Oakland city council is set to consider a charter amendment that would give city councilmembers substantial pay raises as part of a charter reform ballot measure along with other changes.
This consistent level of City Council insanity should not be exploited for political gain. We working people of Oakland need fewer politics & a lot more simple competency.
Alex thank you for writing this. I feel the biggest challenge, "no one cares". You put it in your article that the incentive is to keep your job. The people of Oakland need someone, or a group of people, who aren't afraid to "get fired". I'm all for paying people a lot of money if there is a correlation of pay to success metrics. For example, we reduce potholes by x% which increased lawsuits by y%. It's a tricky situation, but I feel the entire council, especially mine, are in it for themselves.
I support a reasonable full-time pay scale for city council work. This topic should not be confused with the high compensation that the 1000s of city employees receive. For a large city, the council job should demand a person's full attention. A far less diverse and arguably less qualified field will end up running for those offices if volunteerism is expected. For a close example, look no further than the board of directors of our East Bay Regional Parks District. It is the largest park district in the country and should constitute a full-time job. People have complained about the lack of diversity of the board. But the job only includes a stipend of a few thousand dollars a year. The result is that the board is mostly made up of retirees or people who view it as a side gig.
Excellent article by Alex and thank you again Oakland Report. I agree with this article. Oakland does not need to have a full time city council, nor does the city council need a pay raise. What we need is a city council and mayor who actually know how to govern this city and actually cares about our Oaklanders. We have too much graft, and policies that are driven more by ideology, rather than American System principles. No to pay raise, no to Barbara Lee's Strong Mayor push, no to full time city council. Time for real leadership-Mindy Pechenuk, candidate for Oakland Mayor 2026. electmindy.com
This consistent level of City Council insanity should not be exploited for political gain. We working people of Oakland need fewer politics & a lot more simple competency.
Alex thank you for writing this. I feel the biggest challenge, "no one cares". You put it in your article that the incentive is to keep your job. The people of Oakland need someone, or a group of people, who aren't afraid to "get fired". I'm all for paying people a lot of money if there is a correlation of pay to success metrics. For example, we reduce potholes by x% which increased lawsuits by y%. It's a tricky situation, but I feel the entire council, especially mine, are in it for themselves.
I support a reasonable full-time pay scale for city council work. This topic should not be confused with the high compensation that the 1000s of city employees receive. For a large city, the council job should demand a person's full attention. A far less diverse and arguably less qualified field will end up running for those offices if volunteerism is expected. For a close example, look no further than the board of directors of our East Bay Regional Parks District. It is the largest park district in the country and should constitute a full-time job. People have complained about the lack of diversity of the board. But the job only includes a stipend of a few thousand dollars a year. The result is that the board is mostly made up of retirees or people who view it as a side gig.
Excellent article by Alex and thank you again Oakland Report. I agree with this article. Oakland does not need to have a full time city council, nor does the city council need a pay raise. What we need is a city council and mayor who actually know how to govern this city and actually cares about our Oaklanders. We have too much graft, and policies that are driven more by ideology, rather than American System principles. No to pay raise, no to Barbara Lee's Strong Mayor push, no to full time city council. Time for real leadership-Mindy Pechenuk, candidate for Oakland Mayor 2026. electmindy.com