Oakland City council candidate questionnaire 2014

1. City Council Candidate Questionnaire
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Candidate: Jill Broadhurst
District: 4
Note: Please limit your answers to 250 words except where the question
indicates a different word limit.
1. Please state your position on the following November ballot measures along with a brief
(No more than 30 word) statement supporting your position.
 Measure Z: Public Safety (Parcel tax for police, fire and violence prevention programs):
o No, I do not support Measure Z. This parcel tax does not address the real funding
needed to make our streets safer, it does not guarantee communication
between officers and community, and it provides no increase of officers other
than what we currently have. The City needs to deliver a home run, not a half-baked
version of safety- the risk of alienating our residents, to forever not trust
government, is too great. The voters are skeptical and we need to earn their
respect before putting forth a measure that has a big chance of delivering poor
results. Should I be elected, I will work on a tighter and cleaner public safety
measure for June 2015.
 Measure XX: Public Ethics (Restructuring of Public Ethics Commission and mandatory
funding for its staff)
o Yes, I support a more transparent and visible arm of Public Ethics in our City. I
also appreciate a more equitable process for selecting commissioners. Funding
for this department is independent of council vote, which is needed to properly
deliver this service.
 Measure DD: Redistricting (Redistricting commission for City Council boundaries)
o I support a fair of transparent process for selecting district boundaries. With the
potential passage of the Publics Ethics Commission Reform, I would like to see if
the redistricting process can be managed through this department, versus the
creation of a new initiative, which will add to costs with the potential for
competing, overseeing efforts.
2. MOBN!’s public safety plan calls for increasing Oakland’s police force to 900 sworn
officers within four years. To reach this goal, MOBN! advocates that the city should: 1) not layoff
any Oakland police officers under any circumstances; 2) schedule, fund, and conduct sufficient
police academies each year to increase that number, not simply replace officers who retire or

2. otherwise leave the force; and 3) make increasing the size of the police department its number
one priority. Do you agree or disagree?
I agree. With the amount of officer we lose monthly due to retirement or disability, I do not think
that layoffs would be a reasonable option, nor one the residents would tolerate (other than
disciplinary conduct cases). We should look at all options available to us in order to provide
appropriate protection to our residents and businesses.
3. OPD’s difficulty in achieving the authorized sworn staffing level appears to
be exacerbated by high attrition and low morale, as shown by the department’s internal polling
(http://tiny.cc/OPDPoliceSurvey) and it’s loss of officers only months after they complete their
training. How should the City solve OPD’s attrition and morale problems?
A key factor in morale and attrition is to have consistent leadership, one that doesn’t change
every year, combined with experienced leadership that can manage a department. Additionally,
making sure the officers are not overworked, are supported within their department (as well as
by the City administration) through defined policies, despite a sometimes opposing vocal
sentiment.
4. OPD has been under Federal Court supervision for close to twelve years. While
Oaklanders have repeatedly been told that the end is in sight, in late July, Judge Henderson
stated that Oakland’s disciplinary processes have violated Court orders, and that continuing the
same practices will "undermine any confidence in the sustainability of the reforms that have
been and continue to be achieved." Then, on August 14, the Judge criticized the City’s recent
inability to sustain through arbitration an officer termination in connection with response to the
Occupy Oakland protests. (Source: http://tiny.cc/ArbOrder.) The Court opined that Oakland
could not be in compliance with two NSA tasks if internal investigations were inadequate and
“discipline is not consistently imposed.” Many people believe the Monitor has repeatedly
imposed requirements on Oakland that far exceed the literal requirements of the NSA, and that
as a result of the Monitor’s shifting standards, Oakland may never be able to extricate itself from
Court supervision. As a City Council member, to what extent would you be prepared to oppose
continued and changing demands from the Monitor, and what is your plan to end the era of
Court supervision?
I fully support a thorough review of the NSA agreement and its requirements. I support publicly
speaking on behalf of the process which appears, on paper, to be flawed. Questions can be
raised concerning the incentives, if any, to have OPD in full compliance- this obviously results in
a delay and struggle to have a functioning police department to meet the needs of all the
residents. I will work with groups, such as MOBN, to create a step-by-step plan that is
actionable by council and work towards moving the requirements to a close.
5. According to the Public Works Department, Oakland is on an 85-year repaving schedule,
meaning a street that is repaved today won’t be repaved again for 85 years. Further, according
to Public Works, maintaining the existing pavement condition on Oakland’s streets would
require an estimated $28 million annually, while the amount allocated annually has been less
than $6 million in recent years. Sixty percent of the City’s curb ramps are non-compliant or non-existent.
The total needed to rehabilitate Oakland streets is over $435 million. How do you plan
to reverse the ongoing deterioration of our streets and sidewalks? If you are elected, when will
Oaklanders see a difference?
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3. What you have here is an infrastructure item that has been unfunded, and neglected, for over a
decade by council. I do not claim to be able to resolve every pothole on our streets, but what I
do say, is those concerns do matter to me and are a priority. I will advocate for one time funds
to be set aside for street infrastructure. I also support Measure BB, a county sales tax which will
improve our roads, and major thoroughfares, and improve greater regional access. In addition
the city can continue to seek out grants offered at the state and federal level till we are able to
have a more consistent and secure allocation for roads. No one council member can promise
what will become policy since there are other votes needed to move things forward, however I
will be a strong voice in making this a priority.
6. The extent to which the City faces unfunded liabilities and what should be done about
them has been a contentious issue in recent years. As recently as last December, the City
Administrator projected that for the three fiscal years beginning July 1, 2015, Oakland faces all-funds
budget structural shortfalls totaling $795 million if it addresses its deferred capital
expenses and deferred liabilities, and $342 million if it does not (Source: December 12, 2013
Update to Five-Year Financial Forecast, Attachment D, http://tiny.cc/5yrupdate.) Do you believe
Oakland faces a financial shortfall, and if so, how will you address it if elected in November?
Oakland absolutely does face a shortfall of close to $800 million dollars spanning fiscal years
15-16 through 17-18, or approximately 20% shortage of revenues to cover costs. Oakland has
been forced to cut spending to avoid increasing the deficit- this has resulted in a struggle to
maintain effective services for residents. In addition we have unfunded pension and retiree
health liabilities exceeding $2 billion. As a councilmember and fiduciary representative of the
city it is incumbent on each one of us to be honest with the residents about our fiscal state. We
need to declare what the issues are and promote innovative and practical solutions to overcome
them. We need to all be on the same page about the seriousness of these problems and work
towards concrete, long term solutions that we adhere too, in order to reduce the debt..
7. Operation Ceasefire has been described as the centerpiece of Oakland’s violent crime
reduction effort. We understand that funding for its manager has been dependent on grant
funding and that there is an insufficient number of case managers to maximize Ceasefire’s
success. Do you support expanding Operation Ceasefire? Where specifically do you propose
allocating resources and staffing?
Yes, I support a more robust implementation of Ceasefire, so long as the goal is matched with
growing the police force. Through this initiative which includes community policing and outreach,
we have seen homicide rates reduce by up to 60%. There need to be a dedicated manager who
will oversee all the components of the program. We need to effectively manage and supply the
jobs program for those offenders who are looking for another option. It is critical that our police
department dedicate more staff resources to the investigative unit that processes burglaries. It
has also been noted that Compstat is not used properly and further training is needed on the
procedures and management concerning this valuable tool.
8. In 2012-2013, Oakland contracted with Strategic Policy Partners (Robert Wasserman et
al.) to present a comprehensive public safety plan. Strategic Policy Partners made a large
number of recommendations, some of which have been implemented and some of which have
not. (The reports are here: http://tiny.cc/SPPReport, http://tiny.cc/Bratton1,
http://tiny.cc/SPPBest) If the voters elect you in November, please state whether you will
support implementing the following recommendations (We are looking for a “yes” or “no”
answer, with explanatory narrative not exceeding 25 words for each recommendation):
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4.  Call for Service Reduction strategy; Yes
 Expanded investigation capacity in each of the City’s 5 policing districts, so that each
district has an investigative sergeant, 3 investigators, and 3 to 5 police
officers. Absolutely Yes
 Increased sworn police personnel to a ratio of 2 officers for every 1,000 in the population
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(i.e., 800). Yes
 Expansion of the Ceasefire initiative. Yes
 Redesign of community policing, so that the entire Police Department, not just PSOs,
are focused on community relationship building. I would look to the Chief and OPD
administration to decide on this recommendation. If they felt this was needed, I would
support the initiative with clear measures of success in place.
 Measurement of the state of community / police relations. Yes, we need more data to
analyze our success and best practices.
 Moving restorative justice practices into the community, to address neighborhood
disorder and minor crimes in a manner that brings community into the process and
prevents future crime and disorder occurrences. I would look to the Chief and OPD
administration to decide on this recommendation. If they felt this was needed, I would
support the initiative with clear measures of success in place.
 Appointing a Director of Community Improvement who will be responsible for
coordinating collaborative action by city agencies, community groups and state and
federal partners, to address both quality of life issues and crime. Appointing a Director of
Community Improvement: I would look to the Chief and OPD administration to decide on
this recommendation. If they felt this was needed, I would support a recommendation to
create a new position.
 Appointing a team of representatives from the community to work with the Director of
Community Improvement, the Police Department and other government agencies to
insure community coordination. Appointing a team of representatives from the
community: This could be an extension of NCPC chairs. I can see the value of a position
such as this, but for the sake of streamlining, I would want to make sure it was an
effective addition versus adding another layer of confusion and delay.
 Bringing Security Ambassadors into the crime reduction strategic plan and require
advanced training to those who patrol downtown areas, so they are active and have the
ability to intervene in minor situations that impact public security.
9. In early 2010, Oakland’s Finance and Management Committee received a presentation
from staff and visiting personnel from the City of Baltimore concerning CitiStat, a leadership
strategy a mayor can employ to mobilize city agencies to produce specific results. (More
information is at http://tiny.cc/q00ojx ). CitiStat involves use of a round-the-clock 311 reporting
system for any request for city services other than policing. It uses data in a manner similar to
ComStat. High level city management uses the 311-generated data and benchmarks and
regular meetings to hold departments accountable, judge successes and failure, reveal what
agencies are doing and not doing to achieve benchmarks and provide the best possible
services to residents. Explain your familiarity with CitiStat and whether you believe such a
program can and should be implemented in Oakland. If you do not believe it should be
implemented in the near future, explain why. If you think it should, explain what you will do to
support implementation.
Citistat improves the level of service residents receive because of how the program manages
service delivery. It holds departments and staff accountable for their work. Staff actually will
work in the Citistat department, analyzing data and reviewing those gaps in delivery, resulting in

5. a higher quality service or product for residents. A standing meeting facilitates staff answering to
failures in service or delivery. This program will put the residents first while at the same time
making sure the City is running an efficient and successful organization. There are obviously
start-up costs for implementing a program as large as this throughout the city. I would partner
with other councilmembers and staff to initiate a report on costs and services and estimates cost
savings- the last number I found had start-up costs of $285,000 and annual costs of $400,000.
Most of the software is available on standard computers but there will be a need for dedicated
staff resources to do the analyzing. If a case can be made that we will become that more
efficient in our delivery we may be able to have the program pay for itself. 10. Oakland has
room to improve its policies in the areas of crime reduction, budget processes, street
maintenance, and economic maintenance. What cities can Oakland learn from, and adopt or
emulate policies from with respect to these subjects?
What policies from other cities would benefit Oakland?
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Baltimore- Compstat, CitiStat and Ceasefire
New York City- ComStat, CitiStat
Springfield, Massachusetts- CitiStat
Oakland needs to be more efficient in its delivery of services and analysis of how staff is used
and effective. All of these programs will improve where we currently are now and direct us to
become an enhanced, successful, working form of government.
A perfect case study of outcomes is below:
http://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2007/04/pdf/citistat_report.pdf
11. Do you support the following policies and, briefly, why or why not?
A. Creation by Charter amendment of a Rainy day fund as recommended by MOBN! and the
Budget Advisory Committee (BAC)? Yes, we need to plan and commit to set aside funds.
B. Annual polling of city residents on their satisfaction with city services? What would you do
with that information? Yes, I would like to see this managed by Oakland’s Information
Technology department. The information should be reviewed with all staff directors, managers
and eventually the residents. In this sharing of results, the city should be prepared to address
failures couple with attainable solutions that enhance the resident and business experience.
C. Conducting a police resource deployment study to determine the number of officers actually
need by OPD and how they should be deployed? I would hope that this is something OPD
would already be analyzing and translating into effective use of limited resources. I would
certainly advocate for this, but would look to OPD leadership to lead the charge in the matter.
D. Will you support the preparation of a comprehensive public safety plan? Yes. Again in
working with OPD, I would advocate and support the needs of the Chief.