Oakland Coalition Pushing for Radical Change at the Ballot Box: Police Commission, Tenant Protections, $20 Min Wage

What's to be expected from this unprecedented political push by social justice advocates in Oakland?

The Coalition for Police Accountability submitted to the city clerk's office a ballot measure to establish a Police Commission with the power to discipline officers and fire the chief of the Oakland police department. The proposed structural changes to accomplish this new level of police oversight are significant enough to require an amendment to the city charter (pdf). To qualify for the ballot, the amendment must obtain signatures from 15% of registered voters, meaning over 32, 000 valid signatures in all.

The Oakland Livable Wage Assembly proposal seeks to raise the minimum wage in Oakland to $14 an hour this year and $20 an hour by 2020, as well as mandating fair scheduling by employers. As an ordinance rather than a charter amendment, the measure has a lower signature threshold to cross of 10% of registered voters, or over 21,000 signatures.

The Renters Upgrade Initiative put forward by the Oakland Tenants Union is intended to strengthen renters' rights in Oakland by restricting just cause evictions, placing an absolute 5% per year cap on rent increases, cover more units under rent control, and ensure a tenant-majority Rent Board, among other improvements for tenants. Again, as a proposed ordinance, these renters' protections require signatures from 10% of registered voters to qualify for the November ballot.

Stiff resistance is expected to emerge to all three measures. Without question, the Oakland Police Officers' Association and other police lobbyists will vigorously resist losing the right to shield the most violent and otherwise crooked cops from accountability. Landlord groups such as the California Apartment Association are already actively attempting to suppress movements for tenants' rights throughout the Bay Area. Business groups will certainly line up against a dramatically increased minimum wage and fair scheduling mandates. And it wouldn't be surprising if executives from local non-profits stood up against a wage increase as some did in 2014 against Measure FF.

Elected officials likewise will do their part to undermine these measures. Feeling the winds of resistance to the status quo blowing through the city, mayor Libby Schaaf and council members have proposed or currently are working on plans for their own versions of increased police oversight and tenant protections, policies and ordinances intended to be much more friendly to police and business interests.

Despite the obvious obstacles, the Oakland Livable Wage Assembly began distributing petitions and collecting signatures at the City Hall press conference. Petitions for the other two measures are headed to the printer and expected to begin circulating in the very near future. An Oakland Justice Coalition canvassing kickoff is planned for Saturday, April 2, with volunteers spreading out across communities throughout Oakland. The coalition intends to register new voters as well.