But here’s the list of who participated in the first Oakland Mayor’s Race Debate: Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, Oakland Councilmember Libby Schaaf, Dan Siegel, Bryan Parker, Joe Tuman (who left when the debate was half over), Patrick McCullough, and Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby.
Ok, so who won? Well, Libby Schaaf and Bryan Parker got the biggest applause but, according to two observers, Courtney Ruby was throwing the most “haymakers” but I have to add Joe Tuman to that list, as his answers were the most combative toward the sitting Mayor Quan, and came borderline close to violating the debate’s “no attack” rules without doing so.
I would be dishonest if I didn’t give Patrick McCullough praise for his everyperson, straight-talk delivery. If he stops campaigning in his lazy ‘I just worked around the house today’ fashion (I’m not kidding), he can emerge as a formidable candidate.
In all, the debate consisted of six candidates explaining what they would do to repair Oakland, and Oakland Mayor Jean Quan explaining what we have.
For example, on the first question regarding the police department and its poor relationship with many Oaklanders, Councilmember Schaaf emphasized getting the Oakland Police Department involved in the community. Libby said that the problems between the Oakland Police and the Oakland community have been long standing, and then detailed how she would reintroduce community policing into the way the Oakland Police operate.
Mayor Quan said that the OPD problem was one of the biggest issues she worked on and said that we have a multi-generational and bi-lingual police force, but she did acknowledge that the culture of the police department has to be changed, but didn’t say how. Mayor Quan did talk about a new Oakland Police internship program, with the idea of “growing our own” police officers.
After Mayor Quan, Joe Tuman has to be credited for giving the best, most detailed review of what’s wrong with the Oakland Police Department and how he will affect change in the police department if he were elected, particularly adding a loan program to cause OPD officers to live in Oakland. Tuman also challenged the question, and said that the real problem was that the police were understaffed.
Bryan Parker reached back into history, and all the way back to the Black Panthers in Oakland, to point to a historic problem between Oakland Police and the city’s African American boys and young men. He wants to install sensitivity training for the OPD in this. He also has a payment plan for this, and said he likes Joe’s loan program idea.
Courtney Ruby points to a “leadership deficit” in the City of Oakland, and basically called Mayor Quan a poor leader without doing so, and pretty much violated the no-attack rule of the debate, but was very lucky not to be called on it. Instead, she said that the police need have to have a CEO (and she meant and said the Mayor) they can look up to and then said that her employees thank her for being just that (listen to the livestream). It was a lot of talk without substance, to be frank. Considering that Ms. Ruby is the Oakland City Auditor, that she would give such light-weight, almost pedestrian and attacking answers here is disturbing – this is also an example of the “haymakers” one person said she was “throwing.”
Dan Siegel pointed to the “tremendous failure” of the Oakland Police, and one that does back decades. He said that the $7 million in payouts as a result of Occupy Oakland was a travesty. “I have called for a complete reorganization and decentralization of the Oakland Police Department,” so that they get out and work with community organization. He also wants to eliminate any policy that causes racial profiling.
Patrick McCullough says that OPD has not acted unethically, says the police are scapegoated, and likes the Oakland Police loan idea, but says many of the OPD officers don’t want to live here and have their kids harassed in school. He wants to add 200 officers to the police force, and also says that OPD officers have been put into situations without the proper resources or backup.
(It should be noted that Oakland Green Party Candidate Jason “Shake” Anderson said in the USTREAM chat that he wasn’t invited, but there must be a misunderstanding, because the students acted as if they expected him to be there.)
(As a note, turn up your volume as high as it will go because the speaker sound in City Hall wasn’t as high as it could go, and some of the candidates didn’t know how to turn on or turn up their mic.)
The stream picks up below, and because I was trying to send a text via my iPhone while it was recording the debate. I quickly realized it would not let me do that, and the result is a seven-or-ten-second break in the action. The next almost two hours is picked up below:
Afterward, I asked Adrian to share his thoughts, and met his Mom, too!
Dan Siegel and Bryan Parker shared their views in hilarious fashion and in what was an inpromptu vlog. It really started when Mayor Quan walked over to thank me for livestreaming the event, and took time to share a message that she felt Courtney Ruby went a bit too far in saying that the ShotTracker System set up at Eastmont Mall was operating without being monitored. While Mayor Quan walked to her next engagement before I could catch her, Bryan and Dan were on hand, as was Councilmember Schaaf, who clarified the “Ruby issue:
There are going to be more debates, but I think the time has come for a different format.
Stay tuned.
Zennie Abraham | Zennie Abraham or “Zennie62” is the founder of Zennie62Media which consists of zennie62blog.com and a multimedia blog news aggregator and video network, and 78-blog network, with social media and content development services and consulting. Zennie is a pioneer video blogger, YouTube Partner, social media practitioner, game developer, and pundit. Note: news aggregator content does not reflect the personal views of Mr. Abraham.