Libby Schaaf

Elizabeth Beckman "Libby" Schaaf (born November 12, 1965) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. She is the mayor of Oakland, California and a former member of the Oakland City Council.[1] Schaaf won the November 4, 2014 Oakland mayoral election in the 14th round in ranked choice voting with 62.79% of the vote.[2][3]

Libby Schaaf
50th Mayor of Oakland
Incumbent
Assumed office January 5, 2015
Preceded by	Jean Quan
Member of the Oakland 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 November 12, 1965 Oakland, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Rollins College (BA) Loyola Marymount University (JD)
Website	Official website

Schaaf won re-election in 2018 with a 27% margin.[4][5]

Early life and education

Schaaf was born in Oakland, California, on November 12, 1965. Her mother was a flight attendant.[6] Growing up in Oakland's District 4, Schaaf attended Head-Royce School and Skyline High School, both in Oakland. She holds a B.A. in political science from Rollins College and a J.D. from Loyola Law School.[7]

Career before politics

Before starting her political career, Schaaf was an attorney in Oakland at the law firm of Reed 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 the Oakland Unified School District.

Schaaf's first roles in local government were as legislative aide to Oakland City Council president Ignacio De La Fuente[10] and special assistant to Oakland mayor Jerry Brown.[11]

In 2006, Schaaf joined the Port 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 from Emerge 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.

Oakland City Council

In 2010, Schaaf was elected to represent her home district, District 4, on the Oakland 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 the Oakland Police Department with the Alameda County Sheriff's Department, to increase the number of officers patrolling Oakland.[18]

Mayor of Oakland

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf with California governor Jerry Brown at Schaaf's inaugural celebration (pictured with the art car, the Golden Mean).

In the race for Oakland mayor, Schaaf was endorsed by Governor of California Jerry Brown[19][20] and US Senator Barbara Boxer.[21]

Department of Transportation

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.[22][23][24] In her announcement,[25] Mayor Schaaf said that the focus will be on, "sustainable strategies that can bring needed change quickly to city streets."[25]

The Department of Transportation consists of 300 employees, previously working in the Department of Public Works and Oakland Police Department's Parking Enforcement operations.[26]

Funding for the Department of Transportation came from many public resources, including Measure BB,[27] a sales tax approved in November 2014 to fund transportation projects in Alameda County. Schaaf hired Matt Nichols as her Policy Director[22][28] for Transportation and Infrastructure in March 2015. Jeff Tumlin was named Interim Director[25] of the department in June 2016.

Controversy over freedom of assembly

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[29] march, a nationwide coordinated march focused on ending state violence against black women and girls in the US. Demonstrators met at Frank 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 cited California Vehicle Code Section 2800, making it an arrestable offense not to comply with the police order.[30]

Schaaf with Senator Kamala Harris in 2020.

Enactment of this policy brought harsh criticism and allegations of illegality from some constitutional 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.[31]

ICE alert

Schaaf alerted city residents to imminent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in February 2018, earning criticism from some federal authorities.[32][33] 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."[34]

Personal life

Schaaf is Jewish.[35][36] She lives in Oakland with her husband Salvatore Fahey. They have two children, Dominic and Lena.[37]

Charitable work

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 at Kiva, a non-profit organization that allows people to lend money via the Internet to low-income entrepreneurs and students in over 80 countries.[38]

Electoral history

Since 2010, Oakland elections have utilized ranked choice voting.[39]

City Council

2010 Oakland City Council district 4 election vote count by round[40]
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

Mayoral

2014 Oakland mayoral election vote count by round[41]
Candidate	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Round 9	Round 10	Round 11	Round 12	Round 13	Round 14	Round 15	Round 16
Libby Schaaf	30,041	30,041	30,041	30,069	30,092	30,117	30,133	30,173	30,212	30,256	30,360	31,313	33,180	39,941	43,818	48,806
Rebecca Kaplan	14,693	14,693	14,697	15,827	15,846	14,804	14,869	14,902	15,021	15,185	15,379	15,699	17,023	18,662	23,341	28,421
Jean Quan (incumbent)	15,808	15,808	15,811	15,827	15,846	15,872	15,906	15,982	16,026	16,138	16,217	16,415	17,156	18,049	20,525
Dan Siegel	13,122	13,122	13,125	13,187	13,203	13,231	13,301	13,353	13,405	13,598	14,563	14,831	15,818	17,402
Joe Tuman	12,251	12,251	12,251	12,267	12,281	12,309	12,336	12,378	12,420	12,487	12,539	13,340	14,873
Bryan Parker	7,955	7,955	7,958	7,966	7,985	8,020	8,038	8,080	8,142	8,225	8,279	8,551
Courtney Ruby	3,115	3,115	3,115	3,131	3,163	3,185	3,204	3,247	3,264	3,320	3,364
John Anderson	1,550	1,550	1,551	1,576	1,579	1,602	1,617	1,623	1,650	1,741
Charles R. Williams	1,052	1,052	1,053	1,056	1,066	1,099	1,145	1,172	1,200
Ken Houston	518	518	518	523	536	556	577	604
Peter Liu	464	464	465	479	488	508	529
Eric Wilson	393	393	393	399	416	430
Pat McCullough	362	362	363	373	383
Nancy Sidebotham	267	267	267	271
Saied Karamooz	264	264	265
Samuel Washington	33	33
Write-in	0
Continuing votes	101,888	101,888	101,873	101,842	101,796	101,733	101,655	101,514	101,340	100,950	100,701	100,149	98,050	94,054	87,684	77,227
Exhausted ballots	0	0	15	46	92	154	226	364	535	915	1,163	1,705	3,770	7,723	14,041	24,405
Over Votes	794	794	794	794	794	795	801	804	807	817	818	828	862	905	957	1,050
Under Votes	2,152	2,152	2,152	2,152	2,152	2,152	2,152	2,152	2,152	2,152	2,152	2,152	2,152	2,152	2,152	2,152
Total	104,834	104,834	104,834	104,834	104,834	104,834	104,834	104,834	104,834	104,834	104,834	104,834	104,834	104,834	104,834	104,834

2018 Oakland mayoral election[42][43]

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

See also

• List of mayors of the 50 largest US cities

References

1. "Councilwoman Libby Schaaf files to run for Oakland mayor". KTVU. December 2, 2013. Archived from the original on December 6, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
2. "2014 Mayoral Election Results". OaklandWiki. November 4, 2014.
3. "Mayor Libby Schaaf: Official Biodata". January 5, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
4. "Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf wins re-election". ABC7 San Francisco. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
5. "Mayoral election in Oakland, California (2018)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
6. "Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Is Our East Bay Person of the Year". www.oaklandmagazine.com. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
7. Tavares, Steven (January 8, 2016). "Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Is Our East Bay Person of the Year". Oakland Magazine. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
8. "Oakland's Libby Schaaf vs. the Feds". Capitol Weekly. March 7, 2018.
9. "Libby Schaaf". www.huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
10. "De La Fuente to challenge Schaaf for Oakland mayor in 2018". San Francisco Chronicle. October 8, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
11. "Libby Schaaf profile". beta.oaklandca.gov. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
12. "Mayor-elect Schaaf: Now is 'Oakland's time'". December 26, 2014.
13. Libby Schaaf. "Libby Schaaf profile". Emerge America. Emerge America. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
14. Schaaf, Libby. "Libby Schaaf for Mayor of Oakland". libbyformayor.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
15. "Vote Libby Schaaf for Mayor of Oakland". East Bay Express. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
16. ""Fair Wage Food Tastes Better": Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Talks Minimum Wage Hike". Retrieved August 5, 2016.
17. "Oakland voters approve two tax measures, minimum wage hike". Retrieved August 5, 2016.
18. "Full Biography for Libby Schaaf". www.smartvoter.org.
19. "Gov. Jerry Brown lends support to ex-aide in Oakland mayor's race". Retrieved July 29, 2016.
20. Anthony, Laura (October 6, 2014). "Gov. Brown endorses candidate in Oakland mayor's race". Retrieved July 29, 2016.
21. "Sen. Boxer endorses Schaaf in Oakland Mayoral Race". Retrieved December 6, 2016.
22. "Oakland Launches New Transportation Department". Retrieved December 6, 2016.
23. "City Of Oakland Starts New Transportation Department". Retrieved December 6, 2016.
24. "Advocates hope Oakland's new Department of Transportation will transform city's streets". Retrieved July 29, 2016.
25. "Media Advisory: Mayor Libby Schaaf Launches Oakland's First Transportation Department". Office of the Mayor Libby Schaaf. June 8, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
26. Weeks, Allison; KRON (June 9, 2016). "City of Oakland starts new transportation department". KRON4.com. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
27. "Measure BB: Alameda CTC". www.alamedactc.org. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
28. Levin, Sam. "Mayor Libby Schaaf Hires Oakland's First Transportation Policy Director". Retrieved July 29, 2016.
29. "News about #sayhername on Twitter". Twitter. January 16, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
30. Bond Graham, Darwin. "Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Institutes Ban On Nighttime Street Protests". East Bay Express. East Bay Express. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
31. Barnard, Cornell. "Protests held in Oakland over mayor's new ban on nighttime marches". ABC7 News Bay Area. ABC7. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
32. Julie Hirschfeld Davis (May 16, 2018). "Trump Calls Some Unauthorized Immigrants 'Animals' in Rant". NYT. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
33. David Nakamura and Jenna Johnson (May 16, 2018). "Trump suggests Justice Department investigate Oakland's Democratic mayor for tipping off immigrants". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
34. "Oakland Mayor Criticized For Warning People Of Pending Immigration Sweeps". February 26, 2018.
35. "California Councilwoman Libby Schaaf Targeted With Swastikas in Oakland". Forward.com. January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
36. Griego, Michelle (January 19, 2014). "Flyers Of Jewish Councilwoman With Swastika On Her Face Posted In Oakland". Sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
37. "Councilmember Profile". Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
38. "Leadership | Kiva". Kiva. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
39. "Oakland". FairVote California. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
40. "RCV Results Report" (PDF). acvote.org. Alameda County. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
41. "RCV Results Report" (PDF). acvote.org. Alameda County. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
42. "Mayor - Oakland (RCV) Vote for One (1) Only". Alameda County. December 6, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
43. "Ranked-Choice Voting Accumulated Results - Mayor - Oakland". Alameda County. December 6, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2019.

External links

• Bio at Oakland City Council
• Biographical material at SmartVoter
• Articles about Schaaf at East Bay Express, Oakland Local, Oakland North, and Oakland Post
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Libby Schaaf on Twitter