The thing about Sheng Thao is that she really thinks we’re stupid. Her disrespect for us Oaklanders is exhibited every time she makes a public statement.
The latest example, which I blogged about yesterday, was the highly misleading way she described her proposed budget. Her press release about all the recent murders in Oakland stated “Mayor Thao…is NOT [sic] laying off any sworn personnel, including police officers and firefighters.” This is supposed to convince us that Thao is not trying to drastically cut OPD’s budget.
While it may be technically true that she isn’t “laying off” cops, she is reducing the number of police officers in Oakland by freezing dozens of vacant positions, meaning they’ll go unfilled until further notice. The end result will be the same: far fewer cops. Let me explain something to Thao she may not comprehend: Freezing police positions is exactly the same as firing cops. No damned difference. Get it, Madame Mayor?
Why the local media aren’t exposing this double-talk is beyond me. Maybe they don’t like cops and are glad that an anti-police cult is in charge of Oakland. Even Oaklandside, which claims to be so holier-than-thou excellent, reported Thao’s budget only perfunctorily, quoting Dan Kalb, whose incoherence has reached new depths, and Treva Reid, who claimed to be concerned about the budget cuts on Ceasefire. Well, I’ll guarantee you this: Kalb and Reid both will vote for Thao’s budget. They’re not serious about public safety, and never have been. If they were, they would have gone to war with Thao (as well as with Fife, Bas and Kaplan) long ago. But their acquiescence with police hatred over the years has sullied their careers.
Meanwhile, Thao is out there patting herself on the back for the reported decreases in crime. Yesterday, she posted on Facebook, “Thank you for your support, Governor Newsom. Our collaborative work exemplifies good governance in action. With CHP surges, the redeployment of our foot patrols, and our revamped Ceasefire program, we are seeing a decrease in crime across the board in Oakland.” This was in reference to Newsom sending in California Highway Patrol officers to Oakland to fight crime; the move was justified and much needed because the City Council’s previous budget cuts to OPD so weakened the department that it needed outside help. It’s true that some reported crime categories are temporarily down in Oakland, but that’s true for two reasons: (1) crime is down in all major cities in the U.S., and (2) CHP is doing an excellent job busting bad guys. Yet notice how Thao manages to get that word “collaborative” in there. She makes it sound like she should get at least as much credit as CHP. Thao’s Achilles heel is her proposed budget, with all of its frozen positions. Sorry, Madame Mayor, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t hobble OPD and then claim credit for “a decrease in crime.”
Meanwhile, Pamela Price is going to have to make a tough decision in coming days. Remember her promises not to charge anyone below the age of 25 with felonies, especially if they’re Black? Remember her vows not to impose criminal enhancements, and to avoid sending young men to prison? Well, OPD just arrested a gang of four violent thugs, all seventeen years old, for “at least a half-dozen” armed robberies. Will Price throw the book at them, as she should? Or will she feel sorry for them—“our children, our babies”—and free them to re-offend?
Steve Heimoff