Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao delivers State of the City address

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao delivered her State of the City address on Tuesday evening.

The address came as Thao faces a possible recall in the November election.

She touted accomplishments like improved crime rates, cleaner streets, and the success of the coliseum sale, while looking ahead towards another two years in office.

"It takes time, but we are seeing progress here in Oakland," she said.

Thao focused on crime, stating the homicide rate has dropped 30% over last year, and petty crime is also down.

"Burglaries, car thefts, and break-ins are all down," she said. "Speaking to our business owners, they’ve even remarked that there’s a lot less broken glass on the streets." 

She highlighted the new police chief, Floyd Mitchell, the re-implementation of the city's ceasefire strategy, and the work of the Department of Violence Prevention. She also touted the installation of 200 Flock security cameras, which automatically detect car make and models and license plates.

Thao pointed out the enhancements at the 911 call center, which increased the success rate of answering calls within 15 seconds from 36% to 51%.

"We Oaklanders are well on our way to reaching the state standard and over the next two years as your mayor I will make sure no one is left on hold," she said.

The mayor also announced $5 million in grant funding coming from Vice President Kamala Harris and Kaiser Permanente for violence prevention efforts. She also said she is planning to bring in drones to help law enforcement combat crime.

However, people in Oakland are not convinced.

"In my particular neighborhood, we hire private security to patrol our neighborhood because we never see a police car or policeman in our neighborhood," said Stuart Brinin, a resident of Oakland for more than 30 years. "You contact 311 and nobody comes, nobody does anything, so the city services are terrible. The city is as dirty as I’ve ever seen it."

Rhonda Smith, who runs a nonprofit that operates in Oakland and frequently visits the city, said, "Perceptually, and what I hear from folks, is that I don’t think things have changed all that much for the better."

The president of the Oakland police union, Sgt. Tim Dolan, accused Thao of making false statements about the current state of Oakland during her address. . 

"She painted a rosy picture of Oakland that does not reflect the sad and troubling reality of the city and its residents." said Dolan. The reality is that crime is up, open violence decimates residents and businesses, homelessness and trash are a daily blight for neighborhoods, and the city is heading toward insolvency and bankruptcy because of her failed leadership and a dysfunctional council majority and city attorney’s office."

Mayor Thao has emphasized her work in cleaning up homeless encampments and abandoned cars in the streets.

Critics say the Oakland mayor should be removed from office because she failed to crack down on crime and fired former police chief Leronne Armstrong. They say she's also responsible for sports teams leaving Oakland. 

The criticism comes along with an FBI investigation in which agents raided her home, though Thao has not been charged with a crime.

The raid and the recall didn’t start as connected, but Thao’s critics have certainly used the June 20 high-profile seizure of boxes from her home as ammunition that she should no longer be mayor.

But these critics don’t have proof of what she is accused of doing, and neither does the public, KTVU reported last month.

Additionally, Thao has faced criticism surrounding the loss of the A's, but she focused on the teams that are still rooted in Oakland, like the Oakland Roots and the Oakland Baller's.

"The Oakland roots will now be playing their 2025 season at the Oakland coliseum which will preserve game day jobs at that historic venue," she said.

Thao discussed the Coliseum sale, stating she saved public safety from budget cuts through the sale. "This sale will bring $125 million, with $110 million this fiscal year, and lead to multi-billion dollar development in east Oakland," she said.

Earlier on Tuesday, some Oakland leaders called the recent cancelation of a special finance committee meeting unacceptable. The goal of the finance meeting was to reveal the status of the city's budget now that it has received the first payment from the sale of the Oakland coliseum.

Three Oakland city councilmembers who called for the meeting say they want clarity about what's going with the city's budget and what public services may be cut.