Oakland takes Quan-tum leap with new mayor

By Lillian Mongeau

When Jean Quan began campaigning to be the mayor of Oakland, she promised to clean up Oakland’s neighborhoods and improve the city’s schools. Quan’s win surprised those who expected front-runner Don Perata to sweep to victory. But when the new, ranked-choice voting system took second choices into account, Quan pulled ahead.

Since Quan took office in January, Governor Jerry Brown has proposed millions in funding cuts to city’s redevelopment funds. Ten people have been murdered in Oakland, not counting the three killed in officer-involved shootings. And the schools are looking at more teacher lay-offs and deeper cuts than they have for years.

These are big roadblocks for the new mayor, but so far they haven’t slowed her down. Reporter Lillian Mongeau spent time with Quan during her first weeks on the job to see what it’s like to be Oakland’s new multi-tasker-in-chief.

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LILLIAN MONGEAU: Jean Quan’s only been on the job for a little more than two months, but she’s already doing things differently than Oakland’s last mayor. For one thing, she talks to the press ... a lot. And they can’t get enough of her. Quan spent eight years on city council and 12 years on the school board, but she says all the new attention still surprises her.

MAYOR JEAN QUAN: I have to laugh. There was something like 350 news agencies carried the story about us going to the White House for dinner. I wish that some of the other things I’d done for the city had gotten as much publicity.

Things like writing Measure Y, which funds outreach to troubled youth in Oakland’s toughest neighborhoods. On this morning, she’s speaking to the newest crop of outreach workers.

MAYOR QUAN: We are counting on you, literally, to save lives in this city, you know that. We’re already up to nine murders, right. And if we go at this rate we’d be at 108. And I need you guys to help me make sure it’s low – at least as low as last year.

That’s a tall order. The Oakland Police Department laid off 80 officers last summer, and in mid-January there were rumors that Oakland’s new police chief, Anthony Batts, would leave office. On the day Batts decided to stay, it was back to the press for Quan…

MAYOR QUAN: I’m very pleased to hear that and we’ve had some very interesting discussions about what we need to do in the next year or so.

Quan’s willing to answer questions, but she tells reporters to keep things short.

MAYOR QUAN (laughing): We’re trying to be open to you guys, but we need you not to take over my whole day.

That’s because she’s got things to do. Today, she’s going to knock on doors in West Oakland and invite people to a neighborhood meeting. It’s one of many community events she’s prioritizing these days. The sharp-dressing, frank-talking mayor keeps her schedule packed. And she doesn’t go anywhere without her bright pink iPhone. She snaps pictures, she updates her Twitter account and she keeps track of her hectic schedule.

MAYOR QUAN: What am I running off to now? For this morning I talked to waste management; I came to talk to these kids. I’m probably having a staff meeting and then we’re going to have a joint meeting between the school district cabinet meeting and then, let’s see, what else are we doing? Hold on…  

So far, Quan’s getting pretty good reviews from her constituents. Even so, her victory surprised a lot of people. Former state Senator Don Perata was the favorite in the mayor’s race but the new ranked-choice voting system put Quan out ahead – just barely. I asked her if she felt like her win was a fluke.

MAYOR QUAN: No. I mean, the reality is I got more votes than Jerry Brown or Ron Dellums. So, I don’t know if it’s because I’m a woman or because people just expected the guy with more money to win. But I find constantly the media and other people just trying to demean this victory for people. People need to get that an instant run-off election is just as valid as any other election.

Quan’s victory was the result of two years of door-to-door campaigning, and now that she has the top job, she is determined to make her mark. One of her priorities is to focus on neglected neighborhoods like East and West Oakland. That’s what won over resident Katrina Dowthard. 

KATRINA DOWTHARD: She just came over to me to be very genuine and I really believed what she was saying. And then as soon as she was elected, I saw her on the streets of East Oakland. I was like, “There you go, we made a good choice.”

Dowthard says Quan has proven she cares just by showing up in Oakland’s rough neighborhoods.

DOWTHARD: Because that’s where the streets is like drugs and gangs and most people are afraid or if they live a better life than the people do, they don’t want to come down to the people’s level and they are afraid to come down. But she came down and she wasn’t afraid. She was meeting people, she was shaking people’s hand and that’s heartfelt, that’s heart-touching to know she’s a good candidate. She’s going to be a great mayor. 

Quan is hoping to meet those high expectations. It was a long road for her to get here, so I had to ask…

MONGEAU: What’s it like to wake up now and actually be the mayor of Oakland?

MAYOR QUAN: I’m just very proud and you know when you’re a city council member and you want to do things, you have to cajole the bureaucracy to do it. It’s great to be the mayor and say, “Okay, we’re going to do this.”

Being mayor of Oakland won’t get any easier, but don’t expect Quan to dwell on it. She’s too busy trying to see what she can do next.

For Crosscurrents, I’m Lillian Mongeau.

Lillian Mongeau is a student at U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. Listen to an interview with Mayor Quan here.