Yes, the City of Oakland is in a financial crisis. Yes, Oakland elected officials have mismanaged the city and the budget. Yes, the City is in the hole about... hmmm... $42.8 MILLION DOLLARS!!
But I am still voting YES ON MEASURE OO. In the most simplest sense, Measure OO would increase the amount of money going into the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth that funds a diverse range of youth programs in the city.
Let me tell you why...
1. CITIZENS SHOULD BE HEARD IN CITY BUDGET MAKING!! There is very little opportunity for citizens to give meaningful input during the budget process or in any city matters. A certain gadfly goes on and on during public comment about the city not properly following the Sunshine Ordinace and Brown Act making City Council and city staff roll their eyes. But there is some truth to his rants. The city's boards and commissions, the vehicles of public input, are poorly organized and have little impact on city matters. So years and years have gone by where we have had to trust the leadership of the City Council and Mayor. (Many years where I feel the City Council has not managed funds well.) The City's Measure process is the only mechanism for voters to tell the city what the priorities should be! AND, youth should definitely be a priority.
2. IT'S COMING FROM THE PEOPLE/ORGANIZATIONS I TRUST!! This initiative is being backed by people that have been doing meaningful work with youth in this town and are seeing results! ...To name a few: AYPAL, Kids First!, Youth Together, Oakland Leaf.. As someone who spent the last three years running a youth program in the Town, I know that these are the folks who are getting things done. So, why not trust the experts and listen to their suggestions on how to be proactive about the problems we face in the city??
3. YOUTH IN OAKLAND NEED THIS! Why not give youth more opportunities to do something positive before they have a chance to do something negative?
This is my choice as a mama in Oakland. Vote YES ON MEASURE OO and let City Council know that they have to make youth a priority AND find a way to make this work fiscally.
3 comments:
did you see the no on oo website?? otl was all crazy about it the other day...
In another simpler way, OO transfers money from Libraries, Seniors, Fire Dept, Parks and Rec, for years and years to private organizations without any extra revenue.
I'm all for after-school programs. I work with children myself. Lets not kid ourselves that many of the after-school programs currently in OUSD schools are run by young twenty-somethings with lots of energy, but very little experience. And we are supposed to support this?
The Library now has to say goodbye to the Bookmobile and their Adult Literacy Program. Measure OO will make it necessary for more cuts. Why do this to Oakland? You say the council must "make it work". Well, they will. They will pull back on PUBLIC services which serve all citizens of Oakland and not just kids. Children already have programs from the Government and a wide variety of programs available through parks and rec
What will Children have for options in the summer when there are no after-school programs? They usually flock to Parks and Rec and Libraries. Well, Measure OO will reduce those options.
I'm all for after-school programs. But, let's, as Citizens of Oakland, demand a better written law which helps everyone.
be informed.
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v162475322RsHA8kd?rank=10&category=category_news&order=mr
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