Oakland has a $170 million dollar budget deficit. If we can't balance our budget, the city will be forced to make painful cuts to public safety services and other city services. My experience is designing and managing large government budgets with an eye towards efficiency and maximum service delivery.

1. Stop crime: declines in sales tax, real estate transfer tax, and hotel tax revenue are all linked to our public safety crisis. Our public safety crisis drains the resources we need to address other priorities.

2. Ensure accountability and root out corruption in all spending: the City Auditor found over $60 million for homeless support contractors was spent without any accountability. We must track results and focus limited resources on programs that can prove results. There's also extraordinary reporting on corrupt spending in our city that we need to seriously address.

3. Refinance pension interest payments: We spend $133 million annually on interest costs associated with city pensions. With the recent rate cut, and the prospect of more, refinancing interest payments could make a big difference.

4. Consolidate administrative expenses across departments: payroll consolidation in the recent budget was a good start, let's look for more opportunities. I used to work for the city of Boston and have professional experience finding savings and service improvements in this area.

5. Win grants: Oakland was the only city in California to miss a $15 million retail theft grant. My experience in the Biden-Harris Administration was launching multibillion dollar grants. I'll make sure we take advantage of every grant opportunity that our tax dollars already pay for.

6. Bring in revenue: New York City earns $40 million annually by selling advertising space on bus stops. We won't bring in that much, but selling advertisement space on city property could help. Let's also lease city land for badly needed apartments. This will give renters more options and bring in city revenue.

My Budget Plan