Blank Candidate Questionnaire
Uploaded by
oaklocBlank Candidate Questionnaire
Uploaded by
oaklocMAYORAL CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE
Please complete, sign and e-mail to
Oaklanders@MakeOaklandBetterNow.org
Candidate Name:
City Budget
1. Please state your position on the following November ballot
measures:
Measure V (increased medical cannabis tax and new non-medical
cannabis tax). Answer:
Measure W (telephone trunk line and access line taxes). Answer:
Measure X ($360 parcel tax). Answer:
Measure Y (suspends police staffing appropriation requirements for
collection of 2004 Measure Y parcel tax). Answer:
2. In June, the City Budget director reported that Oakland faced a five-
year general purpose fund structural deficit of $589 million. (See page 19 of City
Administrator’s report at http://tiny.cc/5jytp and a spread sheet adding the
numbers at http://tiny.cc/9sowf). After the City Council’s recent budget
amendments, much of that structural deficit remains. As mayor, what steps will
you take to eliminate that deficit? Answer:
3. Budgeted expenditures reflect a city’s priorities. When you present
your first budget to the City Council for consideration, what current city functions
will you give the highest priority, and how will your proposed budget reflect that
prioritization? For what city functions will you reduce or eliminate expenditures?
Answer:
Make Oakland Better Now! Mayoral Candidate Questionnaire
4. Each of the city’s labor agreements will open during your term as
mayor, which means that wages and benefits will be up for negotiation. As
mayor, what will be your plan for balancing the city’s interests in maximizing
taxpayer services per tax dollar and retaining and attracting skilled and motivated
employees?
Answer:
Public Safety
5. Under recent adjustments to the 2010-11 budget, 120 police
officers are scheduled to be laid off in January 2011 (in addition to the 80 laid off
in July 2010) if Measure V, W, X and Y do not pass. If you are elected in
November and these measures are not enacted, will these layoffs take place? If
not, what specific budgetary steps will you take to prevent them? Answer:
6. Several citizens groups have advocated “civilianizing” police
functions that do not require the use of sworn officers, arguing that using civilians
for such functions as police misconduct complaint intake, press relations and
property crime investigations can substantially cut personnel costs and maximize
the availability and effectiveness of sworn officers. Chief Garcon of San
Francisco implemented civilianization in Mesa, Arizona and has begun doing so
in San Francisco. Do you support civilianization, and if so, for what functions?
Answer:
7. At the end of your first term as mayor, how many sworn police
officers do you believe Oakland should have, and what steps will you take to
accomplish that goal? Answer:
8. In recent years, key components of community policing in Oakland
have been the interactions between the Measure Y Neighborhood Beat Officers,
Neighborhood Safety Coordinators, community members and Neighborhood
Crime Prevention Councils. The Neighborhood Beat Officers have now been
eliminated, and the functions of the NSC’s have been consolidated. To what
extent do you believe community policing is important, and if you believe it is
important, how can it be accomplished in Oakland? Answer:
Public Works
9. In its April, 2009 performance audit of the Oakland Public Works
department (http://tiny.cc/afihq), Matrix Consulting Group, which conducted the
audit, recommended that:
2|Page
Make Oakland Better Now! Mayoral Candidate Questionnaire
a. The City should be replacing or rehabilitating an average of 1% to
2% of its sanitary sewer mains each year” at a cost of about $7.5
million; and
b. The City should be spending approximately $30 million annually for
the repair and replacement of the City’s streets (at the time of the
audit, the annual expenditure was $7.2 million).
Matrix also noted that the General Purpose Fund contribution to the Public
Works budget was far less than that of comparable California cities, and made a
series of recommendations (at pages 24-25) for adequate funding of the city’s
public works needs. Which of these recommendations do you support, and how
will Oakland meet its obligations to repair and replace sanitary sewers, streets
and infrastructure if you are mayor?
Answer:
Management, Leadership, Accountability and Transparency
10. Oakland is a large and very complex entity with a $1.1+ billion
budget and thousands of employees. Please describe:
a. Your specific experience that qualifies you to oversee an
enterprise of this size and complexity;
b. Your theory of management, with examples of how you have
applied that theory;
c. Your philosophy of executive leadership, with examples of
when and where you have shown that philosophy.
Answer:
11. The City Administrator is the day-to-day head of city government.
What criteria will you employ and what qualifications will you look for in
appointing the City Administrator? Answer:
12. What will you do as mayor to ensure that your agenda is being
executed? Answer:
13. What metrics or benchmarks will you establish for your
performance and the performance of City department heads? How will
Oaklanders know whether benchmarks are being met? Answer:
14. How can Oakland’s television station, its web site and other
media be used to more effectively inform and engage Oaklanders concerning city
government activities and issues? Answer:
3|Page
Make Oakland Better Now! Mayoral Candidate Questionnaire
15. Should the City be taking other steps to more effectively engage
the citizenry in city issues, and if so, what steps? Answer:
Economic Development
16. Many Oakland candidates and office-holders express the opinion
that Oakland city government systemically business-unfriendly. Do you agree or
disagree? If you disagree, explain how the city has established a favorable
climate for business development. If you agree, describe what you see as the
systemic problems and explain how you, as mayor, would fix them. Answer:
17. What, if anything, does Oakland have to learn from Emeryville,
Berkeley or other cities about how to effectively use Enterprise Zones and
redevelopment funding to attract and retain businesses? What, if anything, have
other cities done that Oakland will start doing if you are mayor? Answer:
Other
18. What, if anything, can Oakland city government learn from other
cities about how to maximize its ability to provide quality services to its citizens in
difficult economic times? Answer:
19. The majority of Oaklanders love their city, and believe it has
unparalleled positive elements that are simply not recognized in the rest of the
state and country, including history, diversity, and vibrant activity in its culture,
arts, restaurants, etc. Does the mayor have a role in getting this message out
there, and how should the city send this message? Answer:
Dated:_____________ By:________________________
(Electronic signature – i.e., “/s/
Name” is acceptable)
4|Page