Oakland's city council demands a 125% raise while running a nine-figure deficit, Berkeley courts blocked a disease-ridden encampment cleanup for 16 months, and the Bay Area Council just handed its CEO role to Libby Schaaf — the mayor who gutted Oakland's police force and produced an indicted successor. The East Bay's leadership class keeps getting promoted past its failures.
Read Top Post →Rats at Berkeley’s Harrison Street encampment tested positive for leptospirosis in November 2025 — a tropical disease common in underdeveloped countries. A federal judge let an injunction block cleanup for three more months after the public health officer filed a court declaration. By the time Berkeley could act, the encampment had been protected from clearing for sixteen months. The same governance paralysis rotting Oakland is spreading across the East Bay.
Apr 12, 2026 · 5 min
Oakland’s City Council wants pay raises of up to 125%, pushing total compensation to $318K per member — an additional $3.04M annually for taxpayers. This from a council presiding over a nine-figure structural deficit, a gutted police force, and a city ranked second most dangerous in America. The proposal, backed by SPUR and the League of Women Voters, would benchmark Oakland pay to LA and San Diego — cities with functional governance records Oakland can’t match.
Mar 29, 2026 · 4 min
