Thao, desperate to avoid recall, claims to get tough on encampments

Following aggressive crackdowns on encampments in San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, Fremont, Martinez and Richmond, Sheng Thao tells us she’s joining her fellow Bay Area mayors in rousting encampments in Oakland.

Here’s her full statement, released on Twitter:

“Today, I am issuing an executive order directing all city departments—including the Police, Fire, Transportation, and Public Works—to fully enforce our Encampment Management Policy and uphold municipal codes that protect critical and essential infrastructure throughout Oakland.

I want to be clear: this is work we have already been doing, as seen in the clearing of Wood Street, which was the largest encampment in Northern California. While this effort will not be completed overnight, the recent Supreme Court decision on Grants Pass allows us to proceed more efficiently.

Being unhoused is not a crime in Oakland, but it does not give anyone the right to break other laws. We must return public spaces to the public—and do so with compassion.

With this order, we will prioritize the closure of encampments under the following conditions: -If they encroach on safe routes to schools, tot lots, and playgrounds, or impede access to small businesses. -If they block traffic lanes, bike lanes, or sidewalks, preventing ADA compliance. -If they impede the ability of first responders—like firefighters—to perform their duties. Departments are directed to ticket, tow, or remove encroachments to preserve access. -If they create fire hazards by blocking hydrants, burning fires within 30 feet of structures, or illegally tapping into electrical wires. -If they pose risks to critical infrastructure like freeway overpasses or BART tracks, or if people are living dangerously close to trains and vehicles. -If unsafe or combustible materials such as gasoline and propane are being stored, or if biological waste poses an environmental risk to our drains and waterways.

It is vital that the City of Oakland implements the Encampment Management Plan as written, and I am directing the City Administrator to enforce all municipal codes to ensure we address this issue citywide. We must minimize the impact on our citizens while offering shelter and putting our unhoused neighbors on a path to dignified housing.

I understand these challenges on a personal level. As a domestic violence survivor who was once unhoused and living in a car with my son, I never sought to pitch a tent—I sought affordable housing and services, for which I was deeply grateful. This is why we will continue offering services and support to those who need them, because living on the streets is neither safe nor dignified.”

Before we start popping the champagne corks, let’s understand a few things. First, Thao could have done this at any time. She didn’t, because she’s always cared more about protecting the “rights” of homeless people than about keeping our streets and public spaces clean and safe. She got elected on a progressive slate that actually invited homeless people to relocate to Oakland because “you’re our brothers and sisters.” Thao only started caring about encampments when (a) the other cities did and (b) she had to resort to some kind of stunt in order to avoid being recalled in November.

Let’s remember that the Encampment Management Policy was drafted by the City Council, including Thao, four years ago. It never went into effect, because the progressive unions and race-based non-profits that control elections in Oakland didn’t want like it. Now, suddenly Thao has this change of heart. Look, Thao was forced to do this because the vast majority of Oaklanders really hate homeless encampments and want them gone. Thao didn’t even include parks in her no-go list. I guarantee you this: no action will be taken to clear encampments even from the places identified in Thao’s edict. I refer specifically not only to Lakeside Park, which is worse than ever, but to the horrible slum of tents, shanties, garbage and junk that has existed for years along a half-mile stretch of the Lake Merritt Channel, which connects Lake Merritt to the Estuary. Millions of dollars were spent cleaning up this area and creating a public walkway through the habitat of tidal wetlands, wildlife, native plants and scenic vistas. Running west from Lake Merritt Boulevard, alongside the Laney College campus to the Embarcadero, Brooklyn Basin and Jack London Square, the Channel project was supposed to “maintain the glory of Lake Merritt.” Instead, it’s become a no-mans-land of filth and degradation that most people avoid like the plague, especially at night. This is the epitome of urban blight, easily as bad as Wood Street at its worst, rat-plagued and scary. The slum clearly “poses an environmental risk to our drains and waterways,” as referenced in Thao’s statement, with all the garbage, excrement, rust and toxic chemicals that the homeless introduce into the water.

Will Madame Mayor clear Lakeside Park of all the tents? Will she clean up Lake Merritt Channel? Let these be her test cases. I’ll let you know.

Steve Heimoff