Measure BB
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Crime, politics, and government oversight in play in Oakland elections
Photograph by José Antonio Galloso
Oakland has the reputation of having a crime problem. There’s an ongoing debate in the city over what’s at the root of that crime problem. So what leads to that perception? Is it Oakland’s comparatively small, overworked police force? Is it a lack of economic opportunities and outlets for kids who grow up in tough neighborhoods? Is it a rocky relationship between police and the community they serve? Or something else? Six years ago, voters approved a parcel tax called Measure Y that appealed to people on all sides of the issue. Since then, the measure has provided 19 million dollars to increase the police force and build up violence prevention programs. But now city leaders are saying the measure needs a fix. You can listen to my story on the argument over this fix, Measure BB, above (transcript after the jump).
Opinion: Oakland City Council President Jane Brunner on the city’s economic woes
Councilwoman Jane Brunner
For the next few days, we’ll be posting perspectives on two upcoming measures on the ballot in Oakland: one, Measure BB, would alter a 2004 parcel tax called Measure Y, which has provided funding to violence-prevention programs and the police department in Oakland. The other, Measure X, would create an additional parcel tax of about a dollar a day, also aimed at funding the police department. Next week, we’ll air a story on the new measures on our nightly news show, Crosscurrents. So if you have something you’d like to say about either Measure BB or X, leave it in the comments this week and we’ll try t o include your ideas in our report.
We’ve spoken with attorney Marleen Sacks, Reverend Byron Williams, and Esperanza Tervalon-Daumont, the executive director of Oakland Rising. Our final interview is with Jane Brunner, president of the Oakland City Council, who says the city is in dire financial straights–and Measures BB and X are the only ways to send money to police.
Opinion: Rev. Byron Williams says the city of Oakland hasn’t been frank about finances
Rev. Byron Williams
For the next few days, we’ll be posting perspectives on two upcoming measures on the ballot in Oakland: one, Measure BB, would alter a 2004 parcel tax called Measure Y, which has provided funding to violence-prevention programs and the police department in Oakland. The other, Measure X, would create an additional parcel tax of about a dollar a day, also aimed at funding the police department. Later this week, we’ll air a story on the new measures on our nightly news show, Crosscurrents. So if you have something you’d like to say about either Measure BB or X, leave it in the comments this week and we’ll try t o include your ideas in our report.
Last week, we spoke with Esperanza Tervalon-Daumont, the executive director of Oakland Rising, who says Measure Y has been an important experiment in creating a new type of relationship between police and low-income immigrant communities and communities of color in the city. Today, we’re talking with the Reverend Byron Williams, a syndicated columnist and political thinker, who believes that the city’s lack of frankness and transparency about its finances raised serious questions about how they’d handle parcel tax money going forward.
Opinion: Esperanza Tervalon-Daumont on why continuing Measure Y parcel tax is critical to public safety
Esperanza Tervalon-Daumont
For the next few days, we’ll be posting perspectives on two upcoming measures on the ballot in Oakland: one, Measure BB, would alter a 2004 parcel tax called Measure Y, which has provided funding to violence-prevention programs and the police department in Oakland. The other, Measure X, would create an additional parcel tax of about a dollar a day, also aimed at funding the police department. Next week, we’ll air a story on the new measures on our nightly news show, Crosscurrents. So if you have something you’d like to say about either Measure BB or X, leave it in the comments this week and we’ll try t o include your ideas in our report.
Yesterday, we spoke with Marleen Sacks, an attorney who’s suing the City of Oakland because of what she says has been a pattern of misused funds and a lack of transparency related to Measure Y. Today, we’re talking with Esperanza Tervalon-Daumont, the executive director of Oakland Rising, a group that works on educating and stimulating the electorate in East and West Oakland around issues that are pressing to those communities. Tervalon-Daumont says Measure Y has been an important experiment in creating a new type of relationship between police and low-income immigrant communities and communities of color in the city. And she doesn’t want that to end.