Subscribe
Sign in
Home
Radar
Analysis
Commentary
Donate
About
Charter Reform series
Latest
Top
Discussions
Hand-picked: the political and personal ties between mayor Barbara Lee and her Oakland "charter reform working group"
Mayor Barbara Lee’s eight-member panel consists of her transition advisers, her campaign’s institutional backers, a funder of its own process, and…
Jun 16
•
Alex Montana
8
10
3
Oakland city council pay raises: the charter reform provision no one is discussing
Oakland's charter reform could raise council pay up to 125%, pushing total compensation past $300,000 — yet the provision has been nearly absent from…
Jun 15
•
Alex Montana
10
11
2
Oakland’s charter reform process: the questions it was built not to ask
Mayor Barbara Lee’s charter reform ‘working group’ was hand-picked to diagnose Oakland’s dysfunction. But the group was set up to rule out the reforms…
Jun 2
•
Alex Montana
12
6
2
Oakland Police Commission is at a crossroads
Oakland voters overwhelmingly support police oversight, but a documented pattern of Police Commission dysfunction, mounting legal costs, and misaligned…
May 6
•
Alex Montana
7
1
Oakland’s police commission could be headed for reform
A new proposed charter amendment would change how commissioners are chosen, move the Inspector General under the City Auditor, and remove the…
Apr 25
•
Alex Montana
8
9
1
City council seeks a pay raise of up to 125% – which would be among the highest in the nation
Oakland city council is set to consider a charter amendment that would give city councilmembers substantial pay raises as part of a charter reform…
Mar 26
•
Alex Montana
16
10
4
Voter turnout and "strong mayor": equal voices or skewed by districts?
A dialog with an Oakland Report subscriber and the authors of our March 2 commentary, “Oakland voters should reject the inadequate ‘strong-mayor…
Mar 8
•
Oakland Report
7
6
Oakland voters should reject the inadequate “strong-mayor” proposal
Mayor Barbara Lee’s Charter Reform Working Group recommendations would be a step backwards for accountability and transparency inside City Hall.
Mar 2
13
6
1
Mayor Barbara Lee: Strengthening government accountability through charter reform
Mayor's charter reform working group published its recommendations for reforming Oakland's governance model
Feb 21
6
6
2
Libby Schaaf: Give Oaklanders what they want and need: a strong mayor
Former mayor Libby Schaaf lays out the case for a citizens’ initiative to reform Oakland’s charter and put in place a true strong-mayor form of…
Jan 22
11
8
2
Loren Taylor: Oakland needs a council-manager government — or needs to eliminate ranked-choice voting
A former city council member and mayoral candidate explains why he changed his mind about Oakland's form of government.
Jan 10
•
Loren Taylor
16
30
5
Steven Falk: Oakland Should Return to the Model City Charter
Oakland Charter Reform Project kicks off our charter reform series exploring Oakland’s city charter and how it potentially could change in 2026.
Dec 22, 2025
15
15
2
This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please
turn on JavaScript
or unblock scripts
