Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon and welcome to the City Council meeting of February 3rd, 2026.

Before I call roll, I will give speaker card instructions.

If you would like to speak on any item on this agenda, please fill out a speaker's card

before the item is called or two hours after the start of this meeting.

The meeting was called at 3.31.

The last opportunity to turn in the speaker's card will be at 5.31 or before the item is called.

Whichever comes first, you can fill out a speaker's card and return it to a clerk representative at the front of the chambers.

If you were looking to turn in an online speaker card, that time has passed as they were due 24 hours before the start of this meeting.

On roll are.

Excuse me, we can't hear it.

Ledette.

Okay. On roll. Councilmember Brown. Present. Councilmember Fyfe. Present. Councilmember

Gio. Present. Remember you don't have to get in the queue. I will unmute you. Councilmember

Houston. Present. Councilmember Ramachandran. Present. Councilmember Unger. Here. Councilmember

wong present and chair jenkins present showing aid members present at this time going to item

three modifications to the agenda before we send city staff home is there any council member that

wants to put pull anything off of consent council member houston through the chair i wanted to bring

something up about the fire station they had was doing some construction I don't

know what item it is I'll talk to my chief of staff and it was they gave me

some data back and I just wanted them to explain the local participation on that

item and Trinity what item was that

So Trinity can you work with Monica so that you can ensure that the proper staff person

will still be here?

If Monica from the City Administrator's Office is here, Trinity will work with you to ensure

those questions are answered on the consent calendar.

Thank you.

you want to pull I'd speak to it I wanted you got to speak to it when it's on the consent calendar

we're not on the consent calendar and what is it on so right now we're on modifications to the

agenda so if you want to pull something right now you can pull it but if there's any staff that you

would like to speak to um and I think what's the agenda number trinity um this is agendas item s

6.14 okay so we'll make sure that the appropriate staff members are here thank you and through the

with you I don't have a problem with it I just want them to explain the local

participation piece that's it okay thank you any other modifications to the agenda

thank you going to item 4 there are no public hearings at this meeting today

going to item 5 which is action on all non-consent items we have one item which

is item 5.1 an ordinance amending Oakland Municipal Code section 9.008.260 to

conform state law by repealing the offense of loitering for the purpose of

engaging in prostitution adding loitering for the purpose of purchasing

commercial sex as an offense allowing the administrative assessment of fines

against sex purchasers sex traffickers and properties used for prostitution and

creating a human trafficking survivor support fund we have 13 speakers

please note as this item has been read into record no more speaker cards will

be accepted okay hey everyone I'm proud to introduce this item to the full city

Council today. I wanted to start off by playing a clip from a documentary that

was produced in 2013 about this very topic about human trafficking here in

the city of Oakland.

The history of slavery in our world isn't over.

Prostitution, the world's oldest profession, is actually a horrific trade of human flesh.

Over 80% of victims are women, and most of them are children.

Most people only think that this is happening in Asia, in countries like India, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

but in reality hundreds of thousands of these children are at risk every single day for being trafficked into sex slavery here in the U.S. as well.

As girls living in the Bay Area, where 40% of all of America's sex trafficking takes place,

we wanted to find out where the fastest growing criminal industry in the world all starts, here in our backyard.

On the average, some of these exploiters have as many as 10 girls that they are exploiting.

And it doesn't take very much for an exploiter to lure a child into his business by just saying a few nice things to them.

There's this whole underground world that OPD basically discovered in 1999 of young girls being sold for sex in our own backyards.

Really, when you look at how it's happening and the deprivation of liberty that takes place in order to accomplish the crime, it is modern-day slavery.

These children are beat. They take their clothes away. They take on their property, their phone, their identification.

They'll move them to places where the child doesn't know where she is.

These kids are sexually assaulted by the exploiters.

They are raped and sodomized.

Children being chained to the heater vents.

At the end of the workday, the kids' clothes are taken away from them,

and they're left naked in rooms so they can't escape.

She needed money, and she doesn't know any other way to get it.

She thinks about it, especially when times get tough at home,

because home is not a place where she likes being.

she likes being. A woman's body is what is kind of what you barter on and is what we trade on

and that has is kind of cultured into you know part of our mentality. What ends up happening

is once you strip all the makeup and you strip off the nails and you give back the layers they're

just a kid. People always ask us you know how does a 12 year old or 13 year old girl go from sitting

in an eighth grade classroom to you know selling her body to 20 men per night. Most oftentimes the

exploitation on the street is not the first act of rape that they've ever had.

And so when you come from such neglect and you come from such risk and your

uncle or a trusted family member has been molesting you since you're five years

old and you really, really believe that your body's a sexual object and not

what it's there for, when a 30-year-old man, a pimp, comes along and tells you

that, you know, he loves you and you're the most beautiful thing that he's ever

seen, it's really easy for a grown man to talk a 12 or 13-year-old girl who's

been through the things that she's been through into doing that.

Pimps, exploiters of human beings, take advantage of these girls and their histories of abuse

to use them as economic pawns.

Over 70% of all girls being trafficked for sex have escaped abusive home lives as runaways,

and almost all of them have been sexually abused and raped before adolescence.

They take girls who have never known love and trick them into selling their bodies.

are also abducted off the streets by pimps.

They don't have any empathy for another human being.

That exploiter will get tired of the child,

so he'll sell her to another pimp or exploiter.

Her psychology, ability to even evaluate what's safe

and what's not is completely diminished.

She does not understand her victimization,

and the only thing that we can really compare it to

to is Stockholm Syndrome or Battered Life Syndrome.

The fear and the guilt and the shame and the physical and emotional pain that comes along

with having to be exploited every day, you know, by grown adult males and for really

for no gain, for no gain for them whatsoever.

She stands there every day and takes all the risk, the risk of being killed, the risk of

being infected with AIDS, the risk of going to jail.

She takes all the risk and has absolutely no power over her life or her decision.

We actually try to engage them and encourage them to get involved so we can find out who

the pimps are, who are pandering them, who's forcing them into child exploitation, and

try to find a reason why they're not in their homes and what their parents are doing.

You know, when I first started over 20 years ago, you would see in the 20s and 30s, what

I see now as young as 13 years old, seven days a week.

Human slavery isn't over today. Women and girls everywhere are suffering. They end

up under the control of a pimp who promises to take care of them. Soon,

however, the master-enslave relationship is established and maintained through

even more abuse and violence. And at that point, they're completely at the mercy of

these men. The exploiters doing this need to be stopped. Help us bring an end to

the abuse, to the pain, and to change society so that it is no longer all right to buy sex

from a child.

It all starts now.

Thank you.

and clearly what we have is a human rights abuse

happening right in our streets here in Oakland.

The question, of course, is what we should do about it.

So this is the proposal before Oakland City Council today.

What you see here is a set of amendments.

In summary, this is going to be a set of administrative fines,

And I'll explain later why this concept is important.

This is also about shifting the burden of responsibility for this marketplace to what

we call the demand side.

These are the buyers that ultimately drive and fuel this industry while ultimately creating

a sustainable restitution model for survivors.

And this has to be key in order for this type of program to be successful.

The other thing that I want to note is that there is language that is within this ordinance

that is not my preferred language.

It uses prostituted persons.

It's my preferred language to use exploited persons, but we have to conform to language

per the California Penal Code, otherwise we risk preemption.

And so I just want to acknowledge the language that is being used within this ordinance.

Some context, Oakland is consistently among the top three cities in California as a hot

spot for human trafficking.

This is noted by the FBI and other national studies.

As it relates to our youth here, a couple of things.

First, as noted in the video, there's a clear connection between a history of child abuse,

including child sexual abuse, as well as being foster youth.

You can see there that more than 55% of trafficking victims are or were foster youth.

And so ultimately what we're talking about is the exploitation of some of our young people

who have suffered the most horrific abuses.

And this is why they're particularly vulnerable to being exploited, because all they've known

is an abusive dynamic.

And that is why you see that the average age of entry into this industry is 12 to 14.

In Alameda County, there's been screenings that have been done by child providers.

So 15-8% of screened youth show clear signs of commercial sex exploitation.

That is actually double the California average.

It cannot not be stated that this is an issue that disproportionately impacts black girls

and women even though black residents are 20% of Oakland black women and girls

represent 61% of the recovered victims and as you can see here right now

because it's this is an underground market whatever we're seeing in OPD

data we're seeing far more if not just far more numbers in these the youth that

are screened by these child providers but that still does not capture it so

900 youth in the county have been identified, but that number still understates how many youth that we have here in Oakland that are showing signs of exploitation.

I will note, too, that we hear all the time from whether it's principals of schools that we see traffickers literally circling our high schools and our middle schools looking for, again, a vulnerable young person that is disconnected from family in order to pick them up into this trade.

So I am privileged to represent District 2, but within District 2 is the Blade.

There are not just within District 2, however, commercial sex exploitation happening in our

streets, but in particular this problem, and it was discussed in the video, is happening

here on the Blade, and I want to discuss some of the characteristics.

This is a community that has high levels of concentrated poverty.

It's also a community that is predominantly, it's working class people, people of color.

You can see that in these maps that are shown that in the top left corner, there is, the

purple is where there's predominant Asian communities.

In the middle slide is, you see black residents throughout.

And then you can see in the right slide that there's a high concentration of Latino communities

on the right side of the blade.

it's just it's these families are fed up with this problem frankly you can also

see that there are several elementary schools and middle schools that are

along this corridor and so these families regularly see this activity it

is essentially grooming this next generation of young people to normalize

this and it is not normal the other thing I want to note is that if you walk

along this blade you can see when you go to a convenience store now one or a

two of the convenience stores on each of these blocks is essentially selling

lingerie it's it's catering to this market it's these convenience stores no

longer sell groceries you know market chips things like that that you would

often find at a convenience store it is absolutely now a part of the profit that

you get as running a convenience store along councilmember Wong I apologize

your ten minutes has elapsed would five more minutes be okay yes thank you I'll

I'll quicken this up.

Okay, so why this legislation?

First of all, as I mentioned, this is about one part of this is targeting demand.

Part of why we need to target demand is because there are challenges with targeting the pimps, as mentioned in the videos,

and ultimately we will be here every single year discussing how do we provide services to victims when we don't ultimately address the source.

The other thing is that this relies on administrative fines.

So the same way that we have fines for illegal dumping, this is going to add another form of accountability that is faster and more certain than just relying on the criminal justice system alone.

The other thing I want to mention is that this is also about conforming to recent state law updates.

So my colleagues, you might have some questions around some of the significant updates in this ordinance.

I'll tell you that sections A through D are essentially just conforming to that state law

and in fact if we edit make edits to that that we run the risk of preemption again okay a little

bit about the sex buyer and demand as you can see here that studies show that these are predominantly

upper-class men recent arrest data that comes from OPD 70% of those sex buyers are actually residents

outside of Oakland commuting in from the suburbs.

And so clearly Oakland has got a name

for basically serving this wider East Bay market.

And so here's in sum some of the amendments.

So again this is mostly a page that explains

conforming to the state penal code.

And it also reflects some updates at the state level

that distinguishes between prostituted persons

and the victims as well as the sex purchasers.

It also includes updates on what does it mean to the behaviors indicated of trying to purchase someone for sex.

This is really the heart of what the legislation is attempting to do.

So these are penalties for buyers and traffickers as well as property owners that help facilitate these sites.

As you can see, the penalties is for sex purchasers, up to $4,000 for the first offense, and then with every subsequent offense, that goes up to $8,000.

For traffickers, this is up to $10,000 for the first offense, and then every subsequent offense goes up to $20,000, and each offense is noted as per victim per day.

And these fines are then tripled for anything involving a minor.

And just some context in terms of how these fines were defined.

In short, they were designed to be maximized, but in a way that would not be challenged in court.

And we also have fines for property owners as well as business proprietors that facilitate this with a fine of $2,500 per day.

I also want to note that there's an affirmative defense provision in here.

So anyone who was, you know, say guilty of some of these crimes, but they were a victim of sex trafficking at the time, would have an affirmative defense provision.

This is really key here for the success of this.

This is the restorative justice score of the ordinance.

100% of the fines will be collected and deposited into a restricted special funds.

This is how this differs from other fines that we have that typically go into our general fund.

So really, because we've heard over and over again from the local service providers here in Oakland,

is that there is not enough funding.

They are so challenged with meeting the extensive needs here in Oakland.

This will ensure that it is our local providers, our local nonprofits,

that can get the funding to provide such important services such as housing,

mental health services, job training, legal support and street outreach.

Some notes on fiscal impact and enforcement.

The projected revenue here, based off of current solicitation trends, would be $250,000 to $450,000 annually.

I will say that in January, within two weeks, OPD has done 20 arrests of sex buyers.

right now since we don't have this in place we don't have a way to then

enforce that with a fine that goes back to survivors and in conclusion I ask my

colleagues that we pass this with urgency because every day that we don't

pass this that especially with the Super Bowl and the World Cup coming up and

these are events that are so associated with surges of human trafficking we also

lose the opportunity to implement this important enforcement model that can

again channel much-needed funds back to survivor services okay I'll take

questions thank you so much Councilmember Wong colleagues questions

and Councilman Brown excellent thank you so much Councilmember

Wong for your leadership on this item. Were you going to share out the

amendments that we made as well or did you yeah would you like me to highlight

them? Yeah absolutely so very quickly in public safety a couple of amendments were

discussed and they're now included the package before you today. So first there's

an amendment that includes also the business proprietors and that $2,500 per

day fine. The other thing that I want to mention is we do think that it's as

discussed it's really important to do some tracking around the data to make

sure that this is a fine or this is a this is a citation that is enforced

equitably and so we can track not only the enforcement side of things so who is

being arrested who is being cited but on the other side of things how are we

going to fund these services and are the services making an impact especially to

help people exit I want to note that for example in San Francisco study that 85

to 95% of the sex workers that were surveyed wanted to exit but they needed

the support to do so and that is exactly what this is designed to do

excellent thank you so much for sharing that I just know that you know during

public safety we heard so many stories from community members that were

impacted by this and just really you know applauding your leadership on this so I

also want to thank you for that as well and look forward to supporting and

seeing the report that will come back to the council in about six months I

believe it is yeah and that's right and then also in the supplemental it states

there will be a community impact and equity review as well just to ensure

that as a result of this legislation there are no you know we're keeping an

eye out on any unintended consequences as well so thank you

this is excellent thank you I want to make sure that the money is spent in the

most impactful way how do we decide how that money gets allocated yeah that's a

great question so this month I will be working with dr. Joshi on two things

we'll actually be doing a focus group we have a partnership also with the

Oakland Fund for Innovation. So we're actually going to be doing a focus group

with current workers on the blade to hear feedback from them.

And then we're also going to convene many of the current service providers

to figure out what exactly is the type of service that

is most critically needed. I will say that I am of the opinion, given that

the fines could be anywhere from, say,

you know, if a pessimistic estimate would be $100,000

to generating to say $1 million that we need to plan for several scenarios.

And I think what would be really important in my opinion is to fund out like street outreach,

especially for people that are trusted by the women and girls that are currently on the blade

and to help them plan like exit planning similar to domestic violence survivors

who need over a months long process to figure out how to plan their life ahead.

Yeah, that's all fantastic.

I just want to like know what the process is like will we be doing an RFP for a provider well is

there a board that decides how the money is spent does DVP decide does OPD decide yeah um most likely

and again this is still in development a DVP will be issuing an RFP or many RFPs especially since

the funding is continuously appropriated instead of uh yeah over one one time

yes councilmember fife then councilman regal yeah i want to also applaud your leadership on this

item i hate that i wasn't able to be at the public safety committee meeting but in our public safety

prep um the discussion that we had about bringing the report back um i'm glad that you actually

spent some time thinking about that so happy that that is happening and I also

just wanted to lift up dr. Joshi from that documentary that was shown and her

continued work in this process she has many many years in the field lots of

expertise and I'm happy that you're working in partnership with her and

continuing the work that councilmember bass and many others were doing and I

just see this elevating and moving us forward in terms of enforcement and so

my question is will there need to be additional staff resources in different

departments to ensure that enforcement actually happens and what might that

look like yeah it should not so and lieutenant Campos I would invite him to

come up but right now how this will be enforced is lieutenant Campos who heads

up the vice operations unit is going to be a key part of the implementation of this.

He's going to be training furthermore the patrol officers in area three and so it will

essentially take the existing set of law enforcement resources in order to enforce this.

They will be trained on how to issue these citations and so it should not add any, it

should not require additional staff in order to implement this.

Councilmember Gaius and Councilmember Houston.

Am I on? Thank you. I appreciate you bringing up this item, but at the end of the day, it's

about enforcement. I grew up here in Oakland and East Oakland and certainly have seen it

all my lifetime. I still remember there was the prostitution that used to be on Telegraph

and Broadway, but yet it got kicked out and moved to the Fruitvale. I kicked it out of

Fruville through the FBI that I had the FBI climb and push the activity out of my area

and it wind up in your district, the other side of 23rd Avenue on the International.

So the bottom line, it has to do with enforcement.

You know, I've been on a ride along at 4 in the morning, 5 in the morning with the police.

Who do you see picking up the girls?

The guys going to work in their pickup trucks.

Before they go to work, they pick up the young ladies, 5 in the morning, 6 in the morning.

We all see that. We all acknowledge that.

But at the end of the day, it's what does our police department do to enforce the law?

One of the reasons we, for historically, Mr. Hazard, we backed up because a couple of the officers got involved with the girls on the street.

And that stopped a lot of the backup.

Went to court, lost. Well, we all know what happened.

So but the bottom line is I was working before you came on board with your district to push the prostitution out of that district.

Because they were around St. Anthony's School, St. Anthony's Church.

Which closed.

Right?

So the mom and dad would come to drop off their children, whether it be rubbers and needles all in the parking lot.

And the activity at nighttime.

So, but what happened there, as an example for the public, the FBI was going to join

once again the city of Oakland to remove the prostitution, illegal trafficking, but some

of the neighbors and some of the, and the church did not want to locate cameras to capture

the activity. And therefore the FBI says, well, unless I have something to document

what's going on and the FBI pulled out.

Alright, so the FBI is a key law enforcement

because they do this federally, nationally,

and not just in Oakland.

So I think we need to get them involved

because at the end of the day, I mean,

this has been going on daily and nightly,

and I don't see our law enforcement,

including the sheriff, enforcing it.

We all see it. You see it. I see it.

Everyone here sees it, but we have to enforce the laws,

because I was there when we made arrests,

and the individuals were not from Oakland.

And the only thing that we used to do,

that if I caught you on the street,

I could take your car from you.

You can have a lot of explaining to your wife what happened to your car.

But it all comes down to enforcement.

AND I DON'T DISAGREE COUNCIL MEMBER GAYO YOU GOT TO GET THE FBI INVOLVED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHEN IT COMES TO THIS ISSUE

AND SO THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION BUT WE GOT TO GET A LAW ENFORCEMENT I AS A TAXPERER I'M LOOKING FOR TO ENFORCE THE LAWS THAT I HAVE AND THAT'S WHAT

OAKLAND RIGHT NOW IS BEING CHALLENGED FROM ONE END OF THE CITY TO THE OTHER YEAH NO I DON'T DISAGREE COUNCIL MEMBER

He's got to be included, otherwise we're doing more policy, more talking, and more feel sorry and making excuses for it.

I want to clear up some things.

Thank you.

So this is not intended to sort of downgrade the penalties on sex fires.

I will invite Lieutenant Campos to talk on stage in terms of how he currently coordinates with FBI.

I don't disagree at all.

I will say that what we're seeing, though, is that in the last two years, 51 people were charged or were arrested, actually, for purchasing sex.

only one was charged.

And so part of what's key about this legislation

is that it actually ensures accountability.

And so, because that is so often what happens

with victims of sexual, crimes of sexual violence

is that it's very black and white.

We rely on the criminal justice system alone

and then people don't get any restitution whatsoever.

And so this is designed to fill that middle gap

when the DA's office does not have the resources

for whatever reason to make that charge.

I hope that makes sense.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

Okay, two, three years ago,

the girls were being flown into the Oakland Airport.

They were flown in, come do your thing,

then they fly back out,

and that's why you see the sheriff's department

at the Oakland Airport on a daily basis,

day in, night out,

to stop that behavior at the Oakland Airport.

The sheriff's department stepped forward

through the district attorney to make sure they had the contract with the airport to stop that

activity out of that area no problem thank you uh lieutenant campos you want to talk about the

coordination with the fbi right now uh good afternoon everyone uh marcos campos lieutenant

of police in charge of the special victim section uh directly in charge of the human trafficking

vice narcotics sorry vice child exploitation team we don't longer have narcotics

I've been the sergeant slash lieutenant for the last 10 years.

We've been in partnership with Agent Marty Parker for the last 26 years.

She has served in the FBI for 27, so during 26 years she was in partnership with OPD as far back

as when it was two officers in the vice unit.

We currently have one sergeant and four investigators assigned to the vice unit.

We currently have a project called the Blade Project where with the FBI we've

coordinated our efforts for some of the most violent human trafficking suspects

in the city of Oakland or people coming to Oakland where we had two successful

prosecutions federally last year so to my knowledge the FBI for the last 26 has

continued their partnership now it may have changed some certain aspects may

have changed, but they've continued to have their partnership with us. And if I could just touch

briefly on the Senate Bill 653.22 that was authored by I think it was Senator Scott Weiner

several years ago that took away the law of loitering for the purpose of prostitution,

which included sex workers several years ago. That was repealed. And now January 1st,

2026. We have the new law 653.25, which is loitering for the purposes of commercial sex.

At the beginning of the year, we began lineup training with all of the patrol officers.

We did a training portal training for all the patrol officers, and now the vice unit,

they're going out in the streets in the uniform capacity with these officers to make sure

they're properly addressing and conducting constitutional policing when it comes to this

enforcement action. As of this year, we've had 37 arrests during vice operations. 24 of those

subjects were outside of the city of Oakland, from outside of the city of Oakland, and it's

showing dividends because the patrol officers on their own accounted for an additional 15

arrestees for 65325 and that had to do hand in hand with the training so we hope that's a multiplier

of proper and constitutional policing for the correct observations and training that we're

providing them so they'll be able to make these arrests they'll be able to address these concerns

this model of us arresting the Johns is not a new model it's just we haven't been able to do it in

the past. I think the new law and this new ordinance enables the police department to

adjust our strategies and our plan to remove the demand.

I like that actually and I want to actually thank you Councilmember guy because during

the budget discussions it was actually in part your voice that led to the budget team

that was chaired by Councilmember Robin Chandra and Councilmember Brown and Councilmember

Unger and I sat on that that we actually one of our amendments was $700,000 per year for

Lieutenant Campos to carry out those OPD headed vice unit operations but this is really designed

this ordinance is to ensure that it maximizes that funding so that way again when only one

out of 51 buyers ultimately gets charged that there are still consequences and consequences

that ultimately fund the exit services that are so desperately needed.

And I will note this, that in the Nordic model has shown actually great decreases.

This is the end-demand model.

It has shown great successes actually in decreasing the level of open-air sex trafficking.

And again, for me, this is a real key.

And this has been going on for hundreds of years.

All right, and it affects each one of us

is sitting around in this room.

So the other one is an example,

and I'm glad law enforcement is here.

It's not about what we say, it's what we do.

All right, and enforcement needs to increase.

All right, and pushback on the street needs to happen.

So as an example, a week ago I got a call

from one of the mothers in San Diego,

and her daughter has been over here doing prostitution.

She's, what, 18, 20 years old.

But she got killed on our street.

Somebody shot her and killed her on the street.

And so the mom's calling, crying to me,

saying that the police never responded to her

in terms of who did the shooting and killing.

And so we're looking to, she's asking for assistance.

And it's an example of mom and dad suffering, paying that price,

and yet we're not responding as a city

in terms of trying to address the,

as an example, this mom that's in San Diego.

But I'll share that with you so you can help with the follow-up.

Thank you. Thank you, Council Member.

Through the chair, thank you, Council Member Wang.

I moved it through city public safety.

And my concern is that I'm going to echo my council members here.

This is embarrassing. I'm glad you brought this back up.

It's embarrassing. It's been going on for 50 years,

as long as I know it was on E-1-4, then it went to San Pablo, then it in your district.

My thing is this.

I'm kind of saying similar to what Council Member Noel Gallo said, the arrest.

We need to arrest and prosecute to the full extent of the law.

And where are we having the shame campaign?

You know, these guys are coming, and where do they get the percentage of 70% from outsiders?

I like to find out, Officer Campos, where do we get that 70% of them from the outside?

And then 20 of those buyers that you said you got, were they from outside also?

So year-to-date, just through January, the percentage prior to me coming to this meeting,

it was 30 arrests, and that's when we had 70% of the arrests were from outside of Oakland.

and then as of the end of january uh the numbers have shifted to 65 and 35 being from the city of

oakland okay and thank you and through the chair how are we dealing with this in this on transportation

on public transportation when it comes to the airport the bus how is that being transported

here how are we addressing that because that's huge i mean how the girls get in here right

HOW ARE THEY GETTING HERE? HOW ARE THEY BEING TRANSPORTED? ARE WE ADDRESSING THAT ON PUBLIC

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION? SO THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY NATIONAL CAMPAIGNS TO HELP EDUCATE EVERYONE

WITH HUMAN TRAFFICKING. THERE ARE THE THE BANNERS ARE IN THE AIRPORT. WE DO PARTNER WITH OUR

OUR NATIONAL CRISIS LINE AND WE THE OAKLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT DOES RECEIVE A LOT OF THESE

THESE NATIONAL HOTLINE TIPS IN WHICH SOMEONE IS BEING TRAFFICED,

WHETHER IT'S IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SETTINGS,

WHETHER IT'S IN AN AIRPORT, WE HAVE RECEIVED AND FOLLOW UP ON THOSE CALLS IN THE PAST.

THANK YOU. SO MY LAST THING IS THIS, THESE YOUNG LADIES, THESE BOYS AND GIRLS ARE VICTIMS.

THEY'RE VICTIMS. WE SHOULD GO AFTER THOSE BUYERS, PERIOD.

AND I MOVED IT AND I'LL MOVE IT THIS TIME ALSO.

AND I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT I HAVE CONVENED A WORKING GROUP ACTUALLY WITH

AC transit so we met just last month to discuss exactly that coordination

between public transit and the city of Oakland in terms of addressing the human

trafficking problem so the last thing before Nancy and Miley left we were

talking about this transportation piece because a piece I'll work with you on

that that had already started we could kick it back yes that's right but thank

you thank you because you're you are also on the AC transit you're one of the

liaisons. Thank you. Thank you. Just a couple of comments. Firstly, I very much appreciate the

effort that you're taking, and I don't think there's anyone around here that will deny the

importance of doing what we can to pursue addressing that demand side. My question is about

how this legislation interacts with and intersects with existing criminal investigation,

because these are civil fines, but you referenced a point that I'm curious about,

that 52 people were arrested last year, but only one was charged.

How do you think these civil penalties might change that equation?

Yeah, absolutely.

And so I brought this up during public safety,

but it will work similar to how our illegal dumping fines work,

where there's actually a misdemeanor provision and there's also municipal fines.

So it's really going to be an either or.

So, and Lieutenant Campos, if you'd like to comment, he's free to do so.

But essentially after the DA makes a decision not to charge,

the city then can take this up to then pursue essentially the fines.

So it's going to be an either or.

Thank you.

So if the city pursues, well, the misdemeanor aspect of it,

if the DA declines to pursue that, then the city will fine.

But right.

okay um and what were the conversations with the da's office like around this uh yes so the

da's office is supportive of this and they've been part of the human trafficking task force

that i chair so they're supportive of this and they'll be working with us to ensure that again

my goal is not to downgrade the um the the penalties the extent of the penalties on the

sex fires but the intent is again to just ensure consistent accountability

Thank you. And then the last thing is, I figure you've been in touch with the state as well and civil enforcement from that side. Do they currently do operations in the city of Oakland and how might that intersect with this?

You want to comment on that?

State and federal enforcement, both of those sides.

We have one federal agent assigned to us in our MOU.

As far as state enforcement, CHP has conducted high visibility enforcement,

but they have not been part of the vice operations or the strategic plan on enforcing against the demand.

Thank you.

I will welcome my colleagues to help me advocate because we,

I certainly reached out to the FBI office in San Francisco and anyways, I didn't find them to be as

helpful as I'd like them to be to get more resources to support our city.

Definitely. Council Member Brown. Excellent. And I just wanted to make one last comment around

what Council Member Houston brought up around like the transportation piece and just really

emphasize that you know this is kind of like one step of many more to come and I know Council Member

Wong you've been working alongside AC Transit and I know one of the things potentially to come

is around like a letter of support from the city to get access to the camera footage that you've been

working on as well and so potentially that could be one of the next steps because i know that

both of those things kind of go hand in hand and really assuring ensuring accountability

and that we're also protecting the young women that unfortunately are impacted by this right yes

and that's exactly the topic that we discussed at the working group meeting last month

thank you um we can move to public comments however there is a motion from councilmember

houston and um if councilmember wong wants to second that um i will second that okay

councilmember fife i have heard a number of comments made tonight from my colleagues

and I fully agree with accountability but something that councilmember Guile

said really sat with me and that was the engagement of the Oakland Police

Department and trafficking an underage girl that we all know happened between

2015 and 2016 and with sex trafficking and abuse of minors happening at the

highest level of government right now in the executive office it's not surprising to me

that you're not getting support from trump's fbi in san francisco that said if we're talking about

accountability and people in positions of power what does the city do when or if hopefully we

we won't experience what we experienced in 2015 and 2016

with 28 law enforcement officers involved

in trafficking an underage girl.

But if we do, how do we hold city staff accountable?

And who does that?

And maybe that's a question for our city attorney.

Because if we're talking about civil penalties,

I know that out of the 28 law enforcement officers

that were involved in this sex scandal

that made national news, national news,

14 were from the city of Oakland.

From what I understand, 11 had some type of

accountability internally to the city.

I don't know what happened to the other three

and maybe my numbers are off,

but that would mean that we as a body

or perhaps the city attorney's office, the city administrator,

I want to understand, would those individuals also

be liable for civil penalties under this legislation?

They would be because they were sex buyers, in essence.

And so no person, regardless of their law enforcement status,

should be given special privileges.

And what happened was abhorrent.

And no one should be abusing their power the way that happened.

Thank you.

Councilmember Gallo.

Yes, Madam Chairperson, I'm going to have to excuse myself at 430.

The mayor, Mayor Lee had called a public safety meeting at the Fruitville Transit Village,

and I have to be there joining her and that meeting starts at 430.

But you have my full support in moving forward with this action.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Gallo.

And we can move to public comment.

I call your name please approach the podium in any order please state your

name for the record before beginning if you are participating via zoom please

raise your hand so I can easily identify you and the chair is giving you two

minutes for this item Janet Jett Ken no Kay Vanessa Russell Albert Bernal Zach

Thayer, Amber Johnson, Davina Karolola, Megan Escoto, Mr. Sada Olabala, Brianna

Katrina Price, Mr. Hazard, Owele Makaba, Lynn Truong, Annabelle Velazquez,

Edwin, Tuan Nguyen, Vinnie Nguyen, Lin, that's a duplicate, also a duplicate, Jennifer Tai,

Chen Wynn Jennifer Tran Amardy Brar or AD

Yin Finn Tulati in any order please approach the podium in any order please approach the podium

in any order please approach the podium and your time will be shown on the screen behind me

good afternoon members of safety committee my name is Janet Jett I grew up in Oakland

and I am a long-time Oakland resident.

I also work for Love Never Fails,

which you guys already know of Love Never Fails.

Some of my colleagues are here today.

In the late 1980s, I worked at Oakland Hospital on East 14th,

now International on 27th Avenue.

I saw girls walk by the pharmacy when I arrived at work.

I was not aware they were victims.

It was unclear to me why they were out there.

They were fully clothed.

The reality of trafficking was not widely understood.

at least not by me. Today, because of my work with Love Never Fails, I see the devastating

impact of commercial sexual exploitation of minors, children whose lives are shattered

by violence and demand. Buyers come from other cities, other counties, and even other states.

They come here to exploit our babies and then leave while Oakland bears the trauma. That

That is why I am here to urge you to support Councilmember Charlene Wang and this ordinance.

This matters.

You can send the message that Oakland will not be used as a hunting ground for those

who commit evil.

This council can be courageous to stand and protect the children, victims, and families.

Oakland is my beloved city.

Oakland is resilient and worth defending.

Oakland is home.

For many years, I have believed and prayed that God would open heaven over Oakland and bring change,

and people from everywhere will ask how it happened, and God will receive the glory.

By supporting this ordinance, you have the opportunity to be part of a meaningful change.

Thank you.

My name is Ken Newkay.

I work with Love Never Fails as the outreach coordinator.

I go on the Blade every week with our team, loving on these women that are being trafficked.

I wanted to say that this is not going to change or solve the trafficking on the Blade,

but this is going to add a hindrance.

Out of two years, 53 arrests, there was only one charge, meaning they got off practically scotch-free.

he said the lieutenant said there's already been 37 arrests in the month of

January so with this for them to be charged the hope is for the people

coming out of Oakland knowing that our laws aren't complete that they can get

away with this if they are even go up to the car they will be charged that $4,000

are fine. Again, I say it's not going to change or it's not going to solve this

problem, but it'll add a hindrance. What will help even more is to not to make it

a misdemeanor to buy sex. It will help when it's a felony. And so I say that

today not just for you, but in hopes of California changing that to make it a

felony to buy sex thank you good afternoon council members my name is

Albert Bernal and I'm here to advocate for the young girls we house at love

never fails and the young girls who are still being exploited right now as we

speak these girls we house come directly from International Boulevard there are

survivors of human trafficking, I know their names, I know their stories, I know

their trauma. They are not statistics. They are deeply traumatized among the

most vulnerable in our community. Some of these girls were literally chained up

for seven months or more. They were groomed by traffickers who

exploited their vulnerability. Many are still children. Many are fatherless.

Many had no one to protect them when the abuse began.

These girls are our daughters, our sisters, and our granddaughters.

And for many of them, no one came to pick them up or stand in the gap.

Buyers deepened that absence.

Buyers deepened on that absence.

Demand keeps the system alive.

We must protect the vulnerable.

We must protect the vulnerable.

We must protect the vulnerable by holding buyers accountable.

Eliminating demand directly disrupts the supply of trafficked youth.

Protecting the vulnerable is not optional.

It is our moral responsibility as a community.

I'm asking you to stand in the gap and protect the vulnerable by going after demand.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Amba Johnson and I'm the grant manager for the Human Trafficking Prevention

Grant for Oakland Unified School District.

Our grant is dedicated to prevention, training all secondary staff, providing age-appropriate

prevention education for students, and equipping youth serving staff to recognize and respond

to trafficking and exploitation.

Human trafficking touches students in every secondary school.

I'm not aware of a single school that hasn't been touched.

To give you a concrete example of what effective prevention could look like,

earlier last year I was asked to consult with a school concerning a 13-year-old girl

showing early signs of grooming that were recognized because of the training.

Her family was in the middle of medical crisis,

and adult supervision understandably had been reduced.

Because the school was trained to recognize signs, they acted early,

but identification alone is not enough.

We were able to reach out to a community partner with expertise and capacity to respond.

A trained staff member met with the student on campus alongside her trusted adult and a school social worker.

Rather than interrogating or alarming her, the nonprofit engaged her in a conversation about her interests,

her talents, and a paid internship opportunity in their after-school program that very day.

That moment mattered.

When we identify risk early before exploitation escalates and when there are partners with

the bandwidth and expertise to step in, we change trajectories and we change lives.

Schools are ground zero for identification, but schools are mandated to teach.

Even with all we do to support student health and safety, we cannot provide the specialized,

long-term, trauma-informed services these young people need.

This bill matters because it strengthens the systems around our children.

Directing funds into survivor services and prevention ensures that when a school identifies

a young person at risk, there's an effect.

Hello, my name is Annabelle Velasquez.

I am a survivor of human trafficking, sexual assault, and domestic violence.

Thank you to everyone who voted to move this ordinance forward.

That vote mattered, not just on paper, but in real life,

because these current laws have been deciding who gets protected and who keeps getting ignored.

I'm not here speaking in theory.

I'm here because I was once the same age as the victims as I now see being exploited on these streets.

I survived exploitation.

I survived violence.

And I survived a system that statistically I was never supposed to make it out of.

So when I look at these victims, minors, vulnerable adults, kids in foster care, people without homes, I don't see choices.

I see myself, and I see exactly what happens when demand is left unchecked.

And let me be clear, this ordinance is a game changer for Oakland.

The way I see this from a survivor's standpoint, this ordinance builds on AB 379.

It disrupts the demand, it holds buyers accountable, and it creates real funding for survivor services without arresting the people being exploited.

I know that there's opposition, but some people will say victims chose this life.

I didn't choose violence. I didn't choose coercion, addiction, homelessness, or I chose survival.

But some will say this will also increase crime.

But criminalizing victims has never made us safer.

It's only made traffickers richer and survivors quieter.

This matters for public safety.

It's in the name.

It matters for vulnerable youth.

And every day that there is a delay, another victim becomes a statistic.

Can Oakland continue to afford that?

This moment is historic.

No other city has this exact ordinance.

If Oakland passes this, other cities and counties will follow.

Oakland doesn't have a victim problem.

It has a demand problem.

So don't just say you support survivors.

Prove it with your vote.

This ordinance does something powerful.

It makes people creating the harm pay for the healing, not the taxpayers.

Hello, my name is Vanessa Russell.

I'm the founding executive director of Love Never Fails, and I'm so grateful for this ordinance.

Thank you so much, Council Member Wang, for your courage in bringing this forward.

I was just astonished by the 51 number.

51 arrests, but only one was actually charged.

And it made me think about the fact that we've housed,

and I'm so grateful for the Department of Violence Prevention that has,

we have a grant there, and we've been able to house 56 women and children

over the last three years, survivors.

And what I want to say is, you know, it is our joy and our pleasure

to house those women and children,

But think about the cost to house those 56 women and children.

100% of those individuals needed care.

Yet only one out of 51 buyers were held accountable for their behavior.

There's something wrong with those numbers.

If I have to pay for 56 survivors to rebuild their lives, then 51 buyers need to be held accountable for their actions.

There is $250,000, $250,000 to $400,000 is the average amount that it costs for restitution or for aftercare for every survivor in lifelong medical and mental health services.

If we're only charging $4,000 for each incident and yet each individual has to bear $250,000 to $400,000 of costs on their own shoulders,

because remember CalVCB might give them $20,000, but that's not even going to get them anywhere near what they need in restitution.

It just doesn't make sense.

And I'm so grateful that you all are doing something about this so that survivors are prioritized.

Thank you.

Megan Escoto.

I'm a former foster youth.

I'm a survivor of C-Sec domestic violence and labor trafficking.

After my escape in 2015, I went on to work as a first responder.

I have lived it, I have seen it, and I have responded to the aftermath of it.

The exploitation of women and children does not exist in theory.

It devastates real lives in this city and across the country.

Every time a woman or girl gets into a car with a buyer, it could be the last decision she ever makes.

Women in the sex trade are estimated to be 60 to 100 times more likely to be killed than women in the general population.

We cannot say that sex work is work or that there's no harm in it

when no other form of labor carries the same likelihood of rape, disease, assault, or other harms that women are facing in the sex trade.

This is not adult entertainment. It is lethal exploitation.

No one under 18 can consent, and anyone who pays to access a minor's body is not a customer, that is a rapist, and he should be prosecuted as one.

This ordinance addresses loitering with intent to solicit sex from anyone of any age, so let's talk about consent.

Consent requires a conscious, self-directed decision.

It requires full understanding of what's being agreed to.

It requires real, accessible alternatives and the ability to say no or change your mind at any time.

And if the only choices are sex or homelessness and starvation, that's not consent.

It is coercion dressed up as commerce.

Across the country, advocates monitoring online buyer forums are watching men openly brag about how young the girls look.

They fetishize them.

They complain if she doesn't act enthusiastic enough.

They admit to pressuring women to go beyond the agreed acts.

They boast when she is drunk or high, which is also the crime of rape in California, to have sex with somebody under the influence.

These are not confused, lonely men.

They are not harmless.

And what they're purchasing is not consent.

It's access to someone's desperation.

Stop giving these men a pass and start holding them accountable.

Stand with the women and girls who are being bought, pressured, threatened, and discarded.

And if we refuse to call this what it is...

Good afternoon, my name is Brianna Price and I'm a survivor of human trafficking.

I've driven over two hours each time to be here because Oakland is where I was trafficked as a child.

I am not here believing that trafficking will suddenly end.

This violence has existed since the beginning of time and it will likely exist until the end of time.

But what we can change and what we must change is who we hold accountable.

When I was being sold, I was broken, hurt, and abused.

I was treated as a commodity, not as a human being.

At 31 years old, my feet still hurt when I stand too long because I was forced to walk miles every day so buyers could purchase me.

I had to jump out of moving cars to survive.

The harm buyers caused does not end when the money is exchanged.

It lives on in the survivor long after.

But I am standing here today because of organizations like Love Never Fails,

a local Bay Area anti-trafficking organization that believed in me when I could not believe in myself.

They helped me get back on my feet.

They helped me get back into school and to graduate.

They gave me opportunities to speak, to share my story, and to let my voice be heard.

They stood beside me alongside survivors, senators, and advocates to help pass several

anti-trafficking bills over the last several years.

Because of that support, I am now a mom, a wife, a homeowner.

I have several businesses.

Without anti-trafficking organizations, I would not be the woman I am standing here

before you today.

After being sold, I was broken.

but I was not beyond restoration.

Holding buyers accountable matters.

It does not stop trafficking entirely,

but it curbs the demand.

It begins to cost the right people.

And when increased fines are imposed on buyers,

those funds are directed to anti-trafficking organizations

that help restore lives that were once broken like mine.

Trafficking may not disappear,

but today we can choose who bears the cost.

It should not be the victim.

It should not be the child.

Thank you.

My name is Davina Curilola and I'm here as a survivor and someone who has trafficked

right here in these streets.

And I'm in support of this ordinance.

I want to acknowledge what this bill gets right.

It recognizes that sex trafficking is real, that black women and girls are disproportionately

harmed and that buyers and traffickers must be held accountable.

Appealing loitering for the purpose of prostitution is necessary.

Creating a survivor support fund is meaningful,

and shifting the focus towards the demand is an important step.

At the same time, I want to speak honestly,

because honesty is a part of equity.

Oakland has a long history of laws that were intended to protect communities

but ended up over-policing the same communities they claim to help.

That history matters when we talk about enforcement.

Because intention is not the impact,

terms like loitering with the intent even when aimed at buyers still rely on

police discretion and we know that discretion is not neutral it has racial

bias it has gender bias and it lands on the same communities every time I am

also deeply concerned that survivors are expected to prove that they were

trafficked in order to avoid punishment I'm I that is not survivor centered that

is state-centered. Survivors should not have to perform their trauma or produce documentation

or interact with systems that they may have already been harmed by just to be protected.

The survivor support fund is only as just as who controls it. If survivors and impacted

communities do not have real decision-making power, then this becomes harm recycled into

bureaucracy, not healing. So yes, please pass this bill, but don't stop

there. Building a racial equity safeguard, limit discretionary enforcement, and

guarantee survivor-led governance. Thank you.

Hi everyone, this is, my name is Lin Chong. I live in Dictic 2. I come here the

second time to support Council Member Wong to have the fund and remove all the

trafficking on the international. I live here in 62 and I have been there for 30

years but I saw this time my district too in Little Saigon so bad no service.

like anytime they stand at the front door they bother me I cannot call because

nothing to do for the trafficking and the film and also I have the problem for

the home desk they travel they get trouble for me every day can do the

business thank you for everyone to let me come in today to talk about that thank

you very much

Good afternoon. My name is Edwin Hagler, Community Brothers. I'm a sole advocate to support Wang and her movement, but also what I saw this morning was very amazing that the police department and the sheriff's department did stop workers and so-called pimps or what everyone call themselves, but they did make action today.

And by the time we left the area, there was no pimps and there were no sex workers out there today.

So I kind of support you on that.

And I appreciate, you know, you guys making efforts to make changes in Oakland because Oakland needs big changes.

All right.

God bless.

Good afternoon, Council Member.

My name is Jennifer Tai, and I'm here to strongly support this ordinance.

Sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation cause profound harm to our vulnerable,

our children, our young people, and those whose voice are often ignored.

This is not an issue that's happening somewhere else.

It is happening here in Oakland, affecting our neighborhood, our family, and our community,

and it demands our collective action.

I understand that this ordinance may not end sex trafficking.

However, it's an important and necessary tool by holding by the trafficker and who profit from this exploitation accountable.

Send a clear message that Oakland will not tolerate this abuse.

It's also helped generate resources to support the organization and the advocate who work tirelessly with the victims and survivors.

I respectfully ask you to please pass both yes on this ordinance and continue to prioritize the safety, the dignity, and the future of our community.

Thank you very much for your leadership and for your commitment to this important issue. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Yu Fan Talati, and I am the program manager of Fang Shiji Foundation.

We have served the East Oakland community for over 20 years.

We've been providing free math tutoring to the Franklin Elementary School students,

and our tutors are high school and college students who came here to serve with kindness and good intention.

However, we are deeply concerned about the presence of the sex trafficking in this area

and the impact to our community's safety.

Not only we worry about their physical safety, our youth volunteers,

their mental and emotional well-being as well.

And we wish you guys will pass this ordinance.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

I'm Awele Mekiba and I teach in OUSD.

I also am a producer of the MLK Oratorical.

And I strongly vote 100% votes of yes.

I think that you can save lives, change lives, and also send a strong message, not in our town.

As a teacher, I teach drama.

I have had many students give testimony, stories, and try to problem solve when the light is dark when they come to school

or when it's dark when they return home of seeing cars parked, feeling that they're being watched,

having men slowly follow behind them, diverting their routes to different places

or trying to go to a corner store for help.

trying to text their parents to let them know what's happening. I have heard data

presented by the DA when I was asked to come to the school board meeting to give

a report on the MLK oratorical. Because I arrived early I got privilege of this. I

was shocked to hear that in every middle school and high school we've had

children snatched and how come as an educator I have not heard this? Why

hadn't there been any curriculum? Where were the parent workshops? How come this

is not on a website. Where are the posters with QR codes? How do we inform our community, our

churches, our youth development centers? And so that's why I'm here. I'm also wondering if we

can have teens, four teens by teens, to create PSAs to educate each other. I also have heard kids

talk about hotel parties and that there are drugs and alcohol there. And I'm trying to like, what's

hotel party who's throwing this party can I see the flyer and so of course it

has to be some adult involving inviting young people there with the intention

not to harm our kids. What else did I want to say? I was happy to see for the

first time a big billboard at the airport I would love to see more of

those in our community not in our town how to get

Hi, my name is Vinnie Manuwen. I live in the Little Saigon for over almost 40 years. I

want to support Charlene Wang on the things that you wanted to do. Please pass. And also,

Ken Houston, you were asking about how people traffic and travel through the airport.

A lot of these people take private jets.

You can take guns, cocaine.

You take prostitution through those private jets.

They don't check anything.

Then you travel.

You go to Vegas.

You go to different places.

You go to Houston.

And that's how people come through that lane, go to Oakland.

They come down, get picked up by chauffeur, and they do their stuff.

and they get back and it's done.

As far as myself, I grew up in the Tenderloin, San Francisco.

It was a hell hole.

And I was lucky to come to Oakland in 1992.

And heck, you know what, it's almost the same.

But here I've been living in the,

you call it the Blade District.

People are being sold here.

The streets are primarily run by criminals.

You know, drivers, actually, now I'm a real estate agent.

You know, I've been broker for almost 25 years,

and I've seen people buying properties,

and they're staying away from so-called the Blade District.

And real estate have gone down a lot.

I mean, I walked out, we drive clients down the street,

and they say, hey, you know, what's going on here?

What's all these people are doing here?

So they're staying away.

Real quick, a couple things that we need is we need a stronger,

Interstate federal coordinate we need enhanced parity to repeat offenders a mandatory

sentencing do you remember they the use of cease cars and properties for

For people that's come by property buy stuff do that again. Okay. Thanks

Good afternoon council members

My name is dr. Jennifer Tran and the president of the Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce Oakland native

I just want to start off by thank you all for this really rigorous legislation led by

Councilmember Wang and also the excellent questions that each of you pose just reflect

your commitment and dedication to community-driven processes, data-driven processes, and making sure

that our most vulnerable communities continue to not just inform the policy but drive the work.

And as I listen to our community members, our neighbors speak, I'm just reminded of the 10-year-old

version of my, when I was 10 years old, being solicited for sex walking home from school

in the Blade.

So it has been going on for decades.

And it breaks my heart to this day to think that the victims of human trafficking is not

just the folks who are being exploited against their will.

It's also the children who are walking to school every single day, asking their parents

questions that no eight-year-old should be asking.

questions around human trafficking, questions around

homelessness encampments, questions around vandalized buildings, questions around

illegal dumping. We're all wearing this shirt today

a refuge for all in Oakland, Little Saigon

a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War

and each of you passed that. We appreciate

your commitment to continue to center communities, to continue to contribute

every single day to ensure that Oakland continues to be that light for the Bay Area, for the state,

for the country. And so this ordinance will continue to send a message to not just folks

outside of Oakland who are coming in to do their dirty business. But when we say that Oakland is

open for business, we're not open for that kind of business. We're here to make sure that not just

Little Saigon or District 2 is free from violence, but Oakland is free from violence, free from fear,

and free from exploitation. Thank you very much.

Hello, my name is Amar Di Broad.

Hi, I will reset.

My name is Amar Di Broad.

I also go by AD.

First of all, I want to thank

Charlene Wang,

council member, and everybody else

in support of this audience.

This is need of the hour.

I'm here to represent Little Saigon, also called the Red Light District basically.

And I'm here to represent small businesses and residents in Little Saigon.

We need the relief now.

It was supposed to be yesterday.

Little Saigon community is suffering due to this pandemic of sex trafficking and prostitution.

I've been working there for about 10 years now, up and down International Boulevard.

we see every day. What we used to see in the night hours is up there, broad daylight. Girls,

it's not, they're not even hiding. You see the pimps, you see drugs, prostitution, homelessness,

you name it, it's all there. A recipe for crime. This doesn't affect just one group.

It affects us all. There are multiple schools which our kids are exposed to this issue.

Our police beat 19x has the highest crime rate of all the Oakland police beats for last few years.

Thanks to Blade. This affects Little Saigon, San Antonio District, basically all District 2, and then it goes beyond.

We live in it every day.

There are multiple schools.

And this district is basically, you have international airport,

downtown, calcium. We are right there in the middle,

exposed. I urge

and wish you all to pass this with an urgency

and put a stop to sex trafficking and prostitution.

Hi, my name is Chen. I've been in the District 2 for about 10 years. I had this nice speech

written up, but Dr. Tran and AD took most of that content already, so I'm going to tell

you what I go through on a regular basis. Every Tuesday, I walk a group of kids from

Franklin all the way to Clinton Park. It's about three, four blocks and we

purposely ignore International just so we don't have to answer those difficult

questions that Dr. Tran alluded to. But there are some cases you know we have to

go past International just because we're located on 7th International and you

know a group of kids they see ladies on the corner wearing little to no clothing.

They are saying, oh, don't look to the left, don't look to the left.

And of course, what do the kids do?

They look to the left.

And, you know, those are the types of things that we have to go through and we have to

try to explain on why they're doing what they're doing.

You know, why do I have to, you know, come up with those solutions?

That's just one incident.

I have another incident where a young lady is hiding in our community center because

she's scared to death from her exploiter.

Two hours ago, I had another sex worker call me by my first name asking to use the bathroom.

Of course you could use the bathroom.

You know what I mean?

This is a human basic right.

And really, I want to be able to help you in any manner, any way I can, whether it's clothing, food, resources.

I was able to help a sex worker get connected back to her family.

Those are the types of issues that we are dealing with just because we're located on the blade.

But, you know, I commend, you know, Charlene for bringing this issue and making it a priority to our community because it's been ignored for so long.

And, you know, this is, I know it's not going to solve all the issues, but it's a step in the right direction.

And. Good day.

I'm here to address the issue of the human trafficking also known as

Finkter von Rinden Trump's I have been a male that is the also before you begin

what's your name my name is Zach I also go by the name Patrick Anderson as a pen

name and Anderson v Trump as the impeachment agent I'd like the city to

validate home Romero Yang Baker Godwin and Kelly V Mattson at requirements

against the United States and Interpol identification and based on human

trafficking same way you see voting credit fraud and mortgage fraud tied to

land rates and the view of the state I do believe that there is an issue I

believe that this community needs to address that to narcotics I believe

narcotics is a bigger issue than it is to human trafficking when you can prove

that the police and the fire department are moving 10 kilos of cocaine and a

half kilo of fentanyl I did hack with a group of inner pool agents not in nine

languages improve a movement and view of taxes I do submit as an request meant

the FBI director John Kevin Anderson and a deputy FBI director Jeffrey Ames we

put against the record for against the community I have an issue the carriage

of the castle over 18 are you related and not impaired is seen as a

complimentary split state and Q on muon energy energy n when that is wondered the

same way and say hi I'm a man I'm willing to prostitute myself no one

picks it up I ask that this community take an honest vote and view against the

state that the building that is right across from the distribution of Pepsi

co be looked at as a deja vu and that two blocks down be used as a parking and take out the bar

that is there and view compliance and begin full enforcement thank you and have a great day

you ready okay this year makes 18 years i have been sitting in this room 18 years

You don't know how many times in 18 years this subject matter has come before a city council for resolve.

Numerous times.

In 2024, Chief Mitchell declared that he was going to crack down on sex trafficking.

It was a top priority.

It's in 2024.

And so I looked at some data in 2014, 2010, 2015, 2017.

There have been partnerships with Alameda County and Haywood.

There's been FBI stings related to this subject matter.

In 2003, the FBI dubbed Oakland a high-intensity child prostitution area,

and some effort was needed to end child trafficking, sex prostitution.

And here we are today in 2026 with an ordinance.

At the same time, when I see 61% African Americans being the victims, I begin to question because I come here all the time talking about African Americans, and that's always dismissed, no matter what level.

So you have an ordinance on racism that you put in place.

Nothing's happened.

You have an emergency ordinance on homelessness.

Nothing's happening.

You have a Department of Race and Equity.

Nothing is happening.

You have a NSA, 22 years in place.

Nothing is happening.

Sideshows, nothing is happening.

So tell me, why is this going to be an issue where something is going to happen of significance?

Claire House came here with a support from the then district attorney and this body.

Why don't you start a fund for ambassadors?

This is a commercial corridor.

You got ambassadors in corridors around the city, in Chinatown, in certain areas around.

Why don't you have ambassadors walk from Fifth Avenue to 22nd Avenue?

Day and night, rain or shine, they're out there with umbrellas.

Ambassadors have them go in teams.

That'll stop that.

They walk down the street on any national.

You got to slow up.

I know because I drive up and down there.

I can tell you.

Look what happened on Sonoma a couple of weeks ago.

Two shop owners got shot because they sell these string,

whatever, it's not clothing, that they use on the street.

Ambassadors. And also

change the penalty from a misdemeanor

to a felony. That's what you gotta do.

You gonna tell me that

officers said they made 30 arrests.

They get out on them bail. If you're gonna charge them

$3,000, then you should have about $90,000 in the kitty.

You don't have that.

They bail out, and they continue to do what they do best.

It's traffic.

Look how many times, I bet you out of those 30 arrests,

how many times those folks been in and out

until their hearing occurs.

Ambassadors, let them walk up and down the street.

Thank you, Mr. Hazard.

Your time is up.

For way, way too long, we have watched modern servitude and children being bought off the streets of Oakland.

This is not a new problem.

Before it was an international boulevard in Little Saigon, I've heard about this for years being in the community.

kids walking naked, broad daylight, being sold, and there are no consequences in Oakland,

for johns and buyers and pimps to do whatever they want to kids and to exploit them.

And the council and the mayor watched and really did nothing.

How is this different?

You have to ask yourself, will you provide dedicated resources to make a difference here?

Because before it was international, it was in the fruit vale.

And before that, Broadway, Telegraph, San Pablo, Alcatraz, it just gets shoved around.

We want community ambassadors.

Well, I'm sorry, we don't have police officers.

Because what do we do?

We have a severe staffing police shortage.

There's no traffic enforcement.

We cut that.

There is no community resource officers.

We cut that.

There's no crime prevention.

We cut that.

There's no homicide investigations for cold murder cases.

No, we are severely understaffed.

We need to bulk up OPD and police academies.

In the meantime, girls are walking on streets, 51 people arrested.

Nobody charged.

What's happening with the new DA?

Pamela Price didn't charge them.

What did she do?

Who supported them?

Who supported Pamela Price?

So I ask you to do something different and have true enforcement to make it a felony to buy young children.

Thank you Mr. Twan your time is up.

Our names have been called if you if your name was calling you wish to speak please approach the podium.

Okay thank you colleagues any comments or questions Councilmember Wong I think you raised your hand.

Councilmember Wong did you raise your hand?

Oh, yeah, I did. I just wanted to respond to some of the public comments around adjusting things to felony-level charges.

We as the City Council do not have the power to change penal code.

I really want to make that clear to the public.

That is why I also made clarifying remarks that Sections A through D of this ordinance change are to just reflect conformity.

so if you have issues with the penal code please make that advocacy at your

state legislate legislature thank you thank you

Councilmember Houston through the chair to councilmember Charlene what about

repeat offenders do they have anything about if it's a repeat offender on how

the charge it goes from misdemeanor felony what does it say about that it is

my understanding for example that the for example right now as of January 1st

of this year there's there's a few things so it is a it is a felony to

purchase a minor under the age of 15 and then now through the ages of 16 and

17-year-olds, it is a felony to purchase them. It's a wobbler, so-called. So basically the DA can charge as either a misdemeanor or as a felony for anyone who is above three years of the trafficked child.

so but and perhaps lieutenant Campos who also has more familiarity with the penal

code than I do can comment on this but again this is these are things that must

be legislated at the state level and through the chair I got it I like it

you're saying that a felony can be charged so I need to know those ages

again and Captain officer Campos can you answer my question yes sir so

of the provisions did change on the purchasing which is ordinarily a misdemeanor so there are

enhancements that make it a felony as council member wong brought up the under 15 and certain

convictions can make it what was formerly a misdemeanor can make it a felony and that's for

that's for youth that's for under 18. so under 18 they can be charged as a felony from the purchaser

that purchase a kid or child male female from 15 to 18 yes sir if it reaches some of those elements

that were added in law okay um i'll just note that in my review of some of the state laws that north

carolina did make it a felony to purchase anyone regardless of age a couple years ago

Okay, there is a motion and a second on the floor. Just wanted to say thank you to all of

the very courageous public speakers who came out today to speak in support of an issue that is

very close to my heart. Thank you for the work that you do for our communities on the street,

for our young women and also oftentimes our young men and other folks who are victims of this

incredible human tragedy. Like author Councilmember Wong said, you know, this alone, and many of you

all said, this alone is not going to end human trafficking, but it is a very important step

to get to where we start to need to be. I hope that because human trafficking is clearly a

regional issue, that other cities continue to do what they can, that we can see changes at every

level of government, and that we can, as a city, start to make real progress on every front. Yes,

we have to address enforcement. Yes, we have to address changing penalties. Yes, we have to see

what the DA can do, evidence collection, all of these things. But I hope that this is one of many

actions that this council can take on this issue moving forward and be able to garner the resources

to and tailor them to the individual needs of survivors. So again, thank you for everyone who

have come and spoken today. I know this is an issue close to many of our hearts. I worked very closely

with domestic violence and human trafficking survivors for over a decade as a case manager

and specifically pregnant human trafficking survivors.

And there are so, so, so many pregnant trafficking survivors on the streets today and through the ages.

And my utmost gratitude to those doing powerful work on the ground,

as well as our Department of Violence Prevention, who takes a nuanced approach to these very complex issues.

We have a motion and a second on the floor.

And through the chair to the mover and the seconder of the motion, we're clarifying that you all are adopting, or the motion is to adopt the supplemental legislation. Is that correct?

Thank you.

On the motion to approve the recommendation of the supplemental in the packet, Council Member Brown?

Aye.

Council Member Fyfe?

Aye.

Council Member Gayo is excused. Council Member Houston?

Aye.

Council Member Unger?

Aye.

Councilmember Wong. Aye. Councilmember Jenkins is also excused and Chair Ramachandran. Aye.

Motion passes with a vote of six ayes. This item is approved on introduction.

Final passage will be February 17th.

And through the chair, before I call in the consent calendar,

I'd like to draw your attention to item 6.12, which was added to this agenda at the three-day portion of this agenda,

that being the supplemental.

And you do need an urgency finding and vote to hear the item.

This item was added to the agenda because action is necessary to ensure quorum for the February meeting of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.

Council member Brown yes I'll happily make that motion and then I'll hold on

my comments on on this item thank you and I'll second that thank you for the

urgency motion for this item moved by councilmember Brown seconded by council

member Ramachandran council member Brown I council member Fyfe I council

member guy was excused council member Houston I council member anger I

Council member Wong?

Excuse.

Council member Jenkins is also excused. Council member Ramachandran?

Aye.

Motion passes with a vote of 5 ayes, 3 excused.

Now going to the consent calendar in its entirety, starting with item 6.1, which is approval of the draft minutes from the meeting of January 20th, 2026.

Item 6.2, a resolution regards to the declaration of a local emergency due to AIDS.

Item 6.3, a resolution regarding the declaration for medical cannabis health emergency.

Item 6.4, a resolution for the declaration of a local emergency on homelessness.

Item 6.5, a resolution for the mayor's appointment to the commission on homelessness.

Item 6.6, a resolution for the mayor's appointment to the cultural affairs commission.

Item 6.7, a resolution for appointments to the Commission on Aging.

Item 6.8, a resolution for the settlement of Tiffany Nault versus the City of Oakland.

Item 6.9, a resolution for a settlement for State Farm General Insurance Company versus City of Oakland.

Item 6.10.

Apologies, Madam Clerk, we've lost quorum.

If any council members can hear me, if you can please return to the dais.

If there are staff members present.

She said she needed five minutes.

So can I say something to you, Chair?

On 6.2, I had something to say about the cannabis regulations.

So when we come back, can I speak to that?

point two is about the cannabis you know it's 6.3 cannabis 6.3

okay i think

all right we have quorum again if um council member wong i request you to come back to your

see we've lost quorum without you thank you okay continuing on with the consent

calendar going back to 6.9 a resolution in regards to the state farm general

insurance company versus the city of Oakland item 6.10 a resolution for

goes mommy Marquez Miriam Hernandez versus the city of Oakland officer Tommy

Wynn. Item 6.11 a resolution in support of AB 1537. Item 6.12 a resolution for the

mayor's appointment to the Cannabis Regulatory Commission. Item 6.13 an

information report for fiscal year 25 through 28 citywide strategic plan. Six

month update. Item 6.14 a resolution for a consultant contract amendment for the

fire station for project item 6.15 a resolution honoring Michael Ford item 6.16 a resolution for

the Samson Oakland recast program for fiscal years 25 through 26 and that concludes your consent

calendar and you do have eight speakers on this item Thank You Councilmember Houston then Council

I had a general question about 6.3 on marijuana.

Why do we still have that on as an emergency?

The lack of regulations on these marijuana facilities, they don't even take care of the

obligations that they're supposed to take care of in the documents that

they signed. So I'm just trying to figure out why do we continue to have

marijuana on this as an emergency. I do not know the answer to that question

Councilmember but I do know that any that any council has the power to remove

declarations of emergencies but these have been going on for a long time and

council members can pass resolutions to no longer have something as a declaration

of emergency okay I wanted just to read something is it out of order if I read

something from that with a regulation that they were supposed to follow on 17

it can I okay it says cannabis operate operators must implement a community

beautification plan to reduce illegal dumping littering graffiti blight and

and promote beautification of the adjacent community within 50 feet of the cannabis facilities

and the cannabis facilities in my district do not do it right and we have one right now being built

in my district near a school near some houses that don't even have the permits

for the the remodeling and the permit to build it so i'm on that right now so i'm

I'm gonna address this being an emergency.

Thank you, Council Member Brown.

Excellent, thank you so much.

If you wanted to add time on the clock

so that I don't go over, I wanted to speak to two items,

item 611 and item 612.

So first off, colleagues, I'm bringing this resolution

in support of AB 1537,

which is from Assemblymember Isaac Bryan.

And as you all are aware, there have been, you know,

many troubling incidences, both here in the state

of California as well as nationally as it relates

to ICE enforcement, specifically with the killing

of Keith Porter by a off-duty ICE agent in LA

as well as Renee Good in Minnesota,

as well as Alex Preddy.

And so I think, I believe that right now

is a pivotal moment to stand up

for our immigrant communities,

especially here in California.

And so we've made, we've 100% made this fight very local,

given that last week, Mayor Lee passed

those two executive orders, one creating a task force,

as well as ensuring public property isn't used

to aid in immigration enforcement.

And then we also saw leadership at the Board of Supervisors

with the ice-free zones.

And so today, I'm encouraging my colleagues

to continue to take action in supporting

this critical piece of legislation.

And so we know that officers,

so I was disappointed to learn that law enforcement officers

in California can also work as immigration enforcement

when they're off duty, and we know that officers

are entrusted with sensitive personal information

about members of our community,

and so it is of utmost importance that we support AB 1537.

And if you read the items in the packet,

but at a high level, what does it do?

It prohibits peace officers from engaging

in secondary employment with the Department

of Homeland Security.

It requires peace officers to report any offer

or attempt of said employment.

It also creates accountability by defining violations

and also promotes transparency by making records

related to peace officers actually

of secondary employment under the Public Records Act.

And so really wanna encourage my colleagues to support this

so that this item in the legislature right now

is currently being scheduled to one of the committees,

and so in passing this, the City of Oakland

would be in support right from the beginning.

So I wanna encourage everyone to vote yes on that.

And then I wanted to also draw your attention

to item 6.2.

I think it was back in November,

the chair of the Cannabis Commission came to us

and let us know that they have been unable to meet

given a lack of quorum, and so there was a handful

of offices that were named with having vacancies.

And so I followed a process in ensuring

that applications were received.

I'm really grateful for the support

of the office of the mayor.

And so on that, I'm really delighted

to be appointing Ashutay Millhouse

to the Cannabis Commission, and we know

that this commission plays an essential role

and advocating for equity and economic growth

here in the city of Oakland.

And we need people on the commission that have experience

and that are rooted in Oakland in the community

and bring a strong vision for the future of cannabis.

And so I'm really delighted to be appointing Tay

to this body as she has an amazing nonprofit

focused on providing mental health support

to community members.

She's an advocate, she's curated multiple community spaces,

cultivated business partnerships in the cannabis industry

throughout Oakland and beyond.

And so lastly, the last thing that I'll share

is that I do believe that there are more applications

for consideration, so if anyone else actually has a vacancy

on the Cannabis Commission, please feel free to reach out

to the office of, I believe it's,

you can either reach out to Preston or DIN

and they have more applications that you can also review.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We can move to public speakers.

As I call your name, please approach the podium in any order.

Please state your name for the record before beginning.

Zachary John Thayer, Miss Asada Olabala, Vanessa Wong,

Ashante Milhouse, Derrick Barnes, Mr. Hazard,

Mavis Carter Griffin.

Maven.

Lydette A.

Thank you, Mr. Houston, for bringing this issue up

around cannabis.

Use the same intensity about dealing with fentanyl.

We went through this whole thing about human trafficking.

Children are dying on fentanyl.

A lot more than they're dying on the street for human trafficking.

And y'all don't say a damn thing, except for what Mr. Houston,

why are you keeping cannabis as a public health crisis?

Let me tell you what the governor just noted yesterday.

Newsom appeared before reporters at a Montgomery Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego.

Some 50.6 million pills with an estimate total street value of $506 million have been seized.

11,000 arrests.

And y'all don't say anything about children dying here in Oakland because of fentanyl.

And you, Madam Chair, couldn't even answer the question that Councilmember Houston said.

I don't know.

That's all you have to say?

Why don't you, Councilmember Wong, use the same intensity about fentanyl as you use with street trafficking?

And children are dying.

Way younger than 13.

on fentanyl. You had an arrest here two months ago, right here in Oakland, for drug trafficking,

fentanyl. And you don't see a damn thing. I gave you this copy of my notice of motion

regarding the writ I filed on May 19th last year, because that ballot measure is illegal.

that was on April 15th, the city attorney altered the tax of the ballot measure.

They say it was a sales tax that went into effect on October 1.

But now I think I may get my day in court to be heard on the 19th of this month

to overturn that special election ballot measure that you articulated

that that was going to raise $29 million annually for 10 years.

If I'm correct, and they nullify that ballot measure,

because in that ballot measure, provision 4.26.130,

you can't have a provision there that

enjoins the voter from seeking griever.

Thank you, Mr. Hazard.

Your time is up.

Hello everyone, my name is Lydette.

I am the district director to Councilmember Houston, Senate of Oakland, and I wanted to

just share a few things regarding the cannabis issue District 7 is having.

Councilmember Houston touched on the beautification obligation these individuals have or these

businesses but I wanted to share specifically on a business that's

currently doing a build out a girl house in district 7 I contacted the cannabis

department they're currently going through a permitting is process with

cannabis the cannabis side of it but when it comes to the actual building

process they're not going through any problem proper permitting they got there

they got one part of the permitting process done but the other parts they

just have abandoned and they're going they're building out their infrastructure

So I brought this up just to say we need enforcement. We need attention because these businesses are popping up with no proper permitting process. Thank you

Can I ask her a question to the chair is that

Because she's she works for me and and I had her to come up. I didn't want her to sign up

I was just going to bring her up to speak to this because it's a serious issue that's happening in my district and I hope maybe across the city.

I just want to know, am I breaking any rules?

I believe we can go through all the public speakers.

Then I can bring her up? Okay, all right, cool. I'll bring you back up.

I don't want to break no rules. I'll be breaking rules all the time.

Hello, I'm Ashutay Milhouse.

I would first and foremost like to thank the council for appointing me to be on the Cannabis Commission.

Thank you to both Councilwoman Brown and Mayor Lee.

I'm really excited as I have been an advocate within the cannabis industry for some years now.

I have multiple affiliates within the industry as well.

I am happy to be a part of the official conversation as I plan to help with moving the Cannabis Commission forward to its greatest potential.

I'm looking forward to what this year has to come for myself and the city of Oakland, and I thank you all. Thank you, Brown.

Hi. I'm going to speak on behalf of the unhoused community of, well, now we're on Willow Street, but the Wood Street People's Collective.

in regards to cannabis clubs and growers.

We have a particular grower in our area that drives erratically

all of the people that work there, putting us in danger.

We are, of course, on the street, but we have no other place to go.

And I like what Mr. Houston said in regards to having the cannabis clubs

be contributing to the beautification in the neighborhood,

not to eradicate us, but to help us with a better-looking frontage,

a better-looking, better-presenting image of who we are

because we're not taken seriously as citizens of this city.

And we have very valid concerns.

We want work. We want recognition.

We want equalization, which is very important

because we're not equal.

There's no equitable anything for the unhoused.

We are not able to live in the same zones,

do the same things, nothing.

I mean, we don't get trash pickup.

I mean, there's so many things.

Right now we have cannabis clubs, and I'll call them that, driving erratically, doing 35, 45, 55, 60 miles an hour over one block just so they can turn left into their cannabis club with annoying recordings.

Every time you walk by, hi, you're currently being recorded.

I got to hear that six times between my spot and the end of the block.

Why?

Okay, I'm not doing anything to them.

If you stop for any second, alarms are going off, like you're public enemy number one and you're breaching the wall.

And it's aggravating.

It's very unnerving being unhoused as it is and overcoming hate and people's preconceptions and stereotypes.

Now we have to deal with being bombarded with recordings and erratic driving that might kill the cats that I've gotten to kill rats in the neighborhood and that I care about.

And that's all I have to say.

Thank you.

good day again council I'm here to address not just the cannabis I believe

you guys grouped all of the things together under the 6.0 I wish to

validate Simon property be the city of Oakland and compliant and Kelly Matt

v. Mattson and asked that in usv Carrington Mortgage Services usv Orion

insurance and usv travelers insurance that it'd be a valid application against

property land reeds under Oregon USDA be the United States based on credit line

reeds based on application the same issue is wondered in pastel Robles and

and Tulth v. the United States as the property lease and deed holder in view of allocation.

This is what is wondered in Alto v. the United States based on compliance and is being asked

in view of the right to counsel under Cardoso v. the United States. In this compliance I

I ask that the state be held malice and negligent and Furr v. Preston and the wonderment to what is wondered in the county. Furr is the right to seek counsel in view of implied designation. With this being identified, I believe that there is issues in the tri-regional community tied to land REITs.

Land REITs is the depreciational application of income generation based on CUBE, Chime, and Zelle.

I believe this is covered in the view of Frost Manhattan and First Republic v. SVP.

This is tied directly to the Bank of Marin v. the United States and the real estate REIT holdings

and bond ETFs of a tri-regional county, including the AC Transit and the BART board.

based on the requestment and Smith v. Casa I did not move the free and

Fyfter be the town of Fyfter be the United States or what is known as the

freedom of speech via Alameda County on view of society I asked that the state

be held grossly malously and intentionally negligence in the view of

the city tied to chapter 13 bankruptcy and the view to the expression to view

pay-for-play under chapter 11 validating chapter 7 to consulting and the view of

day-to-day management under LTD holding enterprises and view of performance

based pensions and view of land rates I I solely believe that this tries

directly with the legalization of marijuana and justifies it as the view

to spill your kids compared to the view of what is the on balance of your

of your enterprise as that is identified I wish that there be a full

audit and request that there be a sunshine act request in view of that

thank you

You ready, Madam Clerk?

Thank you.

I do not understand why Item 4.1 was removed.

The tree permit issue is three years it took to be brought to Council.

The expedience of this being dealt with needs to happen soon.

The declaration of a local emergency of homelessness, obviously you're not doing what you need

to be doing.

You should have been included in the $419 million that the governor allocated for homeless

housing assistance that money went to san francisco san diego and uh lost uh i think uh

sandy sandy o appointment for the commission of homelessness that commission has not met

since last september and is the schedule that they have for boards and commission they are not

schedule and its scheduling goes all the way up to November 30th of 2026. No schedule of meeting

and they are obligated to do an annual report on the encampment policy. That hasn't happened.

Item 610, you're looking at a lawsuit that includes the Oakland Police Department. Y'all

got to find some kind of way to sue somebody. This Oakland police officer who has earned over

$493,000 salary and overtime. Y'all need to address that soon. Now this thing on S11,

it is insulting that you people keep talking about your sanctuary city status and protecting

illegal immigrants. You need to do like the city of Oroville. If you're going to have

a sanctuary city, at least have it saying that you don't protect violent criminals who

are here illegally. At least do that. And how is it that you are so focused on protecting

people from ICE who are racially profiling, using excessive force? What you think the

hell is the NSA? It's your Oakland Police Department engaging in excessive force and

racial profiling and you can't fix it for over 22 years. But you can fix ICE doing the

exact same thing to illegal immigrants. The hypocrisy of what you do. But of course that

illegal activity by your police department is targeting African Americans as a group.

Then you need to have an update related to 613, your strategic plan.

You need an update on gentrification, which you have never done.

Your sanctuary city status, you keep talking about your sanctuary city,

but you have never dealt with it in terms of how it impacts the city economically and housing.

Thank you, Ms. Olavalo. Your time is up.

if your name was called if you're in zoom or on the room please approach the podium or raise your

hand this time i do not see any speakers in this thank you mr barnes please unmute yourself and

begin your comments thank you madam clerk and greetings uh council members derek barnes with

east bay rental housing association as it relates to housing and homelessness priorities i wanted to

briefly share a reflection from this past weekend's annual housing collaborative produced by

evera but certainly powered by the community the event brought together renters homeowners small

housing providers non-profit service organizations lenders and public agencies from across alameda

and contra costa counties under one roof with one goal to better understand who the housing

stakeholders really are how our housing system actually works and what real support and resources

are available to people in our community we engage vibrant loud table discussions that focused on

clarity over conflict demystifying some of the housing challenges that we have like eliminating

barriers to home ownership thriving through funding reductions and improving housing policy

while reducing complexity the second year collaborative connected residents to about 30

community organizations offering renter assistance and support home repair grants energy rebates fair

housing education and other things i want to thank emily weinstein and michelle starrett our hcd

leaders in the city and county patricia wells and joseph villa real our housing authority folks for

engaging in productive panel discussions that day i also want to acknowledge uh district supervisor

leaner lena tam and her staff as well as council members brown gaio unger and wong as well as

staff from council member ramachandran's office for attending and engaging directly with constituents

and exhibiting organizations i mean your presence really matters and it sent a signal that crucial

housing conversations don't happen just in chambers they happen in community and we need

more events like this we know we can't solve our housing challenges overnight but events like this

help to build understanding trust and engagement and that's where equitable and durable solutions

begin thank you so much for all your support in the event and look forward to working with

you more in 2026. thank you at this time all names have been called thank you council member houston

And as I've been advised by the city attorney, any questions and back and forth that you ask will be counted part of your time.

Because typically we all have two minutes on consent, but because Councilman Brown had six minutes, everyone can have six minutes today.

So that's all.

That's fine. Thank you, Chair.

I just wanted to ask some direct questions to have it on the record so everyone knows what's happening.

and through the chair the debt um what who did you report that building their building putting

newton's units on top of the roof they don't even know the structural soundness of the unit

without a permit who did you contact so I originally went across the street to permitting

they shared with me what um has been issued what has not been issued and what they should not be

working on and I escalated to enforcement um they will be paying a visit tomorrow to put a stop

order as who's not permitted and then who did you report to to find out if they

had the proper licenses to sell and grow cannabis so I reached out to our

cannabis department who has the list of who works on the permitting process and

they gave me the information that they are going through the process and once

they're done with construction they should be able to get their permit but

what makes it challenging is that they're not meeting the building permit

but they're going to be issued a cannabis permit without meeting the

on the other side.

So I just wanted to say,

since we have this committee for cannabis,

is it somewhere that their scope of work

could be regulating and making sure that they follow

what they signed about beautification efforts

and doing it the proper way?

Because they just feel that they can do

whatever they wanna do in District 7

and that's not gonna happen any longer.

So thank you, Lynette.

You have four and a half more minutes if you wanted to say anything else.

I'll cede my time to Councilmember Brown. She knows she got a lot to say. No, I'm just

saying. All right. I'm good. I appreciate that.

Thank you. Councilmember Wong. Thanks, through the chair. I just wanted to comment that in,

you know, related to the human trafficking problem, that something that I have been looking

at is like a lot of these nuisance businesses that they're not licensed. It's the smoke shops.

I went to like a youth-led town hall by Dr. Aisha Mays through the Dream Youth Clinic and like five

of the young people there brought up that it was smoke shops, likely unlicensed, that have been

the vehicles of human trafficking. So I think this is not just limited to cannabis shops, but this is

more of a broader question that we should tackle with administrator assistant city administrator

chuck baker on the the wrong type of economic development that we have in some of our corridors

you know as as was said i think by dr tran oakland is open for business but this is not

these are not the type of businesses that we want here

thank you um if there are no other comments i will entertain a motion

so moved second

on the motion by council member brown seconded by council member unger to

approve this consent calendar council member brown aye

Councilmember Fyfe and Gayo are excused.

Councilmember Houston?

Aye.

Councilmember Unger?

Aye.

Councilmember Wong?

Aye.

Chair Jenkins is excused.

Councilmember Ramachandran?

Aye.

Motion passes with a vote of five ayes,

three excused, Fyfe, Gayo, and Jenkins.

Now we're at Councilmember,

excuse me, acknowledgements and announcements.

Colleagues any announcements? Council member Wong. Yeah I just have an

announcement related to I'm joining Councilmember Fyfe tomorrow in District

2. There's going to be a forum on the Costco effort in West Oakland at the

East Bay Asian Youth Center that the address is to 2025 East 12th Street and

representatives from Costco are there and I think this is an exciting

opportunity and folks should come and ask their their pointed questions so just

invite my colleagues as well as members of the public who are watching this it's

at 5 30 p.m. tomorrow thank you thank you Councilmember Houston I like to do the

chair like to adjourn this meeting in the memory of Bridget cook I'm not sure

who knew her but bridget cook was a beautiful soul um

she kept me in control she always guided me through call me councilmember houston you can't

be doing that um so i'm just just i just want to adjourn this in the memory of her because she has

been a force um for oakland and she loved our city so much she loved it so much thank you

council member houston we will adjourn in her memory um other council members okay um and madam

clerk that is it moving to open forum as i call your name please approach the podium in any order

please state your name for the records you will be given one minute to address the council miss

Miss Assata Olabala, Mr. Hazard, Tim Allen Ferreira, Annabelle Velasquez, Maeve Carter-Griffin,

I think maybe Benjamin Smith, Brother Tut or Dominique Ware.

Go ahead Mr. Hazard.

You can go to cleanoakland.com and look at my website.

These are four case laws that will support my allegation that the April 15th special

election ballot measure A was illegal.

Rossi v. Brown, 9-Cal-4.

Courts retain exclusive authority to determine the validity of the enforcement of ballot

measures.

A ballot measure cannot pre-decide or foreclose judicial review.

And that's what 4.26.130.

People versus bond, 27 Cal.

The legislature may not impair the core functions of the judiciary.

And joining lawsuits impairing judicial function.

Mendocino County versus Superior Court, 13 Cal 4.

Access to the courts as fundamental constitutional rights.

Any restriction is subject to strict scrutiny and almost always fails.

1,030 versus Superior Court.

Statues made.

Thank you, Mr. Hazard, your time is up.

In 1994, Barbara Jordan led the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform.

The report was supposed to look at the impact of immigration on the average worker in the

future.

The recommendations were to reduce immigration by one-third because immigration was hurting

the low-skilled workers, specifically black men, without college degrees.

She said immigration should be about the interests of the American worker first.

She called for a crackdown on illegal labor.

Bill Clinton buried the report.

So now what you have today is a report that was purposely buried by the Democratic Party,

and now you have 9% of unemployment in Oakland, black workers, no-skill workers impacted.

Barbara Jordan called for this not to happen.

The Democrats allowed it, and you are allowing it.

We are impacted by .

Okay. Good afternoon.

Maven Carter Griffin.

I'm speaking upon, for my behalf as an unhoused person,

and I'm asking for support.

Last month, Ivan Satterfeld, who is running the DPW,

came and did a sweep of Willow Street,

And I had purchased finally after a year from previous where he towed one of my trailers that I was living in.

I've been living outside, completely outside in a shack built out of cardboard and foam, trying to do my best.

I almost died of pneumonia.

This following year, I've been saving with Social Security being $900 for me a month.

And it's very hard to do that with having to pay for food, et cetera.

and I purchased a trailer, a 1947 Spartan trailer, and it was parked on Wood Street, which is not part of his plan.

He saw me buy that, and he gave me an offer that I could choose between the shitty shack that I live in with my cats

and have been using all of my life support systems that I've recovered over the past year,

and he was ready to tear down and put in the dumpster along with the cat that he just...

I apologize, Ms. Griffin, your time is up.

before you get mr. Thayer I do not have a card for you for this item if your name was called

please step to the podium podium excuse me as I said mr. Thayer you do not sign up for this

particular item moving to the zoom speakers I do not have a card for you I have a card for you for

all the other items you signed up for not for open forum

Thank you.

Moving to the Zoom speaker.

I think Dwayne.

Yeah, Dominic.

Yes, please begin your comment.

Yes, so my name is Dominic Ware coming from Brookfield Village, the champion of community green schools.

And I'm speaking as a member of the 40 by 40 People's Advisory Council in Deep East Oakland.

The PAC brings residents together each month to focus on community safety, public health, youth development, and overall quality of life in Deep East Oakland.

We serve as a space where residents can share concerns, offer solutions, and stay informed about what's impacting our neighborhoods.

The PAC is a resident-led body that meets monthly and was instrumental in supporting efforts that led to the establishment of the Office of Violence Prevention, OVP.

Supporting the launch of peace committees, what I'm on, and community-based conflict resolution model,

and aligned in our work with the Rise East's $100 million investment strategy of learn and grow, work and wealth, and health and well-being.

Our members also regularly attend and contribute to the bi-monthly meeting and the safekeeping meetings.

Thank you, D6 Councilmember, for agreeing to attend future PAC meetings tonight.

We respectfully ask him to Councilmembers of seven.

Thank you for your comments. Unfortunately, your time was up.

This time all names have been called.

Thank you.

Tonight,

I can say it. Sorry.

Today we adjourn in the memory of Bridget Cook.

Thank you everyone.

Thank you.