Balanced Development

We should promote a vision which makes access to a meaningful job or business opportunity a reality for all who are prepared to take advantage.”

Greg Hodge Ideas At A Glance ::

1. Holistically looking at all angles of opportunities, instead of flat out turning them down on speculation
2. Create Meaningful Jobs
3. Cultivate Green Jobs
4. Support Re-Entry/Apprenticeship Programs

We are a city rich in cultural and intellectual assets. Our arts scene should be vibrant and fully promoted through a system of neighborhood arts centers, on-going festivals, cultural exchanges with our sister cities in Asia, the rest of the Americas and Africa.

Children should grow up exposed not only to the symphony and ballet, but the folkloric dance, dramas, spoken word, hip hop and the wealth of cultural expression represented by this, one of the most diverse cities in the world. By way of example, the Alice Arts Center should be promoted as a place where classes and workshops are accessible to more and more people, where residents and visitors to our city can count on a steady stream of performances; where a rich source of artists in residence in the schools are trained and deployed; and where a vibrant after-hours café scene is promoted.

Now is the time to promote a new kind of leadership in Oakland at all levels of governance - regardless of age, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, gender, physical abilities. It is time for a new leadership to emerge with our own sense of compassion, civic fairness and practical idealism to exert our skills and will to improve the quality of life in Oakland by addressing basic problems with integrity. There is no room for mediocrity in the operations of the City. Excellence should be promoted and rewarded.

On Balance ::

My key approach is balance. A complete moratorium is probably impractical. A wide open, free market approach is probably too unsupportive for small business. Big box stores in the context of other development which supports and nurtures small business could be workable. When I consider how Home Depot, Pak and Save and others in Emeryville became a catalyst for a revitalized area, I know there are lessons that we can learn. West Oakland should have been a part of that growth. Our City leadership failed to make that part of the city attractive enough to make real progress. I hope we don’t make the same mistakes when the Oakland Army Base is finally redeveloped.

I think that Oakland needs a comprehensive approach to development which includes a Community Benefits agreement policy which applies to all new construction projects, not the piece-meal approach that we have now. The City’s Master Plan should be updated based on current realities and future needs.

What We Don’t Need ::

Old style, machine politics of patronage and croonyism has corrupted much of what we call politics and has caused our citizens to be apathetic and cynical. We don’t vote in the numbers that we should, we don’t volunteer and get engaged in civic life in proactive ways to the extent possible, we don’t encourage our best and brightest to seek public office. We must acknowledge leadership along a range of interests and concerns. We should train, promote and encourage:

* Policy leaders who understand what it means to create a framework of participation, inclusion and accountability

* Cultural leaders who value and respect difference, promote our rich community assets and expand our thinking to a global community.

* Spiritual Leaders who are progressive and work to solve problems in the neighborhoods where our people live.

* Educational leaders who can take the best thinking from around the country as well as from home to create a system of school choices which “leave no child behind”.

* Economic leaders who can work creatively with the best technology and methods at our disposal to create new areas of employment, bolster traditional ones and work to build trade with other countries on our city’s behalf.

* Civic leaders who communicate openly and honestly, and act in ways that are worthy of our trust.

On Local Economy ::

We need to invest in more Green economy training, apprenticeship programs and jobs. We could be an incubator city for innovation in this arena.

On Green Building ::

I think that we should be working with labor and industry to make it a green building standards a reality. All public buildings, over time, should be retrofitted to solar and other alternative energy sources. It could be done as a “Works Progress Administration –like” jobs effort. We have to create the resources to train, hire and retain an intergenerational workforce that builds our city up.

On Labor / Public Services ::

Generally, I believe that workers, no matter what trade or profession should be treated with utmost respect and trust. I also believe that we should all be held accountable for the jobs and functions that we perform which are funded and supported by the public’s tax dollar.

Demand for local services has been outpacing revenue growth for a number of years. Workers have been asked to take on more and more work as a result, but are reaching the breaking point and services are suffering as a result. What, if any new revenue sources would you support to address this problem? We need to overhaul our tax system in the state to require that the wealthiest corporations and individuals pay an equitable share to support public employees and the critical functions they provide. For example, Proposition 13 should be amended to create a more equitable taxing structure.

On Affordable Housing ::

Historically, there has been a lack of affordable housing for teachers and other public workers. We need to have community benefit agreements with developers to create more housing stock for teachers, police officers and others who should live and work in the City.