1. Dan Siegel
Dear Make Oakland Better Now,
I am happy to discuss these issues with you, but perhaps we should amend the City Charter to create a
uniform candidate questionnaire, like the uniform form colleges now use to award financial aid. (Just
kidding) Please consider that we have filled out responses to at least a dozen of these questionnaires,
and it takes a lot of time.
Here are my responses. Please excuse anything you see as snarky.
1. Yes to all three.
2. I want to reorganize the department based on 700 officers by assigning 513 to patrol as compared with
277 today. That means each of 57 beats has five patrol officers, two investigators, one problem solving
officer, and one sergeant. I want to test this model for two years and then see if 700 officers are enough
by the end of 2016. No-one knows or can honestly say how things will look at the end of 2018, either with
respect to the number officers or how OPD will be funded.
3. I will provide clear leadership to the City and OPD. Officers will know what is expected of them and
what to expect from the City in return. My investigation suggests that low morale is a result of poor and
inconsistent leadership from City Hall and the Department. I will make sure that officers are appreciated
for doing a good job and following the rules.
4. A major problem with the NSA is that the Court does not trust the City. I will work with the Chief to
make sure that Oakland is fully in compliance by June 30, 2015, and stay in compliance for one year so
that the NSA ends on June 30, 2016. I believe that I will have the confidence of Judge Henderson and
Chief Warshaw to win the Court's approval for ending the NSA. I will also review and if necessary fix the
arbitration process to make sure that cases of police officer misconduct are competently presented and
fairly judged.
5. This situation must be attributed to the ineffective leadership of the Mayor and the Council. I proposed
that the $28 million "windfall" received by the City this year be used to begin street repair. Tentatively,
based upon further consultation, I will propose that we raise the funds needed to overcome the years of
neglect through issuing funds, while future budgets provide funds for ongoing maintenance.
6. This question is related to the previous one. I think that the anticipated budget shortfalls must be
viewed with caution for at least two reasons: (1) The
figures are already over a year old, based upon information available as of June 30, 2013. As we all
know, Oakland's revenues are very dynamic, as the unexpected $28 million "windfall" surplus earlier this
year demonstrates. The trend of increased real estate transfer taxes and gross receipts taxes based on
rental income continues and will have a substantial impact on deficit projections going forward. I do not
believe that the deficits will be as large as projected in June 2013. (2) As the report indicates, most of the
projected deficit consists of deferred capital expenses, which can be further deferred or financed outside
of the general fund. It does not make sense to me to pay for those expenses by severe cuts to current
expenditures. We need to fix the
streets and other infrastructure but there is little fat in terms of excess personnel in any city department.
My plan includes: (1) accurate monitoring of projections as they change over time; (2) careful auditing of
all City expenses to reduce waste; (3) exploration of new funding sources, including but not limited to
increases in certain
categories of the gross receipts tax (such as rental housing income and supermarket sales), exploring a
payroll tax on incomes over $100,000, and windfall profits taxes on property speculation, as is currently
being considered
in San Francisco; (4) efforts to equalize the pension contributions of the various categories of City
employees; (5) vast reductions in the $10 million spent annually to resolve cases of police misconduct
and monitor the

2. Negotiated Settlement Agreement; (6) increased revenue from the Port of Oakland.
7. "Operation Ceasefire" is at best a very modest success, and I am not convinced to allocate general
fund revenues to it. I believe that reorganization of OPD, as described above in response to question 2, is
our best plan to reduce violence. Over the medium and long term only efforts to improve education and
create jobs will solve Oakland's crime problems.
8. I hope we are all clear on what the City Charter states. I am not sure why you would want candidates
for Mayor to prove that they can read!
9. I will be a strong, transparent leader who will provide consistent and honest answers to all questions
and who can be trusted to protect the City's interests in every interaction with a developer, business
person, or labor union. I will demonstrate my ability to analyse issues and problems - such as ending the
NSA or working out contracts with athletic teams or garbage contractors - and work creatively and
collaboratively for good solutions. The media will have constant access to my office so that all meetings
and transactions can be reported to the public. I will tell the truth, always.
I plan to hire a competent City Administrator who shares my values and approaches to issues so that we
can speak with one voice. I will insist that all City employees be accountable for excellent work and value
to the public.
I will re-institute strategic planning along the model of Oakland Sharing the Vision during the Elihu Harris
term as mayor.
10. (a) yes
(b) no - see #2 above; I want two investigators in each precinct.
(c) not yet - see #2 above; Oakland cannot afford 800 officers now
(d) not convinced; maybe
(e) yes
(f) yes
(g) YES!
(h) yes, in some form. I will probably assign these responsibilities to someone in the mayor's office.
(i) yes
(j) yes, in some form
11. This is a good proposal. I will investigate its application to Oakland and adopt some version of it.
12. Our platform provides numerous examples of cities that have created good examples from which
Oakland can learn on various issues. For example, our neighbor Richmond seems to be doing well on
crime reduction and another neighbor, Emeryville, is doing well on economic development.
13.
A. No. This should not be in the Charter. It is a good practice.
B. Good idea. If we poll residents, we should use the data.
C.Yes
D. Yes
Dan Siegel