Ciudad de OakleyCandidato para Consejo Municipal

 I will promote smart land use and growth policies, by offering energy efficient and sustainable, green building design and promoting transportation choices for the community.

 I will ensure that local workers will be hired on project construction and make meaningful efforts to ensure they get paid the area standard wage.

 I will promote outreach to local youth and disadvantaged communities for construction craft apprenticeship training and provide opportunities for them to have work opportunity to fulfill their hours as participants in a state approved Labor/Management apprenticeship program.

 I will promote construction employment and training opportunities for our military veterans.

 I will ensure that affordable units are provided by builders of market rate residential projects and that the potential impacts of gentrification are addressed.

 I will promote other community benefits and amenities to offset a project’s potential adverse impact on the community.

 We can bring Easy Mile manufacturing plant to the DuPont property. That will provide living wage career jobs, a source of future employment for our children, a source of revenue to local businesses and the city. With autonomous buses with attendants we can create a smart network of transportation not only to and from BART but also for local transportation to and from schools, shopping centers and job sites. Fees from that facility would go a long way in financing our East Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and local schools.

 We can build an electricity generating station that will provide living wage career jobs, a source of employment for our children, a source of revenue to local businesses and the city. The city would receive ~$3M when it becomes operational and $2M-$3M/ year. Fees from that facility would go a long way in financing our East Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and local schools.

 We can work with the nearby Universities to promote and bring in high tech industries and local agriculture. The DuPont property is large enough to accommodate light industry, business offices and high tech R&D and incubator startups, an excellent source for careers and education. With Next Generation Farmers, AgLantis, Oakley Community Gardens, we can utilize city owned or open spaces to establish locally run nonprofit boutique farms to supply our schools, local stores, farmer’s markets and local restaurants with fresh quality produce.

 Currently we have only 4 fire stations and 36 fire fighters for the entire East Contra Costa Fire Protection District. In Oakley we have one fire station with nine fire fighters for 24/7 coverage. The recommended number is 1 per 1,000 residents. We have a population of 40,000 and growing. We need many more firemen. Our fire fighters are paid less than other surrounding fire districts. Next year funding for the Knightsen station will end and it will close. We need the User Utility Tax (UUT), measure E & G for Oakley and Z & A for Brentwood. The proposed reallocation of Proposition 13 funds is legally possible but highly unlikely because no district receiving their portion of the 1% sales tax Proposition 13 money is likely to give up money they desperately need. And a change to the constitution is highly unlikely anytime soon as it is a political hot potato. These measures would exempt the schools, and other government entities and low-income households from paying. The UUT includes an additional Tax on electricity, gas, cable TV, water and sewer. It does not include telecommunications.

Gentrification and the cost of living are on the rise again here. We cannot stop this gentrification and the rising cost of living by reducing spending or lowering taxes on the rich. Trickledown economics never worked. California is burning. Proposition 13 is destroying our education system and emergency services. Instead we must build our economy by fixing the loopholes in proposition 13, invest in education and education infrastructure, demand smart land use and growth policies, invest in transportation infrastructure, require energy efficient and sustainable, green building design, build a partnership with our community colleges, industry and businesses. We need to fund our emergency services better. We need to bring in industry and businesses which provide living wage careers. Not short term contract jobs with no protection. Not dead end low wage jobs. We need a higher minimum wage. The young student working their way through college should not be working next to a senior or retiree trying to make ends meet.

When we invest in people and embrace smart growth policies we will create a strong local economy which will prevent gentrification, house our seniors and retirees with dignity, and employ our youth with careers with which they can retire with dignity, here in Oakley.