POLICY
Housing
Shawn will enter the job with powerful, equity-forward policies on Day One. For example, Shawn has penned a zero displacement housing program that will support inclusive growth and keeping families in Oakland, all while expanding housing opportunities for refugees, immigrants, the LGBTQIA+ population, and former Oakland residents that were displaced over the last century. His zero displacement housing program will ensure that residents will have the option to stay in place, all while expanding housing opportunities and building intergenerational wealth for themselves and their loved ones.
Transportation
Shawn cares deeply about climate equity and is keenly aware of the harms that urban renewal and the construction of highways had on Oakland’s communities and wealth. Shawn will prioritize right-sizing our infrastructure to be human-scale and safe for Oaklanders in the short and long term. He will help the City redesign its streets to move us efficiently and affordably by protecting residents in wheelchairs, on bicycles, and on foot. Shawn has worked to help Cities prioritize green infrastructure and transportation, building incentives into statewide policies for supporting buses and efforts that keep pedestrians safe. In addition, Shawn serves on the Board of Directors for TransForm and Transport Oakland, two advocacy groups that center people and equity in advocating on how we move around our Cities.
Small Business and Economic Development
Shawn is passionate about supporting local businesses and has day one policies that will make it easier and more affordable to start businesses in the community, including cafes, corner markets, restaurants, and many others. Shawn is an expert on zoning and the rules that govern what can be built in our Cities. In addition to bringing back the neighborhood market, he is able to connect issues of housing, transportation, and economic development in ways that will ensure Oakland is prosperous and the wealth that we create is equitably shared.
Recalls
Currently, both the Alameda County District Attorney Pamela and the Mayor for the City of Oakland Sheng Thao are facing a recall. Neither of those recalls are merited. Recalls in California are usually funded by multi-millionaires and billionaires who live outside of the City they target and once the recall gets put on the ballot, they cost taxpayers of millions of dollars. Mayor Sheng Thao has a strong track record on supporting safe streets and walkability; District Attorney Pamela Price has the knowledge and recognition that increasing jail time does not repair or rehabilitate our City’s most vulnerable members.
Public Safety
Oakland is struggling with public safety in a way that many of us feel every day. In the last two years, I have experienced racialized violence for being Jewish, a car theft on my block, a hit and run that totaled my partner’s car, and three separate instances smashed windows near the downtown. Emergency response times urgently need to improve, and programs like Ceasefire Oakland need to be doubled down on to support our City’s most vulnerable residents. We need to rethink how we handle criminal justice as a City, state, and country. Incarcerating someone costs about $100,000 per person per year, and our justice system needs to focus much more on rehabilitation than punishment. Lastly, police have their role, but there are circumstances in which community resource officers and technology can enforce our laws more equitably and efficiently.
Cost of Living
Shawn is keenly aware of the crippling effects of the last 15 years of rising prices on housing, food, education, transportation and so many other basic needs. Shawn’s policies will put downward pricing pressure on housing, making home ownership far more accessible to generations that have largely been left out of California’s prosperity. Shawn also cares deeply about the cost of child care and feels strongly that being a parent should not come at the expense of our financial stability. Shawn’s policy strategies, such as streamlining coliving arrangements and expanding access to childcare, will make parenting in Oakland significantly more accessible.
Workers and Unions
Shawn has been a proud dues paying member of two strong unions over the last five years and cares deeply about supporting workers. Shawn will propose legislation to move Oakland City staff to a four-day, 36-hour work week, to ensure that public servants have good work life balance, while exploring ways to expand this schedule to other industries. Policies like this may be branded as extreme, but the truth is the City of Alameda, directly South of Oakland’s Jack London Square, has this exact policy codified, and the City still functions great. Shawn will propose legislation that will guarantee workers a share of revenue in the businesses where they work to help Oaklanders share in the wealth we create in our City.
Climate Change
Understanding that climate change is among the greatest threats to humanity is a guiding principle at the center of this campaign. The reason Shawn became so invested in housing policy was to help reimagine our built environment to be more human-scale. The reality is the UN Intergovernmental on Climate Change gives us until 2030 to reach net zero emissions and no politician is moving at an urgency that reflects this reality. As a former climate organizer and current board member of two transit-focused non-profits, Shawn is the climate candidate in this race, and his policies will help us be a more sustainable City, both financially and environmentally.