Shirley Gee for City Council, District 2
As a long time resident of the City of Oakland (since 1952), I have worked consistently and vigorously to improve the quality of life for citizens of Oakland. Citizen access, responsive governance, business and economic growth and sustainability, youth development, senior citizen care, and public safety have all been issues that I have tackled both as a volunteer and as a community leader. I have served on numerous non-profit organizations (Oakland Potluck, International Dragon Boat Association, Jack London Aquatic Center , Oakland Development Council, League of Women Voters, etc.) and on numerous Boards (e.g., Police and Firefighters Oral Boards, Mayor's Campus Safety Committee) all with the hope of making a difference in Oakland . Throughout my volunteer efforts, I have maintained my relationships with community leaders all over Oakland ; including the City Council and the Mayor. After all, having a broad network and demonstrated ability to work with current city officials matters in City Hall.
Professionally, I am employed by Stanford University as a University Officer with 25+ years at the policy level with direct experience in conflict resolution, civil rights, diversity and job programming. Prior to that, I spent 10 years with the Department of Energy specializing in Contract Compliance, Management Directives and Regulations. This rich network of contacts and affiliations, accumulated over an extensive professional career, has been and will continue to be invaluable in any public service work. The City of Oakland needs a smart and experienced executive and professional in the City Council seat.
I am a single, working mother who raised two sons in Oakland. Along with my elderly parents, siblings and extended family, we have all grown up living exclusively in District 2. Now that both sons are in college, it is me and my two trusty dogs, Cole and Cocoa (I rescued both). Having deep roots and being personally invested in District 2 makes for an engaged City Council member.
The leadership and skills that allowed me to succeed in electoral re-districting, in bringing a hate crime case to the U.S. Supreme Court and in doing economic development and youth intervention in Oakland, would be applied to the problems and needs of the citizens of District 2 when I serve as your next City Council member.
At present, there are many challenges before the City of Oakland. At no time in our history has the need for proven leadership, demonstrated experience in policy making and extensive community relationships and integrity been more critical to our town and neighborhoods.
If we are to solve some of the entrenched problems facing the City of Oakland, we cannot go back to the current public officials who brought us these problems in the first place. We need a fundamental change. But not just any change. We must choose an independent and experienced policy maker and make our vote really count. Don't waste your vote on aspiring, career politicians . . . we don't have the luxury of time to train inexperienced people who have yet to demonstrate real leadership or as the Columnist Peggy Stinnet so aptly cited, who cannot find the "political courage" to do the right thing. We need an experienced City Council member NOW!
My primary focus remains on maximizing citizen access to their own city resources (e.g., parks and recreation, libraries) and on having government provide for fundamental services like public safety and public works, and for which we have already paid. Beyond that we need some significant infrastructure changes in the way we budget, view transportation, build our economic base, deplore and preserve assets and resources and fend off the corrosive effects of special interest and keep government transparent.
This time around . . . lets go beyond the sound bites and photo ops and reach for substance, depth and demonstrated experience. Let's change the very way politics is conducted and usher in a new generation of community activists and citizens to public policy and public service. Join our non-conventional campaign and take special interest and send a message to the political establishment that the people are still relevant in the political equation.
Join our $1 for democracy campaign and let's reform City Hall.
Vote for Shirley Gee . . . she's one of us.
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2005 OAKLAND TRIBUNE ENDORSEMENT OF SHIRLEY GEE
See what the Oakland Tribune said when they endorsed Shirley Gee during the last election. Everything that was said then is still true today . . .here's an exerpt . . .
GEE TOPS MANY QUALIFED DISTRICT 2 CANDIDATES
Article Last Updated: 4/22/2005 06:53 AM
Inside Bay Area
". . .
In our opinion, the strongest of this strong group of candidates is Shirley Gee, a longtime Oakland resident. She is widely known for organizing the Dragon Boat races on Lake Merritt several years ago, and was instrumental in convincing the council to change the City Charter to require a special election to replace a council member. Until then the council appointed a successor.
One of Gee's advantages is she grew up in the Grand Lake-Chinatown district and has lived there since. She has been a community leader for 20 some years and knows well the diverse cluster of neighborhoods in District 2, from the Piedmont border to Lake Merritt to the San Antonio community.
The Stanford University Officer also strikes us as having a keen understanding of budgets, which is critical in a city struggling to fend off multimillion-dollar shortfalls.
We believe she will bring some good ideas for reining in police overtime spending and ask the tough questions that need to be asked when spending decisions are made.
We endorse Shirley Gee because we believe, as her campaign brochure states, that she will be a "hands-on" council member. . . .
But when voters cast their votes in this mail-only election, we believe the best choice is Shirley Gee."
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See also: League of Women Voter web site:
http://www.smartvoter.org/2005/05/17/ca/alm/vote/gee_s/
