By Derek Barnes–
Recently, I had a little time on my hands and engaged in a 12+ hour Oakland City Council meeting. The agenda was packed with many resolutions councilmembers needed to hear, debate, and ultimately vote on in a single session. A few items were highly complex and controversial policies with enormous economic impacts on the city. Councilmembers also heard a few critical resolutions for the first time.
While listening, I was particularly challenged by a few areas and shocked by how local government works or isn’t working for us. I witnessed Oakland City Council at work and members’ interpersonal dynamics. It would be a fascinating case study at some point. For now, I’d like to share my observations for those who rarely get a glimpse into the business of government policymaking and all of its “sausage-making.” It’s probably worth noting that important distinctions are evident in policymaking at the city, county, state, and federal levels. But the “sausage-making” at the local level can be wildly profound.
Nearly every day, I look at the magnificent structure of City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza from my living room window. While in the virtual City Council meeting, staring at City Hall, I wondered when it will be fully occupied and active again doing the people’s work. Now, it stands eerily majestic, vacant, and desolate, with no signs of life except the surrounding encampments, people without shelter seeking refuge, and derelict activities that OPD doesn’t regularly monitor. With a stabilized economy and the county having lifted its mask mandate in June, it’s time for our elected officials to return to their public offices at City Hall, where residents can meet with them once again.
During the marathon meeting, I also had this overwhelming feeling that many councilmembers don’t think they need to engage all of their constituents. Perhaps that’s strategic. Learning more about the city’s problems from different perspectives wasn’t necessary—rising crime, the housing crisis, increased addiction and drug use, and more homelessness.
Teleconferencing and Zoom video meetings are convenient modes of communication, but certainly not the best method for sharing and ideation. Engaging with people in virtual environments that limit the other senses we need to make good decisions and deliver judgment is difficult. It’s even more challenging when half the members of City Council don’t have their cameras turned on—usually the same repeat offenders. It’s rude and disrespectful to their colleagues who are visibly engaged and to the public who are showing up to provide comments.
When constituents can’t see or interact directly with their elected officials, it creates a real barrier to access, and that shouldn’t be the case for those in public service. It also contributes to the divide between the inaccessible elite (those holding power) and everyone else. Opportunities to connect and converse with the wide array of voters and constituents should excite and motivate all city leaders, even when tensions and emotions are high. If it doesn’t, they should look for other jobs that are less dependent upon listening to and uniting the public.
Finally, I observed little to no performance accountability, program monitoring, or continuous improvement systems in many city department reports. There wasn’t clear or accurate information delivered to City Council from city staff. Not being subject matter experts, councilmembers didn’t always know the right questions to ask either. The lack of data was apparent in areas providing city services connected to human resources, public safety, housing, building, and permitting. Lack of accountability is a predictable outcome when there’s a lack of defined success measures, little application of uniform standards, no consistent planning and program development framework, and an underlying culture of non-compliance—doing our own thing, our way.
Problem identification, asking the right questions, and getting the right people around the table are essential for good policymaking and solutions-driven action. City leaders already know the problems in many areas, but aren’t willing to take risks politically to do what’s right to ensure long-term success. For example, the city auditor may do an excellent job bringing many issues and recommendations to the attention of city councilmembers, the mayor, and department leaders. However, action and solutions fall into the abyss of city bureaucracy and apathy.
Who holds our public officials accountable for the lack of stakeholder involvement they engage in and the flawed or bad policies they create as a result? The real impact of important legislation and key policies won’t be seen or felt for years, even decades. The reality is that many of their authors and supporters will be long gone or have moved on to other elevated positions if they are politically ambitious.
Historically, the media has been a reliable gatekeeper to hold our elected officials accountable. But the industry has contracted so much over the decades that good journalism isn’t often available to us locally—especially dealing with complex topics like housing, education, crime, and economic development. Today, reporters don’t have the resources or the attention span to go deep on issues to uncover the truth with facts and getting all sides of the story. The short-term gains of clickbait news are an easier payoff. Reporters will exploit the tensions between groups because it will always make good headlines and get the needed impressions for advertisers.
To solve big 21st-century challenges, cities like Oakland and San Francisco need extraordinary and courageous public servants, not more people vying for political power. We need empathic leaders who are transformative and can disrupt the systems that are failing us. For all the taxes and fees collected to employ city personnel, what value are city services delivering to all of its residents and businesses? Who’s accountable for what’s not working and for fixing poorly constructed policies?
For those aspiring to be in public service as an elected official, these are some of the leadership questions you will need to answer for all of your voter constituencies. For concerned and engaged citizens, find some time to participate in a city council meeting to exercise another form of philanthropy. Your voice and your vote matter. They have the power to transform communities.
Derek Barnes is the CEO of the East Bay Rental Housing Association (www.EBRHA.com). He currently serves on the boards of Horizons Foundation and Homebridge CA. Follow him on Twitter @DerekBarnesSF or on Instagram at DerekBarnes.SF
Published on July 14, 2022
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