Bay Area cities are toughening up on homelessness. Under Mayor Barbara Lee, will Oakland follow suit?

Last year Oakland voters recalled Mayor Barbara Lee s predecessor Sheng Thao in large part over boiling frustrations about sprawling homeless camps that have taken root across the city Now the pressure is on Lee who entered office in May to prove she can do a better job managing the situation Lee a Democrat who served almost three decades in Congress representing Oakland and the East Bay has so far offered relatively minimal details about how she aims to direct the city s homelessness policies But in response to questions from this news organization she made clear her approach diverges significantly from those of the Bay Area s other two big-city mayors in key methods Since taking office San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie both moderate Democrats have pledged tough-love approaches to homelessness including citing and arresting homeless people who refuse shelter beds or resist sweeps At the same time they ve pushed their cities to expand shelter limit to help move people off the street though Lurie just now walked back a campaign promise to rapidly add shelter beds While Lee revealed she also wants to add shelter beds she emphasized that Oakland s priority should remain investing in permanent affordable housing for its estimated homeless residents And when it comes to more carceral solutions to street homelessness she drew an explicit distinction between herself and her fellow big-city mayors Related Articles Contra Costa County reports drop in homelessness Judges clear way for Berkeley to close two of its largest homeless camps I didn t think I would be doing anything like this Formerly homeless San Jose woman creates art Homeless-related arrests citations soared in these California cities after Supreme Court event RV fire at Oakland homeless encampment hospitalizes woman I do not advocacy arresting people for being homeless she stated in a message responding to whether Oakland should adopt similar enforcement policies We act when a camp is a medical or safety threat beginning with outreach Mahan and Lurie maintain that their policies which homeless advocates decry as punitive do not criminalize homelessness Instead they describe citations and arrests as tools to compel unhoused people to accept shelter and drug or mental robustness recovery Earlier this year Mahan broke with the local political establishment to endorse Lee s opponent former Oakland Councilmember Loren Taylor in the mayoral race Even so Mahan noted he s eager to collaborate with Lee on combating homelessness As we ve started to achieve progress here in San Jose we ve also uncovered new challenges that require us to evolve our approach and I imagine Oakland will go through a similar journey Mahan revealed in a declaration I m excited to learn from Mayor Lee as she implements her plan and invariably happy to share what s working here in the South Bay Both Mahan and Lurie in recent days joined Lee in population statements calling on state lawmakers to allot more funding for local homelessness programs Together the three cities account for well over half the Bay Area s total homeless population of more than people Although Lee appears to disagree with San Jose s in recent weeks approved plan to prosecute homeless people who repeatedly refuse shelter she reported she would continue a agenda by Thao that has led to a surge of encampment sweeps Less than two months before Thao was recalled in November she issued an executive order directing city agencies to close more camps in an effort to return populace spaces to the society The procedures stays while we review what truly works Lee stated adding Population safety must go hand in hand with dignity To stem the tide of homelessness Oakland last month allocated almost million in its billion annual budget for supportive housing shelters rental assistance and other services according to city representatives But unlike Mahan and Lurie Lee did not push her city to redirect money set aside for permanent housing toward temporary shelters during budget negotiations Both Mahan and Lurie succeeded in securing funding shifts arguing that focusing on adding shelter beds is a faster and more cost-effective strategy than prioritizing new affordable housing which can take years to build and cost upwards of million a door None of the three cities has nearly enough shelter or permanent supportive housing for their homeless populations Critics contend that using affordable housing money for group shelters tiny homes modular units or other temporary accommodations is a short-sighted approach that will make it harder to pull people out of homelessness if it means there s less permanent housing available I understand the political pressure that elected officers are under revealed Lindsay Haddix executive director at the nonprofit East Bay Housing Organizations But we need to be focusing on the long-term sustainable solutions or we re never going to get out of this mess Lee appeared to agree with that position Permanent affordable housing remains my priority so those dollars stay protected she mentioned Gagan Biyani executive director of Empower Oakland a fledgling but well-funded political group advocating for common sense solutions to the city s challenges described that approach as inhumane for allowing homeless people to suffer in the streets The compassionate approach would be to redirect funds to shelters and require all individuals to use shelters when available after sufficient outreach as they are doing in San Jose and San Francisco revealed Biyani also a tech entrepreneur in an email To pay for both more housing and shelters Lee mentioned she is advocating for Oakland to receive its share of funds from Alameda County s Measure W Voters narrowly approved the half-cent sales tax in but after years of litigation the funding is only now becoming available Later this month the county Board of Supervisors is set to discuss how to divvy up the estimated million in annual revenue I ve been working to secure a proportionate share based on requirements and racial equity revealed Lee adding that everyone deserves a stable roof and a clear path forward