Harold knows true leadership is about doing the work without the prospect of a promotion. It is this passion which fuels him and reminds him of the importance of giving back. His mission has always been to step up when a visionary leader is needed, and Oakland needs leadership now more than ever.
Support Our Movement
The Issues
Public Safety
Public Safety continues to be our greatest challenge. The experiment of redirected resources does not work with a proven alternative. City leaders gambled that they could invest in their local partners are reduce safety threats. The challenge is that they were playing theory with our lives. Being from Oakland only matters for one reason, but it’s a big one: you learn from experience very well the communities and the challenges affecting them. You cannot combat crime as an outsider; no matter how well intentioned you are. You simply don’t know where to start, where to go, and you cannot feel the impact of what crime can do to our people. The first thing you’ll hear from an outsider about fighting crime is…..bringing in other outsiders to help. That isn’t how we stay safe.
And by not having a safe environment, our citizens cannot enjoy the city on even the basic levels—getting gas at night, shopping in grocery stores, walking the neighborhood with the dogs, kids playing outside. Thousands of businesses have closed their doors over the last several years, and we’ve lost hundreds of millions in revenues which could’ve fix our roads and funded our vital services. We are in this situation because leaders have purposely chosen to redirect funding and to limit the role of enforcement in the city. The results are obvious: restaurants and retail attacked, and 12,000 vehicles stolen is that we have signaled to the business community that Oakland is not willing to protect Most damaging however, is that we have been a national embarrassment, and by losing 3 major sports teams in a 5 year span, by not having the ability to keep an In N Out Burger, we have virtue signaled that Oakland is a war zone unable or unwilling to protect people and property.
We’ve also been played by a special interest, anti-community narrative which suggests that wanting public safety makes one a tool of the right wing, or that there are racial overtones which influence judgement, or that people who want police are anti-poor. I have been a loyal, partisan Democrat, I majored in African American Studies, I’ve taken on 30 community roles including those with youth, education and mental health, and I’m creating a new credit reporting company to disrupt how 40% of Americans have been excluded from access, and I am one of the many people in Oakland who want balance when we manage safety. It is shameful that leaders have chosen to divide community this way, and it is time for a change.
Budget
We cannot tax our way out of this budget crisis.
If we can agree that we don’t know what our structural problems are, then we should accept that we cannot give the City more money to spend without understanding our structural problems. We cannot continue to lose hundreds of businesses annually and believe that it’s the responsibility of homeowners to bail us out. We won’t have another Coliseum complex to sell either.
We cannot support Measure A or other tax measures until we get a hold of our finances. The Measure A tax measure is regressive and takes more money out of the pockets of people who can afford it the least; the tax measure being pushed (with 85% outside city money) will do nothing to balance the budget this year and likely not next year. We have witnessed this money grab before—last November, led by our former Council President, and yet the financial problem is not yet understood. We cannot kick our fiscal crisis down the road for another generation anymore. There are no magic bullets; refinancing when our credit rating with a negative outlook is not an option. Obtaining phantom grants from a Republican Administration unsympathetic to places like Oakland is not an option. Receiving money from a cash strapped California, or trying to manipulate Alameda County to give us more money when we cannot accurately document the money they release to us is no longer an option.
Economic Development
Our economic problems are fourfold: 1) Spending resources without the financial position to cover the costs, 2) Losses of present revenues with businesses closing shop or leaving town due to unsafe conditions 3) Future revenues are at risk, because of the virtue signaling that Oakland is not going to protect or support new investment, causing potential businesses to bypass us altogether, (and Oakland not being a good investment as a result) 4) Oakland overburdens those who are doing business in or wish to do business in Oakland. (Oakland required an $80 million dollar, low income housing project to spend $1.1 million in artwork, and the artists had to come from an approved list).
If you asked candidates what Oakland’s natural industries are, they couldn’t tell you. Again, we need people who know Oakland and know business from a local, regional and national perspective to handle that, and most are uniformed, never been a business before, let alone being a business owner in Oakland.
Infrastructure
Oakland’s safety is also dependent on the way that we take care of our public works. We cannot continue to be known nationally for broken lights, filthy streets and potholes.
Leadership
We’ve had a real leadership problem in Oakland, and sadly our district has contributed greatly to it. In fact, much of the city’s problems stemmed from bought and sold leadership from this District. The fact that our Council President led this outcome and bolted two months ago, leaving Oakland with an unprecedented fiscal and public crisis should speak volumes. She was no exception. Over the last four decades, most of our leaders have been fully supported by special interest groups or have been insider officials who have been unfamiliar with Oakland or unaccountable to the residents. Insiders who have never worked like you but have only been staffers and administrations have been supporting their own, cutting deals with other outsider candidates with no Oakland experience, and this has never served us well. Remember one thing: there is a time to pay the bill from the endorsements one seeks, and some of these people are already in debt…
I have a pretty thick skin, but what has bothered me the most in all of this is instead of fixing problems, leaders are working to fix elections. They understand what is at stake; I would be the first independent, the first born in this district, the first with business background and an ability to understand and uncover the broken processes in a very long time, and they are afraid that the free ride will be over. Others are terrified that they cannot come into Oakland to begin a political career. Yes, special interests need to pay their fair share, and people coming to Oakland to make a name for themselves should find another exit.
Supporting Youth And Families
We have the amazing potential with our open land spaces, our talent, and central location to become a family friendly city. While I’ve lived in Oakland all my life, I’ve easily spent three years on assignment working in 75 of the largest 100 cities in America, and I am a member of a national association of administrators and leaders. I know what cities offer, and we’re not meeting the metric of a top 50 city. Oakland’s Arts and Entertainment once made us a destination city, but no longer.
Oakland leadership failed to understand the work-life balance of adults. The previous leadership boasted that they moved Council meetings to afternoons, but they didn’t inform you that they are removing your ability to impact those meetings with your voice. Leadership spends an enormous amount of time and resources on homeless encampments, but not on providing families affordable after-school and summer programs, leaving families to change work schedules and try to find tens of thousands of dollars to find activities for their children.
Having youth living in Oakland is not a requisite for the job—but understanding youth absolutely is. You cannot be qualified to lead without providing support for the foundation of our City: our families and our youth. Oakland failed to support families, and our leadership failed to engage our youth, and now we’re afraid of them. It is the most shameful thing that we have ever done; no safe spaces for youth in any parks during the pandemic; we didn’t open our recreation centers for them to have meals, to study, to be mentored, to be out of crowded homes. Our internship alliances are faltering; we are raising a generation which will not know a grocery store in their neighborhood, not understand civics, not see an officer unless they drive by to pick up a person or a body.
Homeless
We have some of the best weather in the nation. In 2023, while we had roughly 435,000 residents, nearly 5,500 are homeless. Chicago, with 2.7 million people, had a population of 6100 homeless in 2023. With climate change, we are only going to become more attractive to people from outside the area. While much has been made from housing candidates in Oakland over the last several years, the issue of housing is a regional problem, and we cannot fall back to the argument that our homeless come from the area or the region, so it is only Oakland’s responsibility to take care of this struggling population. With 90% of the homeless being unemployed, there is no amount of money which they are able to pay for housing. This is not simply a housing issue, but a critical issue to support broken people, and Oakland hasn’t tackled this crisis in that manner, so 40% of those who receive shelter are back on the streets within several months. Greatest of weather, no accountability, lack of mental health first makes for a revolving cycle.
The Solutions
Public Safety
First, we need to stop vilifying our women and men who serve this community. They are our partners and not our adversaries. We must add an additional police academy; we lose an average of almost 5 officers every month to retirement or departing for other departments. By having two academies, we are effectively defunding the police, as we will barely be breaking even with the graduates filling the vacancies. I want to increase the police force to the recommended standards for a city our size. Collaborate with neighborhood crime prevention groups and bring back the local crime prevention councils. Rebuild trust between police and the community. Enforce existing laws, and look to innovative, community-based methods to prevent criminal activity.
We also need to challenge the laws if they’re not designed for Oakland. We are the nation’s epicenter for sex trafficking, in large measure because Oakland took a limited approach to crime prevention, in large measure due to the California senate bill sponsored by Scott Weiner which placed restrictions on arrests for prostitution. Oakland needs to continue to arrest those soliciting sex workers. This is not some victimless crime or a brothel in 1888 San Francisco. These are broken teens on the streets being preyed upon by grown men, and if necessary, we need to sue the State if it doesn’t recognize this impact.
We also must invest in community engagement. A child’s only impression of an officer shouldn’t be to see that person drive by, or only to stop to arrest someone or arrive at a crime. There are a variety of ways that officers and community can meet on positive terms, such as introducing the OK Program to central Oakland.
Budget
Leaders must make sustainable decisions and not empty wish lists. We must look to cutting back on unnecessary services and programs and creating a new value system for revenue from our outreach efforts and not our citizens. City Council needs to be involved in the same decisions as the rank and file; if a department take a cut, we take a deeper one first. I said in 2022 that the City’s cuts could go as much as 15%; while we want to avoid this, there is no doubt that Councilmembers individual budgets should be cut at least that much now.
We must have a comprehensive review of the budget led by our elected City Auditor. We must require transparency in all our departments to report statistics and data, including Vacancy Status Report which hasn’t been required for the past 18 months. Prioritize city values and protect those departments which have the potential to bring in outside revenue and not at the expense of taxing residents and support those areas which protect us from immeasurable risk and damage. Public safety is a right and not a choice.
Economic Development
We have 6 very recognizable economic anchors on which to forge our foundation. These industry anchors include Historic Chinatown, Arts and Entertainment, Healthcare and Education, the Port of Oakland, the Restaurant Renaissance, and the African American Experience., not to mention the commercial might of the international community.
I have a 10-point plan to revitalize Chinatown, and my HOPE (Highlight Oakland’s Partnering Economy) plan for the city. We will also need to assess regulations which hamper growth, invest in small businesses and support companies that provide job opportunities and job training to underserved communities.
Infrastructure
Just fix it, now. We have the money to do this, now!
We must fix our streets, clean the trash , and maintain street lighting around this district. We cannot let special interests who want contracts block us any longer. We need to accelerate street repairs to get back on the pace as promised three years ago. We must repair streetlights within days of notification of inoperability. I want a quarterly report card on progress available to community, and annual reporting after all roads have been repaired.
Leadership
Leaders must come from you and not be forced on you, and that means you’ll need to help. You can help by demanding more and accepting less of the hundreds of thousands of dollars in slick marketing and manipulation you’re going to see over the next few weeks from outside interests to influence your vote. You have the power, and this is where you can lead, with your vote. I want to be your voice.
In exchange for your vote, here is my contract with you: 1) I will obey the law 2) You will know where I have led, in Oakland, in a variety of areas. 3) I am qualified, and those who will be working for me, those who I recommend for City roles, those people who will be getting City contracts will be qualified as well. 4) You will always know where I stand, and I will continue to speak truthfully and openly to you, even when it isn’t comfortable. You will understand my positions. 5) I will host office hours and monthly forums across our district, and my office will respond to every message within 48 hours. 6) I will create a District 2 Advisory Cabinet which will be made up of a dozen district residents who represent our communities, and we will meet at least 6 times a year. You will keep me informed and engaged and challenge me. 7) 8) I won’t make major policy decisions before coming back to the community. 9) I will treat you with the respect you deserve 10) I will work to make leadership opportunities open and accessible, including eliminating ranked choice voting, eliminating democracy dollars and cutting the high fees to file for candidacy.
Supporting Youth and Families
We need to invest in our families again through our Parks and Recreation Department. We must find affordable means to support after school and summer programming through Parks Provide and Protect. As a result, we must ensure that our facilities are clean, safe, and accessible, which means a zero tolerance for homelessness.
Homeless
There is no short-term solution, certainly not if we continue the way we are. We must stand firm that no one is protected when people who come from unsupported backgrounds, drug abuse, mentally ill, those engaged in criminal activity—are left to fend for themselves. We no longer can support people living in parks, near schools, in neighborhoods, in proximity to senior citizen homes and centers, our retail districts, our waterways.
We have had 5 years of leadership opportunity to support the placement of our most critical homeless in a rehabilitated jail in downtown Oakland. We can revisit a place of past pain and make it a place of promise, and house 1000 of our citizens with electricity and running water and have spaces for a mental health services hub and reintroduction to the workforce programs. If we can partner with the County on two nearby properties, we could increase this number to 1500-1800, depending on configuration.
Volunteer with Team Harold
This homegrown movement is about you. That is why our campaign is meeting voters across the district — grassroots style. Whether it’s meeting neighbors at their doors, or meet and greets, or during our phone banks. We are determined to do everything to talk to as many voters as we can before April 15th!