You may have noticed that over the months Carroll Fife has pretended to care about pedestrian safety, which she blabs about all the time. She has nothing to say about Sheng Thao’s scandals, or Oakland’s horrendous crime rate, for which she’s partly responsible, or about the burgeoning homeless encampments that degrade the district, including Lakeside Park, or about the businesses that daily abandon Oakland, further eroding our tax base.
But pedestrian safety? Really, Ms. Fife? That’s your main issue running for re-election?
Now, she’s out there ranting about the intersection of Bay Place and Montecito Avenue, which is something I know a lot about since that’s where I live. Here’s what she tweeted about a community meeting she called: “This weekend! Families and students have been calling for traffic safety improvements to the Bay Place and Montecito Ave intersection. My office has heard these calls and is allocating discretionary funds for infrastructure improvements in the area.”
A few points. First, Fife always uses the excuse that people “have been calling” on her to do things. (Or her other favorite line: “I’m hearing from a lot of people…”.) It’s her way of pretending that something she wants to do is supported by “the community.” Well, no one I know is concerned about the Bay Place-Montecito Ave. intersection. There are stop signs on both streets, going both ways. There’s a crosswalk for pedestrians to use. Drivers are pretty polite about stopping for walkers, especially seniors. There’s no issue there nor has there ever been. So what is Fife talking about?
Now, I do know that St. Paul’s Tower is there, with its hundreds of senior citizens, and I see them out there all the time. Never have I seen a problem, including with myself, and I’m a senior citizen. I have no idea what kinds of “infrastructure improvements” Fife is thinking of. Another traffic light? No, for crying out loud. A flashing beacon light would be okay, but when the city is bankrupt, do we really need one? Nor can I imagine where Fife intends to find the “discretionary funds” to pay for them.
Memo to Fife: Oakland has no discretionary funds. The city is deadbeat broke, thanks to you and your tax-and-spend fellow wokes on the City Council. There’s not a dime in any department to be spared—unless we kill off your useless Department of Violence Prevention. You’re inventing a problem that doesn’t exist, in order to do--what? Create a consulting gig for your boyfriend? Pay off some union donors?
I don’t know what’s going on here, but with Fife, there’s always something shady going on. She has no connection to the neighborhood. I’ve never received a piece of mail from her, or heard of a public meeting, until she called this one—for which I saw not a single leaflet or ad. She has always assumed she’d be re-elected because (1) the District is a very transient one, with people constantly moving in and out, so voters never really get to know her, and (2) she has a reputation for being pro-homeless, which is very popular among low-information young voters. The same people who elected her in 2020 (if they still live here) are likely to vote for her again. They don’t like all the criminal activity and filth, but don’t realize that Fife, more than any other elected official, is responsible for them.
I’ll try to get more info on the “infrastructure improvements” but, to be honest, Fife’s office never responds to inquiries from constituents. She is the laziest, least transparent council member we’ve ever had (her predecessor, Lynette Gibson McElhaney, by contrast was wonderful, and we miss her). Carroll Fife has one gear she’s permanently stuck in: racial animus. Pedestrian safety? Please. It’s a shiny object to distract public attention from her utter irresponsibility.
Please have a great, safe weekend! Back on Monday.
Steve Heimoff