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Libby Schaaf | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Schaaf in 2017 | |
| 50thMayor of Oakland | |
| In office January 5, 2015 – January 9, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Jean Quan |
| Succeeded by | Sheng Thao |
| Member of theOakland City Council from 4th district | |
| In office January 2011 – January 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Jean Quan |
| Succeeded by | Annie Campbell Washington |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Elizabeth Beckman Schaaf (1965-11-12)November 12, 1965 (age 59) Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Rollins College (BA) Loyola Marymount University (JD) |
Elizabeth Beckman Schaaf (born November 12, 1965) is an American politician who served as the50th Mayor of Oakland, California from 2015 to 2023. A member of theDemocratic Party, she previously served on theOakland City Council.[1]
Schaaf won theNovember 4, 2014 Oakland mayoral election in the 14th round inranked choice voting with 62.79% of the vote.[2][3] She won re-electionin 2018 with a 27% margin.[4][5]
Schaaf was born inOakland, California, on November 12, 1965. Her mother was a flight attendant.[6] Growing up in Oakland's District 4, Schaaf attendedHead-Royce School andSkyline High School, both in Oakland. She holds a B.A. in political science fromRollins College and aJ.D. fromLoyola Law School.[7]
Before starting her political career, Schaaf was an attorney in Oakland at the law firm ofReed Smith LLP.[8] She then became the program director[9] for the Marcus A. Foster Educational Institute in 1995, creating and running a new volunteer program for theOakland Unified School District.
Schaaf's first roles in local government were as legislative aide toOakland City Council presidentIgnacio De La Fuente[10] and special assistant to Oakland mayorJerry Brown.[11]
In 2006, Schaaf joined thePort of Oakland as the Director of Public Affairs,[12] helping to secure state and federal funding for the city of Oakland, as well as directing all strategic communications for the port. In 2009, Schaaf graduated fromEmerge California, a training program for women who aspire to elected office.[13]
Before joining the Oakland City Council in 2010, Schaaf served as the Economic Policy Advisor for the council for a year.
In 2010, Schaaf was elected to represent her home district, District 4, on theOakland City Council.[14]
During her tenure on the city council, Schaaf fought to raise the minimum wage,[15] voicing her support for Measure FF,[16][17] also known as Lift Up Oakland, a $12.25 minimum wage ballot initiative which passed in a landslide on November 4, 2014. Schaaf also strove to increase government transparency and efficiency, build a safer city, and strengthen Oakland neighborhoods in her time on city council. She worked extensively on Oakland Police Department reform, hiring more civilian staff and pushing through a plan to coordinate theOakland Police Department with theAlameda County Sheriff's Department, to increase the number of officers patrolling Oakland.[18]
In the race for Oakland mayor, Schaaf was endorsed byGovernor of CaliforniaJerry Brown[19][20] andUS SenatorBarbara Boxer.[21] Schaaf triumphed over incumbent mayor Jean Quan and several other candidates in November 2014.[22]
In June 2015, Mayor Schaaf announced the formation of Oakland's first Department of Transportation. The Department of Transportation assumed some responsibilities formerly held by Oakland Public Works, such as road design, resurfacing and maintenance.[23][24][25] In her announcement,[26] Mayor Schaaf said that the focus will be on, "sustainable strategies that can bring needed change quickly to city streets."[26]
The Department of Transportation consists of 300 employees, previously working in the Department of Public Works and Oakland Police Department's Parking Enforcement operations.[27]
Funding for the Department of Transportation came from many public resources, including Measure BB,[28] a sales tax approved in November 2014 to fund transportation projects in Alameda County. Schaaf hired Matt Nichols as her Policy Director[23][29] for Transportation and Infrastructure in March 2015. Jeff Tumlin was named Interim Director[26] of the department in June 2016.
In May 2015, Mayor Schaaf instituted a ban on un-permitted nighttime marches on public roadways in Oakland, citing existing city policies. The first enforcement of this ban was on May 21, during a #SayHerName[30] march, a nationwide coordinated march focused on ending state violence against black women and girls in the US. Demonstrators met atFrank Ogawa Plaza before sunset for a rally. After the rally, demonstrators began to march onto the street. Police officers told them to keep to the sidewalks, and citedCalifornia Vehicle Code Section 2800, making it an arrestable offense not to comply with the police order.[31]
Enactment of this policy brought harsh criticism and allegations of illegality from someconstitutional lawyers, including civil rights attorney and one of the co-authors of Oakland Police Department's Crowd Control and Crowd Management Policy, Rachel Lederman: "My general impression is the police took an unduly aggressive approach that not only violated their own crowd control policy, but also the First Amendment... This was an unreasonable interference with the demonstration given that there had been no serious crimes committed." Other legal experts pointed to similar policies in cities like New York, which have been ruled constitutional.[32]
Schaaf alerted city residents to imminentImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in February 2018, earning criticism from some federal authorities.[33][34] She responded, "I was sharing information in a way that was legal and was not obstructing justice, and it was an opportunity to ensure that people were aware of their rights." ICE’s acting directorThomas Homan stated that ICE failed to arrest around 800 people because of the alert.[35][36]
In March 2021, Schaaf announced that 600 selectednon-white, low-income families of Oakland would receive $500 per month "guaranteed income" for 18 months.[37] According to the project's website, the income is funded by privatephilanthropic donations.[38]
After she left office, Schaaf was accused of a pattern of campaign finance violations following an investigation by the Oakland Public Ethics Commission.[39] Schaaf and the Commission agreed to a settlement in October 2024.[40]
On January 11, 2024, Schaaf announced a run forCaliforniastate treasurer in the2026 election.[41]
Schaaf isJewish.[42][43][44] She lives inOakland with her husband Salvatore Fahey. They have two children, Dominic and Lena.[45]
Schaaf co-founded the nonprofit Oakland Cares, which organized and implemented hundreds of volunteer community improvement projects across the city. She also built and ran the first centralized volunteer program for Oakland public schools at the Marcus Foster Institute. She serves on the Leadership Council atKiva, a non-profit organization that allows people to lend money via the Internet to low-income entrepreneurs and students in over 80 countries.[46]
Since 2010, Oakland elections have usedranked choice voting.[47]
| 2010 Oakland City Council district 4 election vote count by round[48] | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | ||||||||||
| Libby Schaaf | 8,756 | 8,758 | 8,835 | 9,001 | 9,249 | 10,439 | ||||||||||
| Jill Broadhurst | 4,807 | 4,809 | 4,878 | 5,062 | 5,286 | 5,828 | ||||||||||
| Melanie Shelby | 2,463 | 2,466 | 2,552 | 2,652 | 3,017 | 3,404 | ||||||||||
| Daniel Swafford | 2,348 | 2,351 | 2,444 | 2,741 | 2,886 | |||||||||||
| Clinton Killian | 1,138 | 1,143 | 1,203 | 1,273 | ||||||||||||
| Ralph Kanz | 883 | 885 | 936 | |||||||||||||
| Jason Gillen | 530 | 531 | ||||||||||||||
| Write-in | 69 | |||||||||||||||
| Continuing votes | 20,994 | 20,943 | 20,848 | 20,729 | 20,438 | 19,671 | ||||||||||
| Exhausted ballots | 0 | 51 | 145 | 262 | 549 | 1,309 | ||||||||||
| Over Votes | 46 | 46 | 47 | 49 | 53 | 60 | ||||||||||
| Under Votes | 2,844 | 2,844 | 2,844 | 2,844 | 2,844 | 2,844 | ||||||||||
| Total | 23,884 | 23,884 | 23,884 | 23,884 | 23,884 | 23,884 | ||||||||||
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Libby Schaaf (incumbent) | 84,314 | 53.19 | |
| Cat Brooks | 40,688 | 25.67 | |
| Pamela Price | 20,685 | 13.05 | |
| Saied Karamooz | 2,981 | 1.88 | |
| Ken Houston | 2,616 | 1.65 | |
| Marchon Tatmon | 2,087 | 1.32 | |
| Nancy Sidebotham | 1,733 | 1.09 | |
| Peter Yuan Liu | 1,156 | 0.73 | |
| Cedric A. Troupe | 1,116 | 0.70 | |
| Jesse A.J. Smith | 730 | 0.46 | |
| Write-in | 415 | 0.26 | |
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| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Mayor of Oakland 2015–2023 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |