I’m reproducing in its entirety this interview with Seneca Scott. It appeared in the March 5, 2024 issue of City Journal, a well-regarded publication out of New York City, and was conducted by staff writer Rafael Mangual. It’s as cogent a summary of what’s wrong with Oakland as I’ve read. Thanks to Jack Saunders for sending it to me.

London Breed is the mother of her 30 by 30 proposal, but its spiritual father is Jerry Brown. His 10K plan, which he introduced in 1999 when he was mayor of Oakland, sought to reinvigorate downtown by bringing 10,000 new residents and make it more attractive to businesses. Of course, in hindsight, Brown’s plan didn’t work—the dot-com bust, 2008 housing collapse, pandemic and remote work combined to kill it. But Brown’s vision was a grand one.

The good news: “Big day for moderates in San Francisco” headlined the Chronicle after Tuesday’s election results were in. “Progressives feel rudderless.”

If you’ve been following my saga with the Swedish news crew, here’s the latest. I agree to meet in my neighborhood (Adams Point/Uptown) yesterday afternoon and walk and talk with them. They miked me up and we began our trek at Whole Foods, where I pointed out the 7-Eleven across the street where the security guard was shot to death in December.

I met a young, long-haired, good-looking Mexican-American man yesterday by the name of Alexandro. He was scribbling graffiti on a lamppost and I was curious what it was. It said “SLVR.”