Nehanda Imara brings savvy transportation policy expertise, deep East Oakland roots, and fresh energy and ideas to the District 7 race. She’s a 30-year resident of East Oakland and has been an activist with Communities for a Better Environment for 10 years. Imara brings a strong focus on improving public safety to her campaign, and Transport Oakland is enthusiastic to endorse her for the District 7 seat. Read more
Noel Gallo is a pragmatic decision-maker, has been a steadfast champion of the East Bay Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, and knows how to make things happen in Oakland. Gallo is the District 5 incumbent, has lived in Fruitvale since a child, and served on the Oakland School Board and worked for the City of Oakland before being elected to the District 5 seat in 2012. Transport Oakland is enthusiastic to endorse Noel Gallo for Oakland City Council District 5. Read more
A long-time resident of West Oakland and an affordable housing provider, Lynette Gibson McElhaney was elected to the City Council in 2012 and has served as the Council President since 2015. Lynette Gibson McElhaney shares our policy priorities for better and more inclusive transportation infrastructure, and has provided valuable, consensus-based leadership on the City Council. Transport Oakland is enthusiastic to endorse Lynette Gibson McElhaney for Oakland City Council District 3. Read more
Dan Kalb understands the linkage between transportation and environmental sustainability, has a strong track record of advocating for pedestrian/bicycle/transit improvements, and is committed to a fair and inclusive decision-making process. Transport Oakland is enthusiastic to endorse Dan Kalb for Oakland City Council District 1. Read more
Any Oaklander knows that our streets are in terrible condition. With a paving backlog of almost $450 million, Oakland ranks 89th out of 106 bay area cities in paving quality. Oakland’s paving cycle is 85 years long – when most cities with roads in good repair have a paving cycle closer to 25 years. We need to shake up the funding status quo if we hope to have better streets in our lifetime, and that’s why Transport Oakland is supporting the $600 million Oakland Infrastructure Bond.
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AC Transit has been funding some of its operations and maintenance through a parcel tax since 2002, which provides $30 million per year to keep the buses running. Unlike state and federal funding sources which are unpredictable, highly restricted, and dwindling, this funding is locally controlled, meaning it gives AC Transit the stability and flexibility it needs to, among other things, prevent service cuts during lean revenue years for its 180,000 daily riders.
With more than 430,000 daily rides including 95,000 that start in Oakland and 77,000 that end in Oakland, BART provides a critical service to Oakland and the whole Bay Area. BART’s system was designed over 40 years ago to carry a fraction of the people and service it now delivers on a daily basis. Like all infrastructure, BART’s components need replacement and modernization after a long life of use. The proposed $3.5 billion bond identifies effective expenditures that will deliver a fix-it-first approach to maximize the potential of the new fleet of rail cars (roomier, quieter, and a third set of doors!) that will start arriving in 2017. These are not the glamorous ribbon-cutting cutting projects the media craves, but they are essential to keeping our regional transit backbone from falling apart, and Transport Oakland strongly supports Measure RR.
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With a combined thirty-three years of service on the AC Transit Board, incumbent AC Transit Directors Chris Peeples and Greg Harper were easy choices for our endorsement.
Dear Mayor Schaaf and Oakland City Council Members,
Oakland’s voters this November could have an historic opportunity to repave the City’s crumbling streets, to protect and expand affordable housing, and to upgrade community-serving facilities. But the people of Oakland will only get the chance to fix our city if the City Council agrees to put a $600 million infrastructure bond on the ballot.
The Infrastructure Bond, created together with City staff and community leaders, would dedicate $350 million to repairing our streets and sidewalks throughout Oakland, add $100 million for the restoration and preservation of long-term affordable housing across the City, and provide $150 million for long-overdue repairs to parks, community centers, libraries, and fire stations. We are urging the City Council to approve the infrastructure bond at their July 19th meeting for the benefit of all Oaklanders. Read more
The 22-story Tribune Tower is Oakland’s most recognizable landmark. It’s housed a radio station and a newspaper, and today its neon facade celebrates our sports teams. And at 10 AM on Saturday, August 13, you can join its resident neon sculpter John Law on an exclusive two-hour tour of its clock tower. We’ll explore behind the clock faces, learn about the tower’s early plans for a Zeppelin landing port, and experience the value of preserving infrastructure for generations. Read more
