MEMO
To: Mayor Sheng Thao
Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas and Members of the City Council From: Christopher Townsend, President, Townsend Public Affairs, Inc.
Niccolo De Luca, Vice President
Andres Ramirez, Senior Associate
Ben Goldeen, Federal Advocacy Manager
Sammi Maciel, Federal Associate
Carly Shelby, Associate
Date: January 10, 2023
Subject: Updated from the January 26, 2023 Rules Committee Supplemental Information/Overview of the 2022 Legislative Session
SUMMARY
Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. (TPA) has prepared a supplemental memo for the City of Oakland providing more information and detail of our collective 2022 Legislative Session accomplishments.
Summary of 2022 State Legislative Highlights
TPA worked with the elected City leadership and Administration to develop, advocate, and secure several major wins with our elected leaders in Sacramento and in Washington, DC. The TPA/City team worked together to secure $27,396,000 in direct funding. Please note the following highlights below:
• Partnering with the Mayor and her office , the Council President and her office, and the City Council to secure a direct State budget allocation to help address homelessness in the amount of just over $19 million a year. This effort included working closely with Senate Budget Chair Nancy Skinner and her staff, Assembly Budget Chair Phil Ting and his staff, the Governor and his Administration, and the Big City Mayors. This funding is flexible and supports the numerous efforts to address the unhoused population in Oakland.
• Leading the efforts with the Mayor and the City Council to support a direct State allocation for the Teachers Rooted in Oakland project in the amount of $ 5 million. Assembly Member Mia Bonta championed this direct allocation to address the critical need of housing for teachers. • Partnering with Council President Bas and the City Administrati on to secure a direct federal allocation in the amount of $2 million for the Lincoln Center Resilience Hub. US Senator Alex Padilla championed this direct federal allocation to help expand the hub into a community resilience space to provide emergency relief services in the case of a climate-disaster or other catastrophic event.
• Working with the City Administration to secure a direct federal allocation in the amount of $750,000 for the Coliseum Place Affordable Housing Project. Representative Barbara Lee championed this request to help support the unhoused and create extremely low-income affordable units.
• Working with the City Administration and Office of the Mayor to secure a direct federal allocation in the amount of $646,000 for the Procedural Justice/Community Police Trust project. Representative Barbara Lee championed this request designed to repair and strengthen police-community relationships by addressing the deep historical roots of distrust in the police among marginalized communities; and
• The passage of multiple City supported State legislative proposals into law while also stopping a handful of harmful legislation.