rebecca Kaplan has. We can be confident that she will work diligently to promote quality education for our children, create sustainable jobs, and find real solutions to building safe neighborhoods for our city. She has a proven track record of success, and will work tirelessly on behalf of the citizens of Oakland. As a member of the California State Assembly, I am honored to support Kaplan’s candidacy for Oakland City Council Member At-Large.”
On YouTube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ag0W4DBXLM
And, thanks to local band, Carne Cruda for their fabulous song, Oakland’s Tight!
Check them out at: http://www.carnecruda.com/music-5.html
“OakPAC believes Rebecca Kaplan will help unite the various interests in Oakland and be balanced in her approach to crafting policy,” said Carlos Plazola, vice chair of the committee. “We were impressed with her enthusiasm and ideas, and are confident she will support economic growth and the needed reforms in Oakland.”
Oakland Business Review. August 2008.
(Full article can be found online in large PDF file at LINK, on page 5)
| Total Precincts: 258 | Precincts Reported: 258 | Percent Reported: 100.00 |
| Contest | # of Votes | % of Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebecca Kaplan | 22403 | 40.27 | |
| Kerry Hamill | 12128 | 21.80 | |
| Clinton Killian | 10631 | 19.11 | |
| Frank Rose | 6035 | 10.85 | |
| Charles Pine | 4173 | 7.50 | |
Full Results online at: http://www.acgov.org/rov/current_election/index.htm
For a Map of election results, see (download PDF): JuneResultsMap
By Kelly Rayburn
As Kaplan learns she holds a large early lead in the city council election, she is congratulated by Tony West, a local attorney and top official in the Obama campaign MORE
Oakland Tribune Editorial
“Kaplan is an innovative, energetic newcomer to city politics. She brings with her the experience of having already served in an at-large capacity on the AC Transit board. She has fresh ideas about how the at-large council member can be an advocate for the city with state agencies that give funds to municipalities. Kaplan also helped establish all-night bus service to cover BART routes after midnight and brought solar power to AC Transit.
We believe Kaplan, an attorney, is the best choice for the at-large-seat and her presence on the council would be a much-needed breath of fresh air.” MORE
View Complete Debate @ YouTube
… on ballot June 3rd
Reb Kaplan writing at Daily Kos MORE
GUARDIAN NEWS STAFF
Rebecca Kaplan is exactly what the Oakland City Council needs: an energetic progressive with the practical skills to get things done.
As an AC Transit Board member, she pushed for free bus passes for low income youths — and defying all odds, managed to get all-night transit service from San Francisco to the East Bay. MORE
Or view Rebecca’s interview with Phil Tagami full-sized on YouTube
By Kelly Rayburn, STAFF WRITER
In the at-large contest, Kaplan said the party’s endorsement was an “incredible vote of confidence” for her campaign, which is stressing public safety, economic opportunity and healthier neighborhoods.
She said she was a Democrat until 1996, when she joined the Green Party. She said she’s considered switching back for years, and began to think more seriously about it after presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s rally in downtown Oakland last year. She made the switch in March.
“I think that when you look at the core values of Democratic voters in Oakland, I am absolutely the best person to represent them,” she said. MORE
Posted by Tim Redmond
Rebecca Kaplan, who is one of my favorite politicians, is running for Oakland City Council — and she has a great idea how to solve one of the city’s most pressing problems.
See, Oakland can’t hire enough cops. That means a voter-approved community-policing plan, which requires foot patrols in all the districts, is way behind schedule; there just aren’t enough officers to walk the beats. The OPD has more than a hundred job openings, and not enough applicants. And among those who apply, a lot don’t make it through the police academy. MORE
By Rebecca Kaplan
So many mainstream media commentators seem outraged, shocked and frankly confused about how to understand the sermons of Reverend Jeremiah Wright. They feel they must denounce them, or distance themselves or call them hostile. I wonder to whom they are comparing him. Do they feel his approach is “unappropriate” compared to other powerful spiritual leaders? What would Isaiah do, or say, in this situation? MORE
Field swells to five with Kerry Hamill, Frank Rose joining fray
By Kelly Rayburn, STAFF WRITER
OAKLAND — Two more candidates jumped in the race to replace long-time City Councilmember Henry Chang Jr. this week, completing a crowded field of candidates for the June 3 election.
Joining the race for the council’s only at-large seat are Kerry Hamill, a member of the Oakland school board and former Don Perata chief of staff, and Frank Rose, a community volunteer and one-time aide to Chang.
Also seeking election to the at-large seat are Charles Pine, co-founder of Oakland Residents for Peaceful Neighborhoods; Rebecca Kaplan, an AC Transit board member; and Clinton Killian, an Oakland attorney. MORE
by Matthew S. Bajko
History could be made this June in Alameda County as five LGBT candidates are vying in races for two Oakland City Council seats, a judicial post, a county central committee slot, and a state Assembly seat.
It is believed to be the largest slate of openly gay candidates to appear on a ballot in an East Bay city. And with three of the June 3 primary contests involving open seats, the candidates in those races have a fighting chance of being elected. MORE
Chris Heredia, John Cote, Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writers
Bay Area voters will have many new faces to choose from for city and county offices on June 3, but the most wide-open races are in Oakland and San Jose, where scores of candidates met Friday’s deadline to file their applications.
In Oakland, where rising violence and improving public safety top residents’ concerns, five of eight City Council seats are up for grabs. MORE
TV20 (KBWB-TV San Francisco)
Michelle Maitre, staff writer, The Oakland Tribune
Rebecca Kaplan, Director of AC Transit, introduces the All Nighter transit service during a press conference on Treasure Island.
TREASURE ISLAND — Friends, put your watches away and live it up. A new all-night bus service means late-night revelers and night-shift workers wont have to worry anymore about being stranded across the Bay if they miss the last BART train home at midnight. If you’ve ever complained BART closes too early, youll love the All Nighter, promised Seth Schneider, communications director for the Transportation and Land Use Coalition, or TALC, a public policy group that suggested the nighttime bus service in 2001. The new All Nighter service runs from 1 to5 a.m. — and longer on weekends, when BART runs less frequently — and gives transit riders from San Francisco to Contra Costa County expanded options for catching a bus home, whether theyre watching a late show in San Francisco or catching some overtime on the job in Dublin.
Im very excited about this, said Lynda Knighten of Pittsburg, a cook at the Omni Hotel in San Francisco who regularly has to give up shifts or rearrange her work hours around BARTs schedule. This is something Ive been waiting for four years. The buses serve most BART stations in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco and San Mateo counties. For the first time, late-night service connects riders in Livermore, Dublin and Pleasanton to the Bayfair BART station, and runs along the Richmond and Fremont BART lines from downtown San Francisco or Oakland. Also a first: AC Transits Transbay lines now make late-night stops at downtown San Francisco BART stations, rather than leaving only from the Transbay Terminal on Minna Street.
Five regional transit agencies participate in the program and have coordinated their schedules to maximize stops and minimize transfer times. Participating agencies are AC Transit, serving the East Bay and parts of Contra Costa County; County Connection, serving central Costa Contra County; San Franciscos Muni; SamTrans, with service from San Francisco to Palo Alto; and Wheels, serving Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore. All Nighter fares are the same as regular bus fares, which vary by transit agency.
All Nighter buses started running Sunday and the service was officially launched at a news conference Tuesday, where officials handed out commemorative Milky Way Midnight candy bars. The program will cost about $1.8 million a year, all of it funded by Regional Measure 2, the $1 bridge-toll increase approved by voters in 2004 to enhance transit services.
Besides helping workers like Knighten and giving riders more flexibility, the All Nighter will help cut down on drunken and drowsy driving, officials said. Accidents from those causes peak between midnight and 6 a.m. It seems to me, people have been concerned about this problem since time immemorial, said Rebecca Kaplan, a member of the AC Transit Board of Directors and former TALC staffer who thought up the all-night bus network after staying out too late with friends in San Francisco and missing her BART train back to Oakland.
Even Cinderella had to cut her party short lest she miss her ride, Kaplan said. In the Bay Area, we can do better than having our carriage turn into a pumpkin at midnight, Kaplan said.
By Rebecca Kaplan
THE UNITED STATES is bogged down in a costly, unjust, and ineffective war. The war was launched by a right-wing Republican president who claimed it was in response to a dangerous threat, but we now know the pretext was untrue.
The costs of the war have been rising constantly, with no evidence that it has accomplished anything. In fact, it has made the situation far worse. The Americans who are suffering the most under this war are disproportionately young people, people of color, and low-income people. Even those not directly caught up in the war are suffering from the financial devastation it’s wreaking on the country’s budgets. The war has also been used to justify a widespread loss of civil liberties that impacts all of us, and we’re all worse off from the costs to basic human decency the fear-mongering has sparked. MORE
“Rooting For Rebecca“, The Monclarion, 2000 (pdf)
The Compton prizes, MIT, 1991 (pdf)