MAYORAL CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

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Oaklanders@MakeOaklandBetterNow.org

Candidate Name: Dr. Terence Candell

City Budget

1. Please state your position on the following November ballot

measures:

Measure V (increased medical cannabis tax and new non-medical

cannabis tax). Answer: Yes.

Measure W (telephone trunk line and access line taxes). Answer: No.

Measure X ($360 parcel tax). Answer: No.

Measure Y (suspends police staffing appropriation requirements for

collection of 2004 Measure Y parcel tax). Answer: No.
Why is it that Oaklanders are the only ones the Oakland leadership ever
think of taxing?

2. In June, the City Budget director reported that Oakland faced a five-
year general purpose fund structural deficit of $589 million. (See page 19 of City
Administrator’s report at http://tiny.cc/5jytp and a spread sheet adding the
numbers at http://tiny.cc/9sowf). After the City Council’s recent budget
amendments, much of that structural deficit remains. As mayor, what steps will
you take to eliminate that deficit? Answer:
Tax on commuters, who do not live here (1% per paycheck/est.
$150,000,000 a year)
Toll booths, on the three freeways or off the exits for commuters,
who do not live here ($1 a day/est. $300,000,000 a year), just as
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Gavin Newsome has recently proposed for Treasure Island, hailed

as a great idea by Cal Trans.
More revenue mentioned in question#7

3. Budgeted expenditures reflect a city’s priorities. When you present

your first budget to the City Council for consideration, what current city functions
will you give the highest priority, and how will your proposed budget reflect that
prioritization? For what city functions will you reduce or eliminate expenditures?
Answer: I plan a $100,000,000 Mayor’s Jobs Program, with an on-the-job
training component, with a distinct emphasis on “Hire Oakland First”, a
committee on which I served for several years, but which had no teeth. With this
mayor, it will. The proposal for the ballot already has nearly the required number
of signatures. I do not plan to reduce programs. I plan to expand them. That is
what you do, when you run successful businesses.

4. Each of the city’s labor agreements will open during your term as
mayor, which means that wages and benefits will be up for negotiation. As
mayor, what will be your plan for balancing the city’s interests in maximizing
taxpayer services per tax dollar and retaining and attracting skilled and motivated
employees?

Answer: Here, again, I will be able to save jobs. Granted, the benefits package
must be looked at in a more reasonable way. However, I do not think we will
need to cut front-line employee wages. I do, however, intend to cut the salaries of
upper-level management. Oakland has been victimized by this type of bias and
mismanagement for far too long.

Public Safety

5. Under recent adjustments to the 2010-11 budget, 120 police

officers are scheduled to be laid off in January 2011 (in addition to the 80 laid off
in July 2010) if Measure V, W, X and Y do not pass. If you are elected in
November and these measures are not enacted, will these layoffs take place? If
not, what specific budgetary steps will you take to prevent them? Answer: Most
of us have experienced layoffs, either being laid-off or laying-off. I’ve experienced
both. Neither is a particularly joyful experience. I cannot, yet, save the 80, but will
with the passing of our campaign’s initiatives, which we have prepared for the
ballot and the steps I have outlined in Question #7. I can prevent the laying-off of
the 120, because we will be generating revenue.

6. Several citizens groups have advocated “civilianizing” police

functions that do not require the use of sworn officers, arguing that using civilians
for such functions as police misconduct complaint intake, press relations and
property crime investigations can substantially cut personnel costs and maximize
the availability and effectiveness of sworn officers. Chief Garcon of San

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Francisco implemented civilianization in Mesa, Arizona and has begun doing so

in San Francisco. Do you support civilianization, and if so, for what functions?
Answer: Yes.
police misconduct complaint intake
Front desks
Phones
Permits
Spokespersons
The other areas mentioned require professional police training. I will not sell my
people short of the best possible law enforcement.

7. At the end of your first term as mayor, how many sworn police
officers do you believe Oakland should have, and what steps will you take to
accomplish that goal? Answer: Open youth centers with mentors and career and
college counselors at a fraction of what it costs to employ officers to lock them
up. Leave the youth centers and recreation centers open until 10, and have vans
available to take the youth home. With less youth potential for crime on the
street, there is less need for an overabundance of officers. Those who have
never managed multi-million-dollar budgets do not think outside the box in such
informed and innovative ways. These are proposals brought on by experience.
There are many entertainment venues that can also provide revenue for our city.
Our citizens need activities and opportunities that will divert their
attentions away from crime and toward the brand new city they had always
envisioned. A city with:

1) 20 Youth Centers in unused city-owned buildings in the flats (paid mentors,

paid career counselors, paid college counselors, music, art, video games, etc.)
that close at 10:00pm and vans to take the youth home, so they don't violate
curfew.
2) A bowling Alley - potential yield of $800,000 annually
3) A roller skating rink - potential yield of $1,000,000 annually
4) A theme park - potential yield of $150,000,000 for the city annually
5) Recreation Centers that stay open until 10:00 at night that provide vans to
transport our youth home. It just sends them the message that we love them and
are willing to put them ahead of things like: an $8,000,000 statue, $70,000,000
for the Fox Theater that was only supposed to cost $14,000,000, $2,000,000
more to pay unpaid workers, high-rises downtown, vacant condominiums no one
wants or can afford.
6) A police force that is largely comprised of individuals from Oakland, retrained
to serve the people of Oakland, treating them with respect and dignity. Any future
officers hired must undergo the customer service training and live in Oakland,
preferably in the flats.
7) A budget that supports a $100,000,000 Mayor's Jobs Program, year round,
with an On-the-job training component.

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8) A commuter tax to bring in intial revenue to pay for programs by people from
other cities who have been milking our city dry for years, taking our jobs and
revenue and never spending a dime in our community.
9) A toll tax for those who enter our city just like SF, Vallejo, Palo Alto, etc. Why
is it that no one has to pay to visit and plunder OUR city?
10) Apollo West for our youth performers on KTOP and KDOL, with business
sponsors who will render scholarships. Yes, we have REAL talent in Oakland!
11) A grocery store in the west. A grocery store in the east (on the way).
12) Change Charter section 712 to give the mayor more control of the Port
streets, so we don't ever turn down $300,000,000 opportunities like the Wayans,
who, by the way, are still interested, but are waiting for me to win.
Folks, they only put 240 police officers on the streets anyway. I think, with the
solutions I have to diminish crime, some of which I have already put into practice,
we will only need about 800 officers, maybe less. There are at least 12 other
ways to make our streets safe.

I am the only one who offers these solutions. The others simply want to cut and
tax.

8. In recent years, key components of community policing in Oakland

have been the interactions between the Measure Y Neighborhood Beat Officers,
Neighborhood Safety Coordinators, community members and Neighborhood
Crime Prevention Councils. The Neighborhood Beat Officers have now been
eliminated, and the functions of the NSC’s have been consolidated. To what
extent do you believe community policing is important, and if you believe it is
important, how can it be accomplished in Oakland? Answer: Community policing
is important, because individuals in the community can relate better to individuals
in the community. Therefore, potentially hostile situations are met with less
resistance, when peaceful solutions are presented as alternatives. So, hire
Oakland first and train Measure Y Safety Coordinators to be more effective in
their tasks.

Public Works

9. In its April, 2009 performance audit of the Oakland Public Works

department (http://tiny.cc/afihq), Matrix Consulting Group, which conducted the
audit, recommended that:
a. The City should be replacing or rehabilitating an average of 1% to
2% of its sanitary sewer mains each year” at a cost of about $7.5
million; and
b. The City should be spending approximately $30 million annually for
the repair and replacement of the City’s streets (at the time of the
audit, the annual expenditure was $7.2 million).

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Matrix also noted that the General Purpose Fund contribution to the Public
Works budget was far less than that of comparable California cities, and made a
series of recommendations (at pages 24-25) for adequate funding of the city’s
public works needs. Which of these recommendations do you support, and how
will Oakland meet its obligations to repair and replace sanitary sewers, streets
and infrastructure if you are mayor?

Answer: I think that, because there is less revenue coming into the city, due to a
complete lack of innovation on the part of our entrenched politicians, the bare
minimum would need to be spent on critical areas of both. However, once I am
elected, the measures proposed by the Friends of Candell, which have already
received thousands of signatures, will go to the ballot. Then, we can afford to
make complete changes and repairs.

Management, Leadership, Accountability and Transparency

10. Oakland is a large and very complex entity with a $1.1+ billion
budget and thousands of employees. Please describe:

a. Your specific experience that qualifies you to oversee an

enterprise of this size and complexity;
b. Your theory of management, with examples of how you have
applied that theory;
c. Your philosophy of executive leadership, with examples of
when and where you have shown that philosophy.

Answer: a. I have run CET Business College, Candell Records, the marketing for
Menlo College and Heald College, founded several schools, supervised
Telemanagement Services at Pacific Bell. The list goes on.
b. My management style is to put eminently qualified people into place, monitor,
assist and evaluate.
c. My philosophy in all of my businesses has been: “Teach them to build a family,
and they will build a nation.”
The more important question is: How could we have ever put someone in office,
who has not had my experience. I am the only candidate who has marketed and
run businesses with multi-million-dollar budgets. The rest simply are not qualified.
Now, the entrenched politicians have lost that much (hundreds of millions); but,
how could we have ever expected that they would do anything else? So, let’s
rectify the problem and put someone qualified in office for a change. Let’s put
Terence Candell in office.

11. The City Administrator is the day-to-day head of city government.

What criteria will you employ and what qualifications will you look for in
appointing the City Administrator? Answer: I would appoint a multi-tasking CPA,

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capable of budget development on the same level, at least, of myself. Strategy

sessions will be necessary for a cohesive approach to remain in effect. That
person will remain in close communication with me and delegated staff at least
once a day until we get the city back under control.

12. What will you do as mayor to ensure that your agenda is being
executed? Answer: Asked and answered (#11)

13. What metrics or benchmarks will you establish for your

performance and the performance of City department heads? How will
Oaklanders know whether benchmarks are being met? Answer: Meeting the
financial goals of the various departments, as well as serving the community with
excellent customer service, will be the benchmarks I will establish, also never
done before in our city. I will be judged on how effective my programs and
program staff are. If you have no programs, you cannot be judged.

14. How can Oakland’s television station, its web site and other
media be used to more effectively inform and engage Oaklanders concerning city
government activities and issues? Answer: Our citizens should be first priority.
Utilizing the tv station for community programming and entertainment will infuse
our community with hope and aspirations. The ancient notion of exclusivity for
those who are only interested in city politics is very passé. Access for youth will
invigorate our local television community.

15. Should the City be taking other steps to more effectively engage
the citizenry in city issues, and if so, what steps? Answer: There should be
regularly scheduled Town Hall meetings to hear the voices of the people. I have
another scheduled Town Hall Meeting on September 23rd @ 6:30pm.
The city of Oakland must be marketed by the mayor on television, on the
Internet and in certain local newspapers to spotlight the positive attributes of our
city, and there are many of them. Those within and outside of our city can begin
to look upon our city with reverent pride and want to develop and/or do business
here, or simply want to visit. Thus the citizenry will be significantly engaged and
want to be part of a working process. We must show them something first.

Economic Development

16. Many Oakland candidates and office-holders express the opinion

that Oakland city government systemically business-unfriendly. Do you agree or
disagree? If you disagree, explain how the city has established a favorable
climate for business development. If you agree, describe what you see as the
systemic problems and explain how you, as mayor, would fix them. Answer:
Every business believes that, unless they are in a position to spread humongous
amounts of money around downtown, if they want to do business here, they will
be taxed to the point of extinction. I plan to introduce legislation to alleviate those
tax problems for new businesses so that every one of them gets the benefit,

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getting rid of the “paper bag” or “briefcase” politics I’ve seen practiced in
Oakland.
Also, we must further streamline the construction process in Oakland, so that
builders, large and small, are not forced to endure a process that takes an
average of two years before they can expect to get started on projects. Oakland
contractors tell me they refuse to even come to Oakland, because the process is
so heinous. The Mayor of Oakland has the right to hire and fire in the building
department, putting people in place who are willing to work with him to change
this image and better the process. Why is it that I was approved in one day to
build a room addition and a swimming pool on my house in Las Vegas, but it took
two years in Oakland just to get my room addition. Yes, folks, it’s broken; but, I
am not; and I will make the necessary changes.

17. What, if anything, does Oakland have to learn from Emeryville,

Berkeley or other cities about how to effectively use Enterprise Zones and
redevelopment funding to attract and retain businesses? What, if anything, have
other cities done that Oakland will start doing if you are mayor? Answer: I do not
know about comparisons with Emeryville or other cities. I do know that these
redevelopment funds can be used to develop small businesses, which are the
engine that drives Oakland, to increase their bottom line. We can send them
employees to train and require that they give $1,000.00 stipends or scholarships
to non-profits who receive little or no federal funds, but provide services to the
needy. Oakland is not Emeryville or Berkeley, and I thank God for it.

Other

18. What, if anything, can Oakland city government learn from other
cities about how to maximize its ability to provide quality services to its citizens in
difficult economic times? Answer: 1. Not to spend money it hasn’t got.
2. They also should have learned to think outside of the box and envision a
better Oakland, with a citizenry that deserves a shopping mall, an
amusement park, a roller skating rink, a bowling alley and a greener, more
environmentally friendly city.

19. The majority of Oaklanders love their city, and believe it has
unparalleled positive elements that are simply not recognized in the rest of the
state and country, including history, diversity, and vibrant activity in its culture,
arts, restaurants, etc. Does the mayor have a role in getting this message out
there, and how should the city send this message? Answer: Asked and
answered #15

Dated:_9/7/2010____ By:____ ______

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