Dellums Sets Out Plan for Oakland

Former Rep. Ronald V. Dellums waded through a crowd of cheering supporters here Monday to make his first comments as the city’s mayor-elect.

The moment came after a painstaking two-week vote count that placed Dellums firmly ahead of second-place candidate Ignacio De La Fuente, but wobbling at the 50% mark he needed to surpass to avert a runoff.

Dellums, who represented the East Bay in the nation’s capital for nearly three decades before becoming a lobbyist, said he would have gladly accepted a November runoff.

But when he inched past the majority mark late Friday, it sent a message.

“What I wanted was for you in this room to feel the power of your citizenship, the power of your participation and the power of your vote,” Dellums, standing next to his wife, Cynthia, said to hoots of approval from the crowd. “And when they said 50.18%, I said, ‘Yes!’ ”

The contest between Dellums and De La Fuente -- Oakland’s longtime City Council president -- triggered a debate over Oakland’s civic identity and a referendum on the eight-year tenure of outgoing Mayor Jerry Brown.

While race per se was not an issue, class was. A housing and development boom under Brown forced out many lower-income residents, mainly African Americans, while more middle-class residents moved in.

The result was an expanded tax base that boosted business activity in Oakland, but simultaneously left many lower-income residents feeling excluded. For poorer residents, Oakland is in crisis, with violent crime increasing and the schools in state receivership.

While Oakland’s business establishment backed De La Fuente, as did many residents who applauded his skill at making the bureaucracy function, it was Dellums’ promise to include residents in crafting a new vision for Oakland that seems to have resonated with voters.

“Those of us who have been locked out of the process for the last 20 or 30 years, we are so elated,” Mustafa Ansari, an Oakland political scientist and human rights attorney told Dellums on Monday.

“The door is now open,” Dellums answered. “You are going to be part of the process.”

First on his agenda, Dellums said, is naming a transition team that will reflect Oakland’s ethnic and class diversity. He also pledged to create a series of task forces that will study topics, including government transparency and ways to turn Oakland into a center for green energy.

Dellums also promised to work with De La Fuente, who won about 33% of the vote, Councilwoman Nancy Nadel, who won 13%, and the rest of the council.

De La Fuente on Monday urged his backers to stay involved with him as he continues to push for change. “I pledge to continue working on the issues that got me to run for mayor -- education, public safety, making city employees accountable and continued economic development.

Perhaps the most contested issue is how much developers will now be expected to provide in the form of guaranteed affordable housing and local jobs.

Dellums has faulted the current administration for allowing “ad hoc” development. On Monday he told the crowd: “Economics should not drive you out of the community.”

OakPAC, a political action committee affiliated with the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, strongly backed De La Fuente.

Chairman Michael Colbruno on Monday called him “the person who has made revitalization of Oakland occur” by implementing Brown’s vision.

While Colbruno praised Dellums as “a very fair and reasonable man” with whom the business community will be able to work, he also cautioned against too many constraints.

“I hope that Ron Dellums realizes that affordable housing is important, but so is market-rate housing. That growth has to continue.”