OAKLAND, California — With her hand on the Bible in a packed City Hall, Barbara Lee, Oakland’s favorite daughter, vowed today to put her beleaguered city “back on the right track” as she was sworn in as its 52nd mayor.
Surrounded by community leaders, former colleagues, old friends and city leadership, Lee promised that Oakland would rise again based on its diversity, energy and culture.
Although she made some reference to the massive challenges facing Oakland — from crime and soaring housing costs to homelessness and a city budget on the verge of bankruptcy — her remarks to the standing-room-only crowd primarily told a story of resilience and opportunity.
“I want to reinstill hope,” said Lee, 78, a longtime progressive stalwart in Congress who is taking on perhaps her biggest challenge in taking over a city in crisis. “You were clear about wanting a government that you can trust to solve our fiscal challenges, safety, housing and homelessness challenges. But you were always 100 percent clear about how much you love Oakland.”
Lee pivoted to run for mayor of her adopted hometown after losing her Senate primary and watching previous leader, Sheng Thao, get recalled from the office after an FBI raid on her house. Lee will now take on the stubborn crime and budget problems that dogged Thao.
The city is dealing with an estimated $87 million spending gap and teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
But in contrast to a wave of Bay Area leaders who have won recent elections based on tough-on-crime or dark narratives about their cities, Lee’s speech made no effort to blame former city leadership or reinforce the widely held image of Oakland as dangerous and crime-ridden.
Instead, she told the story of her own family’s history — her grandfather born in Galveston just two years after slavery was abolished in Texas, her father denied housing in San Leandro on the basis of his race — as a parable for a community beset by struggle with the potential to transcend its origins.
“It’s not going to be easy, but we can only do this together,” Lee said.
Lee defeated moderate former City Council member Loren Taylor with the support of labor, but she’ll have to negotiate with them over tough cuts when budget time rolls around. She pitched herself to voters as having the unique skills needed to manage all the parties involved, but actually doing so — while dealing with potential federal cuts — will be a true trial by fire.
“The budget is going to be very, very unkind to [Lee],” political consultant Jason Overman told POLITICO last month. “She’s going to be inheriting all of it but will still be expected to wave the magic wand she’s perceived to have built over the past few decades in Congress. This existential of a budget crisis has a funny way of shortening political honeymoons.”
At her swearing-in ceremony, Lee’s comments were notably light on policy specifics. She promised to spur investments in the city and spend taxpayer dollars effectively while committing to transparency and accountability. But she did not identify specific programs that will be on the chopping block, nor specific income streams or investments that would resolve the deficit.
Instead, Lee’s remarks were an exercise in inspiration. But it will take more than positive thinking to fix Oakland’s problems.
“The people closest to the challenges are the closest to the solutions,” Lee said. “There’s no time to waste.”
Jeremy B. White contributed to this report.
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