The Coalition has added so many new members over the last week that I’m unable to account for it. We haven’t had any media coverage (which is usually why we see spurts in membership). In my Murphy’s Law thinking (“anything that can go wrong, will”), I worry that all these new people are infiltrators, trying to spy on or disrupt us from within. This would, of course, represent a compliment: if they’re that afraid of us, it must be because they understand we represent a real threat to their status quo.
But all this may be my paranoia, and in fact, it may be that word-of-mouth is gaining steam, as person after person recommends the Coalition to their friends. In our signup form—which you can find at the red “JOIN US!” button—is a box for “comments,” in which new subscribers write a few words about their concerns and why they joined. Here are some I’ve received in just the last two days:
As a lifetime Oakland resident as well as a small business owner in the City, we need to do better. I’ve read your post on Nextdoor and definitely want to join this movement.
I’ve got a 3 year-old and another on the way, so…enough said. I don’t want to have to move to Pleasanton for them to reach adulthood. I like my city and want to be able to raise my family here without losing my mind worrying about them.
As a 3rd generation Californian born in Oakland, I’ve seen this wonderful multi cultural city slide into the mess we see today. We cannot ignore the cries for help and the longing for safe and clean streets coming from all Oakland districts. Law enforcement is an essential feature of a well-run city. Law enforcement does NOT mean Knight Riders terrorizing our communities…it means PROPERLY TRAINED police AND first responder social and mental health services out in effective numbers to meet the demands of increasing lawlessness. It means compassionately addressing the concerns and needs of our housing challenges and fragile citizens.
Concerned about garbage on the streets, growing homeless encampments and especially the city government’s lack of response to the issue.
Rising crime and homelessness! Where are our tax dollars going?
Homelessness and police
The quality of life in Oakland has been rapidly deteriorating. The City has been poorly managed for too long. It’s time for us to organize to advocate for adequate policing, focus on garbage collection & protecting public spaces for ALL Oakland residents.
Neighborhood advocate: Enforcement of our laws and removing homeless camps…Expose the corrupt intent of the current ultra-left wing city council
I love oakland. I want a safe and clean city where people respect and love where they live, support their community and have civic pride…I like this grass roots efforts to eliminate the radical politicians, support the police and anti crime efforts. Keep me informed on your group please
Crime, trash, roads, homeless.
I have video of at least five break in's at my Oakland apartments (mailboxes, garage, car vandalism). The roads around my Nicol Avenue units are worse than third world.
1. We need to get meet with WM [Waste Management] to understand how to better keep Oakland clean,
2. We need to meet with public works to understand why roads are being paved given the huge bond funding,
3. We need to get a concrete plan to deal with homeless.
4. We need to amp the Police department and provide them with the resources and respect they need to keep the city anarchy at bay
Crime of all varieties being allowed. govt curruption
D3 and all of Oakland has become unsafe due to the incompetent City Council.
Crime, crime, crime. And too much anti-cop stuff going around. I know there are bad ones out there but most are not and they need our support
Oakland has become an anarchist paradise. I own a house near Lake Merritt. I am, even now after 8 years in this neighborhood, sometimes flabbergasted at the sheer blatant behavior of people, with no consequences whatsoever. Did the cops just decide to stop working? I see kids riding minibikes on the sidewalks, people driving on sidewalks, parking in the grass along the lake, breaking into cars and houses in broad daylight. Just about a month ago, I witnessed an old lady get ran over by a truck with no license plates, nor were the trucks lights on, and it was dark. I called 911 and after waiting with the poor lady for 45 minutes, no cops came, but a huge hook and ladder firetruck showed up. I have now placed a weapon at each door, and by my bed, because people can just break into a house, hurt or kill the inhabitants, and walk away never to be seen or dealt with again. What is going on here!???!
I'm very concerned about the lawlessness in Oakland. I just moved into Oakland in July - big mistake - at 17th and Webster. Four months in, I've heard gunfire nearby more times than I would ever imagine, including one incident in which a window in our building was blown out. I also go to the Cathedral of Christ the Light where I heard during a sermon that the Bishop was robbed at gunpoint early on a Saturday afternoon in front of the Paramount theater. I wrote about my concerns to the Mayor (gracious response from her assistant that she would share the concern but no other response) and the City Councilmember for this area (Carol Fife) - no response and I was appalled to see on her website "her priorities are to divest from police." I've also gotten the sense since living here that unless someone is being actively murdered, you can pretty much be guaranteed there aren't going to be any police coming any time soon because they're understaffed and underfunded.
Retired Oakland resident. It is time to reverse the decline of Oakland. Crime and grime are out of control. Oakland needs to get back to basics:
-A strengthened robust police department that has the full support of the city council
- A zero tolerance policy for homeless encampments and vagrancy
- A strengthened focus on infrastructure and parks
Crime. Filth. Awful city council
I really hope that Carroll Fife, Nikki Fortunato Bas, Rebecca Kaplan and the others on the City Council read these remarks well. These are the real people of Oakland speaking. They’re opening their hearts and crying out to you to hear. They’re not interested in your woke philosophy, in your racial justice schemes, in your phony concern for the “rights” of tent dwellers, in your arrogant disconnectedness from your own communities. And they’re certainly not interested in defunding the police!
City Council, Oakland is at the brink. The long-awaited tipping point has at last arrived. You have dithered overlong. You have fiddled with your idiotic ideology while Oakland burns. You self-isolate in your bubbles, babbling to each other, reinforcing your fantasies, while the trash piles up, the encampments spread, the criminals prey upon us, the police are quitting in droves, and citizens and businesses are leaving town. In God’s name, City Council, either reform yourselves, or go!
Steve Heimoff