Comments on: Things that annoy V Smoothe

By: RdwithCypress

RdwithCypress — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 04:15:14 +0000

Rebecca,

It was not lost on me how you asked specifically who would be doing the work on the Foods Co. You definitely have my attention… Nice work on that… It is not too late to get me/us in your corner. Lets talk again.

Sincerely,
G

By: RdwithCypress

RdwithCypress — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 03:34:24 +0000

I think I annoy V Smoothe pretty much a lot but I hope not too much because although I have not met V Smoothe as far as I know I value these blogs very much as well as all the videos.

Rebecca,

As you commented in West Oakland, how about coming out against the CEDA liens. Know you weren’t in city council when the legislation was passed CMS 12842 Oakland Amendments to California Housing Law, but it is clear in light of the documented practices of building services it is clear that building services is not implementing the ordinance as city council passed it. As a result it appears that building services may have violated the due process rights of Oakland citizens and either as Oakland’s next mayor or as Oakland’s Council Member at large, would you or would you not work to rectify the situation. If you do this you will have many votes in East and West.

By: Robert Wiles

Robert Wiles — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 22:31:33 +0000

It seems Oakland Jobs PAC is at it again, this time for Perata.

By: cassie m.

cassie m. — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:36:00 +0000

let’s all get over the hamill signs! they are up whether we like it or not and are not coming down til the election is over. she did not put them up, so if there are serious complaints they should be taken up with whomever put them up, not her. and most of this animosity towards the signs is obviously stemming from the fact that kerry’s face is on them, not rebecca’s. if she had signs all over the city i don’t think the same insults would be flying from left to right.
in terms of endorsements by city council members. yes “change” is never a bad thing, especially when you consider the state oakland is in right now. what worries me is how rebecca will work with these people if she’s elected. if 75% of the council was in support of her opponent (not just because they are friends, because they like her plan for oakland better) then how is progress going to be made? as well, i understand rebecca is on the ac transit board (she’s served 6 years of elected office, on tagami vision she claimed to have had the most years, kerry has 8. i would think a woman who went to MIT would know that 6 years is less than 8 years). does she have the support of anyone who served on the board with her? kerry is supported by all her colleagues on the board of education. this obviously shows that she works well with them.
in response to mr.pine-i’m curious as to how we can increase our police officers by over 30% without having to tax the heck out of oakland citizens. i’m not very familiar with rebecca’s plan, but kerry’s plan to increase the current # from 803 to 850 would mean no increase in taxes. maybe 900 or so is more reasonable but i don’t see how 1100 is practical. and where would they all come from? im not sure many people would pick oakland cop as their first job.
so just a few comments i wanted to make. as well, did anyone see the debate at city hall 2day? i would love to know how things went! i missed it! i guess it was down at city hall and was put on by city employees. did anyone record it or anything?

By: Rebecca Kaplan

Rebecca Kaplan — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:15:53 +0000

Great to hear lively discussion — and thanks to folks asking for real information. I am working on writing up more detailed proposals regarding: public safety, economic development, solving the housing crisis, retail attraction, and possibly a couple more topics. (Real policy solutions will be longer than a blog-comment, so I will post them on my website when complete, and let y’all know when they are released).

I would like to share one example where I have changed my mind. I originally suggested a program to help Oakland Police Officers buy homes in Oakland. I have now changed my mind to thinking we should allow them to use a loan assistance program to buy homes anywhere in the inner East Bay. The reason being: so that they can still get here quickly in case of a disaster, which might bring down bridges and tunnels, and in other emergencies, etc.

Also, I thought it would be helpful to share what I had originally written, before the June election campaign, about the right number of police officers for Oakland, and timeline to get there. The following quote is from a document written months ago, available online at:

http://kaplanforoakland.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/publicsafetyforoakland.pdf

QUOTE:

“Determining the Right Number of Police:

If we improve our recruitment and expand our training, it appears possible to expand our police force by around 70 – 80 officers per year. (This requires increased funding for training & academies). When I ask people within OPD their opinions of the right number of Police officers, responses have
ranged from 875 to 1000.

Some also mention: not enough investigators, not enough functioning equipment, lack of finger print analysis, and too much time wasted schlepping to the far-away jail. At the same time, we should look into the problems with police morale and absenteeism. Since many complaints appear to be about the long hours, we should determine the number of police needed to implement geographic policing with 10-hour (rather than the current 12-hour) shifts.
After using expanded training and recruitment to get from where we are now, to 803, the same level of expanded recruitment and training could then be used to get to a force of 875. If we maintained the expanded training/recruitment necessary to increase our force, at this rate (which appears to be
about the fastest possible rate to expand our force) we could reach 1100 by the end of one term.

During the expansion, continue assessment of what the right total number should be. The decision should be made in conjunction with community input, and objective data analysis. Further evaluation should include determining how many of the needed positions must be sworn officers, and how many non-sworn personnel may be appropriate (e.g. administrative, technical, and
lab positions), and what improvements in terms of equipment, buildings, or other items to include.”

By: len raphael

len raphael — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 02:49:40 +0000

now that you made me actually read those unpleasant Hamill signs, i didn’t see a union bug on them. interesting for a construction related pac or Hamil’s union supporters. Maybe she doesn’t mind annoying unions or maybe that pac is really independent of her. -len

By: Fritinancy

Fritinancy — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:32:01 +0000

The Girl and Rhino has a cranes T-shirt too, but not with gothic lettering: http://www.thegirlandrhino.com/
Saw ‘em at Temescal Farmers’ Market a while back.

By: len raphael

len raphael — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:30:17 +0000

CP, good specific questions to ask of the two candidates. Those would unequivical litmus tests of their commitment to fiscal discipline, transparency and public security.

CP would you support the candidate who publicly committed to all of those? Sticking by the 1,100 police number? -len raphael

By: dto510

dto510 — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:31:17 +0000

So, you don't like Suzie Lee because you wear the same hairstyle. If you were in the Ukraine, would you oppose Yulia Tymoshenko?

By: Charles Pine

Charles Pine — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:46:33 +0000

Hamill and Kaplan:

Does she support or oppose Measure NN, aka Son of Measure Y, a phony guarantee of police for a huge new parcel tax?

Has she targeted a definite minimum number of police that Oakland needs and a framework to get them?

Did she help us roll back the rigged balloting for an increase in the Landscape and Lighting Assessment (LLAD)?

Public safety … clean government … On the big issues, there is no indication that either one of these two will make a significant difference in the operation of city government.