League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Alameda County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Saied R Karamooz Answers Questions Candidate for Mayor; City of Oakland

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Oakland and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. Oakland sits on the Bay, and the waterfront, downtown, and West Oakland areas are particularly low-lying. With climate change bringing major changes, including sea level rise, what are your plans to bring this to the forefront of the Oakland mayor's agenda?

To address the impact of climate change properly, we must embark on a comprehensive regional approach that addresses the needs of all cities with a coastline. Based on my research and knowledge, the most optimal solution is one that manages the flow of water under the Golden Gate bridge into the bay. As such, I would reach out to the mayors of other impacted cities to convene a meeting and define a long-term solution that is devised and supported by all.

2. What is your vision for Oakland, i.e., what issues are of special interest and concern and what ideas do you have to put Oakland in the forefront?

Oakland must rise to be the Crown Jewel of Bay Area. In every respect, Oakland has distinct advantages over every other city in the region, such as a vibrant and diverse community, superior climate, excellent access to transit (roads, BART, ferry, AC Transit, etc.), and a large land mass. The only obstacle in Oakland's path to achieve its rightful magnificence is a city government that is beholden to deep pockets and special interests instead of its citizens.

As my first initiative, I will bring 100% instant transparency into the mayor's office by instituting a program whereby 5 citizens (who have previously registered) are selected at random to accompany the mayor each week.

Secondly, I will assign one individual on my staff to be solely focused on housing issues for the low income. This role would be funded by a 50% reduction in mayor's salary during my term. The initial assignment of this role would be to inventory the current volume of affordable homes by type and by neighborhood so that we can enforce a no net loss policy for affordable homes. In addition, this role would work with other city departments to ensure that all rental homes are compliant with all building, safety, and health codes.

Finally, I will work to strengthen a spirit of cooperation and community throughout the city by implementing a 1-day-a-year volunteer program to enable our citizens to work on Public Works Project to beautify our city. In addition to seeing a markedly more attractive city, we will forge friendships at these volunteer events that will enrich our lives immensely.

I am certain that within 6 months we will see a more energized, enthusiastic, and optimistic Oakland.

3. How would you address continuing high rates of crime in Oakland?

As for violence in our neighborhoods, I believe that it is predominantly a function of frustration in our low-income communities due to lack of employment opportunities and inadequate living conditions. Therefore, I genuinely believe that addressing the two key issues of Quality and Affordable Housing and Full Employment will result in a precipitous reduction in crime.

Furthermore, I believe that we need to address crime with a different fundamental approach. As such, I would expand the Community Policing to embrace the Community Prosecution model that has proven effective in many cities around the country and some success when piloted in Oakland previously. It is commonly accepted that Community Prosecution has 3 distinct characteristics that render it far more effective in controlling crime than traditional prosecution as listed below:

1. Community Engagement. Establish a connection between the prosecutor's office and their constituents to improve neighborhood safety and confidence in the justice system.

2. Partnership. Expand involvement of other government agencies, community-based organizations, and local residents to define and execute more robust crime control strategies.

3. Problem Solving. Instead of sole focus on prosecuting offenders, use the data to formulate programs that prevent recurrence of crime.

4. While most of the Bay Area has the lowest unemployment rate in the state, Oakland is still in trouble. How do you plan to stimulate the economy in Oakland?

Our economy will get stimulated when we have a broad employment base that benefits all of our citizens. As such, I will embark on a multi-faceted approach to address our immediate and medium term needs while building the foundation for our future. Initially, I will work with local and large national employers to create immediate employment opportunities for our citizens. In particular, I would pursue 2 types of employment opportunities:

1. Call centers. Attract companies with large call centers to locate a portion of their operations in Oakland to take advantage of our high concentration of multi-lingual individuals.

2. Light manufacturing with an artistic flair. Small to medium operations with initial focus on bicycles and urban beautification equipment (e.g., park benches, bike racks, playground equipment, etc.). There is a rapidly growing national trend in high priced custom bikes and bikes targeted for the Bike Share programs. The added benefit of targeting the Bike Share programs is that we would be able to expand into other aspects of the value chain (e.g., installation, membership services, repairs, etc.). Manufacturing of urban beautification equipment is in many ways complementary to bike building.

To address our medium term challenges, I would work with local developers and academic institutions to ramp up vocational training for our young men and women who intend to enter the workforce after high school so that they have the highly needed construction-related skills to become gainfully employed upon graduation.

Finally, to ensure enduring economic vitality, I will pursue incubation opportunities with small companies in emerging technologies, such as renewable energy, bioengineering, and clean manufacturing. Each of these pursuits will not only present a substantial upside if/when the ventures expand, but also attract affinity services and commerce in the interim.

This multi-faceted approach is certain to have a profound impact on the growth trajectory of our economic viability.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. References to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: September 16, 2014 21:08
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