Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee highlights early wins in first state of the city address

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee delivered her first State of the City address Tuesday night, just 140 days after taking office. Speaking before the Oakland City Council, Lee highlighted what she called early successes tied to her "100 Day Plan," which focused on improving public safety and cleaning city streets.

OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee delivered her first State of the City address Tuesday night, just 140 days after taking office.

100 day plan

Speaking before the Oakland City Council, Lee highlighted what she called early successes tied to her "100 Day Plan," which focused on improving public safety and cleaning city streets.

"I’d like to think that when it comes to our city, Oakland is on the move, and we are moving forward," said Lee.

The mayor pointed to year-over-year drops in major crimes, including robberies and motor vehicle thefts, both down about 40%.

"Today, I am proud to report that yes, Oakland is cleaner and safer and open for business," said Lee.

Some doubts

But ahead of the mayor's speech, Councilmember Noel Gallo cast doubt on the accuracy of some of the police statistics.

"Because in my area in East Oakland, they're not going down. Down my street they’re not going down," said Gallo. He also called for more involvement from the California Highway Patrol in city neighborhoods.

Overall progress

Outside City Hall, residents were divided on the city’s progress.

"As a downtown Oakland resident, I see less glass from windows being broken," said Richard Fuentes.

But others, like Jasmine Matthews, spoke about lingering property crime. "You know I can’t have friends visit and have them park their cars on the streets."

Lee also pointed to improvements in the city’s emergency response.

"For the first time in more than 20 years, every fire station is open and fully staffed," said Lee.

On homelessness and illegal dumping, Lee said more than 30 tons of trash have been cleared from areas around schools, and 30 miles of city streets have been cleaned since she took office.

"Keeping the town clean is an all-hands-on-deck pursuit, tackling gateways into Oakland and the blocks we all call home," said Lee. "We’ve got to clean the city up, and we’re doing that, but we need to do a lot more."

Lee also pointed to the passage of a balanced city budget, despite a $130 million deficit, as another early achievement in her term.

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