After almost two hours of public comment and discussion on the dais, the Oakland City Council approved the Oakland Municipal ID Card program last night, voting 6 in favor and 1 against with 1 abstention.
Under the leadership of Council Member Jean Quan and Vice Mayor Ignacio De La Fuente, the Council heard the testimony of dozens of community members on how the ID card program could improve the lives of homeless, immigrant and transgender people, and despite concerns about the program’s possible upfront and ongoing costs, a majority of the Council voted to take this small but significant step in building unity and increasing public safety for all Oakland residents.
Please join us in thanking Vice Mayor De La Fuente, idelafuente@oaklandnet.com, Council President Jane Brunner, jbrunner@oaklandnet.com, and Council Members Nancy Nadel, nnadel@oaklandnet.com, Rebecca Kaplan, atlarge@oaklandnet.com, Patricia Kernighan, pkernighan@oaklandnet.com, and Jean Quan, jquan@oaklandnet.com!
The Oakland City ID Card Coalition (“OCCIC”) will continue working with City and Council staff, whom the Council directed to develop an implementation and cost-recovery plan over the next 8-12 weeks.
We encourage you to contact your representative to thank them — or in the case of Council Members Larry Reid (District 7), lreid@oaklandnet.com, who abstained, or Desley Brooks (District 6), dbrooks@oaklandnet.com, who voted against the program — to express your disappointment in their judgment that the City’s fiscal crisis required them not to support the Municipal ID Card program.
Oakland’s wealth is her people, and to flourish, the people need official recognition of our valuable presence.
For more information on the program and ongoing updates, please visit the Oakland City ID Card Coalition website, http://oaklandcityidcard.org/
With love, in solidarity,
Oakland City ID Card Coalition
c/