Oakland Should Sit Down and Take Notes on Putting People First.

Oakland- the city across the bay. The dirty, fatter, smoking, drinking, red meat eating sister to San Francisco. Not easy shoes to fill when you compare... well anything.

Let's just examine how long it takes for Oakland's initiatives to be executed. The Seven Year plan??? Does anyone even remember that? What have we seen from mayor Brown's efforts? Well some of the "dangerous" trees around Lake Merritt have been taken down. Partially. The roots and eye soaring stumps that poke out of the ground make a great place to stretch during a run around our polluted lake. What else? 

The crime ridden downtown was slipped a hardcore sleeping pill with the hopes of waking up a revitalized, shining tribute to it's former self in a modern age. Not so much. 

The heart of downtown is a ghost town. Heaven forbid anyone need to take public transportation after dark- even with the overstaffed police department right there! All of Oaklands newer construction is concentrated in Oaklands "midtown"- I don't know about you but I didn't even know Oakland had a midtown. 

Standing on the BART platform I saw a billboard advertising a brand new condo high-rise in "Oaklands Midtown" and I thought... where is that???

The purpose of this blog is not to bash Oakland. Oakland is home. As home, I know it's workings in and out. Oaklanders or... Oaklandish people (as some like to be called) are a friendly, earthy, practical people who want nothing more than the opportunity than to live in the most geologically prime, bay area location, to be safe, and take a lot of pride in the struggle of living in an ever evolving, "transitional" city. 

With the election of Mayor Dellums, I as well as many others believed, "He's a man of business-A Congressman! Dellums is going to come in and do for Oakland what Oakland deserves."

For decades initiatives and ideas have been thrown around on ways to improve Oakland. Since we have seen little to no progress, nor heard any plans of future improvements to Oakland- Dellums has dropped the ball. I don't think he knows East from West in this city and how could he spending all his time in Washington. 

What Oakland needs is a leader who will swallow his pride and take notes from San Francisco. Yes, San Francisco has more money and the capability to make changes on a larger scale but it didn't get that way by being led by lazy, greedy city officials. 

Something as small as the Victory Garden in front of San Francisco's city hall, which wasn't meant to benefit the city, is not to produce anything but inspiration and a focus on agriculture in the rest of the nation. THE NATION people. 

I as well as many others are not asking or even hoping for the world, just to put Oaklands priorities in the right place- the people. 

Now, with Oakland as  my past, present and future, I read San Francisco is planning on closing down a section of Market st. (the busiest street in the entire city) to become more bike and pedestrian friendly I can't help but be a little jealous seeing how THAT is putting people first. 

Don't even get me started on how I feel about the closing of Embarcadero part time for yoga and festivities. Who needs that!?

Rob for Mayor.