Poor Carroll Fife. She’s feeling “frustrated,” “maligned,” “humiliated” and put-upon, so much so that she’s “on the fence about running for re-election in 2024.” That’s according to an interview with her in Oaklandside, the Google-funded online publication that leans heavily toward the progressive side of the spectrum.
Her big gripe is that the Oakland A’s won’t talk to her about Howard Terminal. “It shows a level of either disrespect or a lack of serious interest in this [approval] process,” she whined. A self-described “key stakeholder” due to her position on the City Council, Fife complained that the A’s should be constantly consulting with her. “I’m like damn, can y’all just talk to me? Can I get a phone call?” Predictably, Fife claims the reason for this dismissal of her advice is racism. “I don’t think if I was a white man I would be in this same position having to beg a developer to have a conversation with me.”
Well, of course, with Fife everything is about racism. For all I know she blames the Drought on racism. Memo to Carroll Fife: I don’t blame the A’s for not wanting to talk to you. What’s the point? Waste of time. You’d just accuse them of being racists and abusing their “white privilege.” No one wants to have such a conversation with someone as closed-minded as you. And while we’re on the subject of “Can I get a phone call,” let me remind you, Carroll Fife, that I’ve been trying for six months to get you to call me for a cup of tea. To paraphrase you, I don’t think if I was a black man I’d be in this same position of having to beg a council member to have a conversation with me—especially since I live in D3 and I am a “key stakeholder” as President of the Coalition for a Better Oakland.
Fife drones on and on that the Howard Terminal project has not been “analyzed properly.” What a joke. It’s been the most analyzed and transparent development project in the history of Oakland. The A’s have bent over backward to involve the residents of West Oakland in the planning process. But no amount of analysis will ever be enough for Fife. It’s plain that she doesn’t want Howard Terminal to be built, under any circumstances, because it doesn’t fit in with her race-based agenda.
Fife can’t come right out and admit this, though. She has to pretend that she really, really wants a new stadium, only it has to be done right. So she hides behind the pretense that the Port of Oakland will be harmed. In this, she’s just carrying the water of her big union backers, who are opposed to the new stadium. But we know for a fact that the Howard Terminal stadium will have no negative impact on port operations. The executive director of the Port of Oakland, Danny Wan, himself said so in an April 13 opinion piece in the Mercury News. “The proposed ballpark development would provide significant returns for everyone,” he stated. “It would bring desperately needed housing to the community and boost businesses in and around Jack London Square.” He pointed out that the specific Howard Terminal acreage isn’t even used for shipping, and declared, “Using it for a stadium and housing would not alter the port’s growth trajectory.” But poor Carroll thinks she understands Port operations better than its executive director. It’s Fife’s version of The Big Lie.
It’s sad that this politician, who is supposed to represent all the people of D3 and not just black voters, is so out of touch with reality. I, for one, earnestly hope she does retire from politics. In fact, rather than merely not running again, how about quitting now, Carroll Fife?
Steve Heimoff