Do you believe Barbara Lee’s calls for bipartisanship? I don’t. Not for a minute. This is a far-left politician who didn’t show a bipartisan bone in her body during nearly 30 years in Congress. She was known as one of the most partisan members of the House of Representatives, and she never sponsored legislation that garnered support from Republicans. Indeed, Lee practically never sponsored legislation at all. She was essentially a do-nothing functionary who went along with the Democratic agenda like a loyal foot soldier.
Now that she’s our mayor, here’s her “Plan for the first 100 days.” I’ll put her own words in italics, followed by my commentary.
1. Bring together Police Department leadership and representatives from all business corridors to coordinate and improve public safety strategies.
My commentary: And she will lead everyone in singing “Kumbaya” around the drum circle. What does Lee actually mean? She’ll hold meetings and then issue press releases touting how wonderful they were. Do you think that OPD brass and local business leaders haven’t been meeting all along? Of course they have; they don’t need a publicity hound like Lee to summon them. What they’re been meeting about is how to persuade the City Council to fully fund the police, but since the Council has been stuffed with Lee’s anti-police protégés, they’ve refused to, and that won’t change now that Lee’s mayor.
2. Focus on securing Oakland’s fair share of money from Alameda County to address our homeless crisis.
My commentary: How will we know Lee is “focusing”? Don’t ask me. We’ll know when we see Alameda County giving Oakland hundreds of millions of dollars, not for “our homeless crisis” (it would just be wasted, like all the rest of the money), but to bolster OPD.
3. Convene the CEOs of the 10 largest Oakland employers to discuss public-private initiatives that can improve Oakland’s economy and increase public safety.
My commentary: So Lee will “convene” (love that word) the heads of Kaiser, Clorox, Pandora, Southwest Airlines, etc. etc. and ask them to give her hundreds of millions of dollars to use for unspecified purposes. Right…
4. Deploy vegetation management crews to clear hazards in the city’s high fire danger zones.
My commentary: Sounds good. I fully support it.
5. Appoint a taskforce of League of Women Voters, ethics, and good government experts to modernize Oakland’s Charter and strengthen government accountability.
My commentary: Ha ha ha. ROTFLOL. Tell you what, Mayor Lee, put me on your task force and I promise I’ll strengthen government accountability by impeaching Carroll Fife and every other woke radical on the City Council. I will also immediately end closed sessions of the Council, the Police Commission and all other agencies. But you won’t, Mayor Lee, because you do your dirty work behind closed doors.
6. Direct permitting reform to streamline city processes and reduce bureaucracy for small businesses.
My commentary: I’ll believe it when I see it—when downtown actually fills up with real businesses that are not dispensaries or nail parlors.
7. Generate entrepreneurial and philanthropic investment in Oakland by convening local, state, and national civic leaders.
My commentary: How nice—a convention of national civic leaders and philanthropists to fix Oakland. Let’s see, we can invite Bill Gates and Warren Buffett and Bill Clinton and Oprah and Robert De Niro and George Soros and the Sultan of Swahooh and have a big party where Mayor Lee asks everyone to pitch in, and when people ask “For what?” and Lee answers, “For the homeless,” everyone immediately leaves.
8. Staff up blight reductions crews and partner with District Attorney’s Office to aggressively prosecute illegal dumping.
My commentary: Great idea! Why didn’t someone think of it before? Prosecuting illegal dumping! Who woulda thunk? Three points to Barbara Lee for out-of-the-box thinking!
9. Direct the City Council to pass a budget that prioritizes public safety and stabilizes the city’s finances.
My commentary: “Directive from Mayor Lee to Oakland City Council: It is hereby proclaimed that you shall pass a budget that prioritizes public safety. And [wink wink nod nod] you shall continue to badger, hamper and hobble the police department through continued cuts to their budget and through funding of the Police Commission and all other anti-police agencies.”
10.Audit city contracts to ensure public funds are being spent effectively by contractors and non-profits.
My commentary: And continue to ensure that public funds are routed to Black-run programs run by shady characters that are accountable to no one. This will have the support of the unions and the Black Panther Party.
Well [this is Steve again] I think it can be safely said that Lee’s 100-day plan is a joke. And an insult to our intelligence. But progressives will love it because, hey, it’s from the Godmother of Woke, Babs Lee, and they’ll support her as she leads them off the cliff.
Steve Heimoff