Lynette McElhaney, our new City Councilwoman for Oakland District 3, opened her first community meeting with strong promises of change despite the many challenges she faces as part of City Hall’s freshman class. An eloquent speaker, she stressed that hope hangs on participation.  “I want to make this part of the city reflect the beauty of its people… a place where it is safe to work, live, worship, and play.”  She acknowledged the past wrongs by the government and focused on opportunities like attracting new businesses to West Oakland and supporting the artists and small business owners that already favor the low rents and agreeable zoning.
At the WOCA (West Oakland Commerce Association) Luncheon on January 31st, McElhaney addressed three main points: economic development, safety, and family.  She stressed job creation for West Oakland residents, the need to build and strengthen the schools and provide a decent education and the need for an accountable, transparent, efficient and well-staffed police force.
She listed many of the challenges in addressing these goals, most notably that 40% of children in her district are foster kids, many of which involve multiple generations in foster care, and that the new Public Safety Committee has no tenured leadership. Despite these challenges, she sees the solutions already existing in the people here.  “In our own families, we take care of each other.  We can show that we can do that as a community.”  She further illustrated that by working together the West Oakland narrative can shift to represent the real story of the residents and businesses that call it home.

We have this opportunity. The West Oakland Specific Plan (WOSP) has already seen massive shifts because of public outcry, and we have seen what can happen when we show up and speak out. We must add our voices to the mix if we want a future West Oakland that better supports the artistic community.

Get involved.
Let Lynette McElhaney hear your voice. Write her at: LMcElhaney@oaklandnet.com
Attend the next WOCA meeting Find out more here: http://www.woca.biz/
Get more information on the WOSP write: westoaklandspecificplan@oaklandnet.com

Special Thanks to Jake Wood for editing assistance