Victory for Oakland Solutions

Allyssa’s top issues are housing, public safety, and economic justice. As Mayor, Allyssa will have to tackle ALL issues affecting public welfare in Oakland and will have the power to oversee effective administration of all City departments and services. Each platform area is interconnected as an integral part of holistic paradigm shift to servant leadership, moral budgeting, equitable justice, and high-quality public services.

HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT. As a renter who has lived in every district of Oakland and overcome homelessness, Allyssa will be a unique advocate to approach our housing crisis with a human rights lens. Residents and workers must have pathways to own their communities and we must ensure development and preservation of housing affordable at every range of income.

Allyssa will accomplish this through:

Establishment of a municipal public banking system to add new financing mechanisms for affordable housing development and local business assistance.
Preserve and enhance: down payment assistance programs, housing rehabilitation programs, guaranteed basic income, and local market controls including through local planning and zoning.
Enforce and optimize existing revenue streams to fund affordable, workforce, and social housing including the vacant parcel tax, publicly-owned lands, and affordable housing impact fees.
Replace management of tent cities with housing first policy that prioritizes dignified housing options accompanied by comprehensive services including health, legal, educational, and employment resources.
Rent is fundamentally extractive, and we will use new and existing funding sources to deliver individual and community owned residential and commercial spaces including, but not limited to, cooperative-ownership models, limited equity ownership models, residential and commercial land trusts, and individual ownership.

PUBLIC SAFETY IS A CIVIL RIGHT. As a practicing attorney focused daily on policing across the state who has represented both peace officers and victims of state violence, Allyssa works at the unique intersection. Allyssa partners with law enforcement to engage in constitutional policing and with local governments and communities to hold law enforcement agencies accountable to their public safety mission.

Allyssa will ensure that every Oaklander has a civil right to feel safe by:

Reach compliance with the 2003 Negotiated Settlement Agreement with aggressive accountability in the remaining tasks to be completed with the wisdom of our local police oversight structures and Allyssa’s expertise of police practices statewide.
Comprehensive approach to public safety by spreading reliance across city departments to respond to the City’s property, economic, youth, housing, and health issues. This includes strong implementation of the MACRO (Mobile Assisted Crisis Response Oakland) pilot program and transferring special events permitting to administrative staff as directed by Council’s 2020 resolutions.
Improve police response times to violent emergencies and crime solve rates by reprioritizing police staff and responses on areas with the highest service calls for violent crime.
Expand on our promise as a sanctuary city including ending all cooperation with ICE and JTTF and advocating for increased resources for deportation defense including stronger partnership with Alameda County.
Partner with our Alameda County Sheriff & DA to divert our youth and first-time offenders to alternatives to incarceration.

ECONOMIC JUSTICE & WORKERS RIGHTS. Allyssa is a union member and has devoted years of her legal practice to representing labor unions, workers in wage theft, discrimination, and harassment claims, as well as interned in the Labor & Employment division of the Oakland City Attorney’s Office. Allyssa will ensure just and resilient development City-wide and equitable investment in employment opportunities to expand economic vitality, opportunity, and longevity of the City.

Fully staff & resource the Department of Workplace & Employment Standards to enforce all workers’ rights laws, provide public education, and conduct community outreach and engagement. Expand local worker protections including a local version of the PRO Act. Prioritize local business, resident needs, and regenerative industries over extractive industry and massive corporations.
Increase development and enhance City infrastructure while ensuring maximum public/community benefits on all projects including at the Coliseum/Hegenberger tourism corridor. Community benefits must adequately address equity impacts, environmental impacts, and protect workers.
Invest in and expand cultural business districts.
Harness the region’s tech power and innovation to improve City services, digital access, and partnerships.
(Subject to voter approval) Fully implement a progressive business tax that will provide business assistance and development funds gained by taxation of the largest corporations in the City.
Implement tax-increment and other financing tools to require reparative investments in formerly redlined communities from city-wide development and economic opportunities. This includes revision to the Cannabis Business tax and full implementation of the Slavery Era Disclosure Ordinance already adopted into City law.

ARTS & CULTURE. Allyssa grew up blocks away from the original Merritt College where the Black Panther Party was founded. Allyssa benefitted from Oakland’s arts programs as a child including Studio One Arts Center summer classes. As a product of our unique arts and cultural landscape, Allyssa will preserve Oakland as the epicenter of artistic expression, creation, and culture including:

creation of an Oakland Hall of Fame and City Performance Center
Increase presence and investments in public art programs, public art installations, and expand the Oakland Cultural Affairs Commission
Inclusion of independent artists and art venues in local business assistance programs.
Expand public art installations including the Paint the Town mural program. Public art adds value to our City’s cultural, aesthetic, and economic vitality to foster community pride, belonging, and enhanced quality of life.
Amplify historical sites and cultural-keeping programs throughout the City
Increase funding and partnerships to bring art programs to Oakland’s youth, students, and seniors.

CLIMATE JUSTICE. Our global climate crisis demands immediate leadership and interventions to protect our current infrastructure and to build with resilience against future climate changes.

Implement and exceed the 2030 Equitable Climate Action plan including expanded prioritization of regenerative and sustainable industry over extractive and polluting ones.
Implement green principles into all City planning and operations.
Protect our residents most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change with increased access to healthcare, wellness, and sustainable foods.
Expand partnerships with local indigenous tribes and community-based organizations to increase native land stewardships and community land ownership.
Expand public access to local parks, green spaces, non-car travel access, and waterways including through public transit.
Expand public education on reducing our climate footprints individually and as a community including business guidance.
Mitigate or eliminate exposure of families and youth to toxic and polluting industry through City zoning, planning, and permitting.
Require public/community benefits to address climate (and equity) impacts for all development.

IMPROVED DEMOCRACY. Allyssa holds a J.D. focused in Government Law. Allyssa has provided legal and policy advice to municipal governments for years including Oakland. Allyssa has also held regional and statewide leadership; building every institutions she touches stronger than she found it. Allyssa will improve our City democracy and partner with the public including:

Expand the public sector workforce to enable the City to become self-sufficient and effective in providing high-quality public services and City administration.
Work with City Council to legislate a city-wide project labor agreement that addresses longstanding equity issues and legislate a strong public lands policy.
Moral and participatory budgeting for equitable and fully resourcing of all City departments to execute their missions and ensure that our City is functioning with all of our expertise and wisdom.
Increase access, transparency, and public participation to City meetings and decision-making including non-digital participation options, as well as translation and childcare services for City meetings.
Affirmative servant leadership, public service and engagement.

EQUITY & EQUAL OPPORTUNITY. Allyssa holds a B.A. in Ethnic Studies with Honors and a minor in Black Studies. Allyssa has addressed inequity as an educator with Girls, Inc. of Alameda County, a prison educator inside of San Quentin state prison, and co-drafter of Oakland’s 2020 Black New Deal. Allyssa will be Oakland’s champion on equity to stop the current government practices and policies producing inequity including our massive racial disparity in awarding City contracts.

Approach governance and decision-making with a goal to impact ALL of the inequities identified in the 2018 Oakland Indicators report.
Fully resource the Department of Race & Equity to adequately train and advise all City departments on leading and serving with equity.
Require equity impact assessments and recommendations for all new City programs, projects, and developments.
Immediately introduce a resolution declaring a Municipal Reparations Policy for the survivors and descendants of redlining and implement a plan to fund these reparations including use of the City’s Slavery Era Disclosure Act Ordinance of 2005.
Strengthen our sanctuary city policy by making real investments in language translation of resources and partner with Alameda County to bring increased access to immigration legal defense services.