Libby Schaaf Failed Oakland. She Just Got Promoted.

The Bay Area Council just named former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf as its new CEO — handing the region’s most influential business advocacy organization to a mayor who gutted her city’s police force, drove out businesses, settled her own ethics violations for $21,000, and built the political machine that produced an indicted successor. This is a classic example of failing upwards.

Schaaf’s legacy speaks for itself. Oakland’s police force collapsed to roughly 515 working officers, producing 11.1 violent crimes per sworn officer — the highest rate among comparable US cities. US News & World Report ranked Oakland the second most dangerous place to live in America. There is a mass exodus of businesses fleeing crime. The A’s departed in one of the most epic failures in government in the Bay Area. Oakland’s credit rating was slashed. And the successor Schaaf’s machine left behind, Sheng Thao, was recalled by over 60% of voters and then indicted on federal bribery charges facing 95 years in prison

That’s the résumé the Bay Area Council, which represents thousands of companies across nine counties, just rewarded with its top job.

The Policing Collapse

Oakland’s police force declined from a peak of over 800 officers to under 690 during Schaaf’s eight years as mayor. A PFM study found OPD needs a minimum of 877 sworn officers. Today the city has roughly 515 officers actually working beats, with 11.1 violent crimes per sworn officer. That’s the highest rate among comparable US cities. For families in East Oakland, that’s the difference between a 911 call that gets answered and one that doesn’t.

US News & World Report ranked Oakland the second most dangerous place to live in America.

By December 2021, Schaaf was asking Governor Newsom for state law enforcement help to stem the violent crime surge. That’s the mayor of Oakland, on the record, admitting her own city couldn’t keep people safe.

The Business Exodus

The person promising to attract business talent for the whole Bay Area is infamous for repelling them. Thousands of businesses shuttered after a progressive business tax passed. The Howard Terminal stadium deal collapsed during Schaaf’s watch, paving the way for the A’s to leave town, one of the most epic failures in government in the Bay Area.

While businesses fled and the police force collapsed, Schaaf’s marquee policy announcement was Oakland Resilient Families — a guaranteed income pilot launched in March 2021 giving $500/month to 600 low-income families of color for 18 months. CNN covered the launch as a national model. Within weeks, the program was embroiled in Equal Protection challenges over its race-exclusive eligibility criteria, and by April 2021 the city quietly walked back the racial exclusivity under legal pressure. That’s where the political capital went — towards virtue signaling.

Oakland’s bond and credit ratings were slashed while the mayor talked about progressive values.

And then there’s the matter of Schaaf’s own conduct. In October 2024, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission charged her with serious violations of the city’s election laws. The commission rejected the first proposed settlement as too lenient. Schaaf ultimately paid $21,000 to settle the charges and avoid criminal prosecution — all while running for State Treasurer.

The Bay Area Council is supposed to be the region’s institutional voice for accountability. They hired someone who had to write a five-figure check to avoid being prosecuted for violating the rules governing her own office. No VC would fund a founder whose last company lost its anchor customers, saw its credit downgraded, and faced multiple legal challenges. Track records matter. They should matter at the Bay Area Council too.

The Successor She Enabled

Schaaf’s legacy extends to her successor. Schaaf’s political machine produced Sheng Thao as Oakland’s next mayor. Over 60% of Oakland voters recalled Thao, making her the first mayor in Oakland’s history to be recalled. She was then indicted on federal bribery charges, facing 95 years in prison.

When the person who succeeds you gets recalled by a supermajority and indicted for corruption, that’s not bad luck. That’s evidence of a dysfunctional system you helped build.

What the Council’s Board Owes the Region

Bay Area politics rewards failure with promotion. You can preside over a city that loses its police force, its baseball team, its credit rating, and its businesses — and then land the top job at the region’s most powerful business lobby. The incentive structure is completely broken. As long as the right credentials and the right affiliations matter more than outcomes, the people running Bay Area institutions will keep optimizing for politics instead of performance.

The Bay Area Council’s board represents thousands of companies and millions of workers. They have a responsibility to speak up for free enterprise and the ability to create jobs. That means demanding actual results from their new CEO — not applauding political credentials that were earned while a city fell apart. Measurable gains in transit reliability, housing production, and business retention. Timelines. Accountability. The things any serious board demands of any serious executive.

Schaaf says she’ll focus on transit, housing, and business talent. In Oakland, transit riders got a city too dangerous to walk to the station. Housing policy delivered fleeing residents and a gutted tax base. Business talent? She chased businesses away.

The Bay Area is too important for a second run of that playbook.