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Charter Reform series
Oakland is “high sensitivity” — Letters to the editor
Homeless industrial complex; pay raises for city council and unions; who’s actually in charge of the city; you get what you pay for — and more letters…
Jun 25
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Oakland Report
and
Sean S. Reinhart
7
4
2
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
9
10
4
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
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Alex Montana
11
13
3
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
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Alex Montana
13
6
3
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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