BARBARA LEE TAKES ON THE HERCULEAN TASK OF TRYING TO RESCUE OAKLAND

Oakland's new mayor reveals surprisingly sensible steps she's taking to try and revive hellhole city

 

By James Gordon 

 

Daily Mail

Oct 6, 2025

 

Oakland's new mayor, Barbara Lee, 79, is taking a shockingly practical approach to rescuing her battered city ramping up police recruitment and clearing homeless encampments

 

Oakland's new mayor is taking a shockingly practical approach to rescuing her battered city.

Barbara Lee, a 79-year-old progressive firebrand, is ramping up police recruitment, clearing homeless encampments, and slashing red tape to secure federal money, all in a bid to reverse years of violent crime, urban decay and political chaos.  

Lee has stunned critics and allies alike by embracing a back-to-basics strategy since taking office in April, despite her progressive bona fides. 

Her tactics have included reopening long-shuttered firehouses, reinstating high-speed police pursuits, and personally touring blighted streets in a hands-on crackdown on RV encampments and illegal dumping.

The turnaround effort follows the downfall of ex-mayor Sheng Thao, ousted in a recall election before being indicted on federal corruption charges. 

Lee stepped in to finish her term and is now leaning on decades of political clout in Washington - and an unexpected appetite for tough municipal management to stabilize a city that residents feared was slipping into ungovernable chaos.

'Right now, I'm trying to make sure that the city gets more unified,' Lee told the Wall Street Journal from Oakland City Hall. 'That we do the work here.' 

From crime improved crime stats to clean-up crews, Lee's early moves mark a notable shift for one of America's most liberal cities and signal a growing trend along the West Coast to focus on public safety, basic services, and visible enforcement.

 

For a city that's seen its police force lose hundreds of officers, and its streets flooded with RVs, tents, and open-air drug use, even smallest of actions has had an effect 

In June, Oakland was once again turned into a dystopian Mad Max-style hellscape as cars and fireworks exploded during multiple street takeovers in the Democrat-run city

 

Lee's back-to-basics strategy appears to be a simple one: to make the city livable again.  

'You see her everywhere,' said Ray Bobbitt to the Wall Street Journal. Bobbitt is a longtime Oakland businessman spearheading a $5 billion renovation of the Oakland Coliseum stadium. 'She is the perfect person at the perfect time.' 

Lee, who became Oakland's first black female mayor after stepping in to finish Thao's term has traded the halls of Congress for the cracked pavement of International Boulevard.  

Since her swearing-in this April, Lee has helped reopen all 25 of the city's firehouses for the first time since 2002. 

She has accelerated police hiring and begun reinstating high-speed chases.

She's green-lit enforcement against illegal street racing 'sideshows,' and ramped up garbage removal through a new initiative called Keep the Town Clean.

For a city that's seen its police force lose hundreds of officers, and its streets flooded with RVs, tents, and open-air drug use, even smallest of actions has had an effect.

 

The turnaround effort follows the downfall of ex-Mayor Sheng Thao, ousted in a recall election before being indicted on federal corruption charges

Oakland's crime numbers, while still high, have shown improvement. Robberies are down 41%, homicides are down 21% compared to last year. Pictured: destroyed cars in Oakland wasteland

Dozens of 4,100-pound yellow blocks now sit along a road that used to be lined with RVs

Oakland City Councilman, Ken Houston, is seen walking through the streets of rubbish

 

Along high-crime corridors in East Oakland, concrete barriers now prevent encampments from returning. 

A 4,100-pound yellow block now sits in front of Sue Tong's metal supply business - a welcome relief after years of fearing for her safety.

'I couldn't even go outside my business, I was too scared,' Tong said. 'Now, I'm so happy.'

Oakland's crime numbers, while still high, have shown marked improvement.

Robberies are down 41 percent and homicides are down 21 percent compared to last year, according to police data.

But public confidence remains fragile and earlier this year the city was ranked the second most dangerous in the US.

The number of homeless people in Oakland has jumped nearly 18 percent since 2019, before the pandemic exacerbated the problem in most US cities.

The problem has gotten so bad that gigantic shantytowns have formed in certain parts of the city.

Oakland is also prone to crime sprees, with residents growing quite accustomed to chaotic smash-and-grab robberies. 

 

An exclusive report for DailyMail.com revealed that Oakland has potentially the most dangerous square mile for crime in all of the US

In July 2023 Oakland Police Department was forced to issue a public safety advisory citing an uptick in home invasion robberies'

A resident walks along a homeless encampment at Toll Plaza Beach near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge toll plaza, pictured July 2024

A homeless encampment in Oakland, California, under a freeway bridge

 

In early 2024, an exclusive report for the Daily Mail revealed how Oakland had potentially the most dangerous square mile for crime in all of America.

Three gas stations and fast-food joints that surround Oakland airport became notorious for vehicle thefts.

Within a single square mile, cops claimed criminals had struck a dozen times or more per day, every day, mainly targeting victims who are headed to and from the airport.

Also shuttered was the city's only In N Out Burger due to soaring crime - the only restaurant the chain has ever closed in its history.

A 54-year-old branch of Denny's also closed its doors in Oakland last the same year amid threats to 'the safety and wellbeing' of staff and customers.

Denny's closure follows that of Subway and Starbucks drive thrus - all of which have became magnets for car thieves.

 

Encampment blocks that were a common sight in Oakland are slowly being cleared away

Huy Nguyen, head of the Oakland Police Officers' Association, applauded the mayor's efforts but warned the department is still running on fumes.

'Crime is down at the moment, but we don't have cops to respond to calls,' he said. 'We're losing six officers a month.' 

Lee has budgeted to bring the force up to 700 officers - still far short of the 877 needed for full strength. 

But in a city where calls to 'defund the police' once rang loudly, even that modest goal is a shift. 

The mayor's focus on the mundane has resonated with weary residents. 

In just a few months, Lee's team has removed more than 30 tons of illegal garbage.

RVs and tents are beginning to disappear - especially along downtown arteries and commercial zones.

'Oakland literally needs to clean up,' said real estate investor Isaac Abid, who's leading a private downtown revitalization campaign. 

'In my mind, one of the ways you convey safety and security to your community is by keeping it clean.'

 

Oakland became synonymous with mass looting, rampant crime and sprawling homeless encampments that cover entire city blocks

A homeless man can be seen sleeping amid piles of trash and clothes. Pictured, July 2024 

Abid, who once supported another mayoral candidate, said he's been encouraged by Lee's results. His team has begun hiring private 'ambassadors' to scrub graffiti and clear trash in a 20-block radius.

Business owner Sanjiv Patel wasn't so lucky. After enduring monthly break-ins and daily shoplifting at two convenience stores, he sold them in May.

'Essentially, it was death by a thousand cuts,' Patel said. 'And eventually, you just run out of band-aids.'

Even Mayor Lee admits it is not enough.  

'I understand their frustration, because I don't feel like we're moving fast enough,' she said. 'But I'm moving as fast as I can.'

Lee's rise as a practical-minded city leader is striking. 

Best known as the lone vote against war authorization after 9/11, she spent 27 years in Congress advocating for peace, equity, and progressive causes.

Now she finds herself fixing potholes, funding cops, and pleading for housing grants from Washington.

Her critics remain skeptical. Edward Escobar, who helped lead the recall of former mayor Thao, said Lee 'learned to serve up a word salad of nothingness' during her years in DC.

Still, there's no denying she's put in the legwork. Since April, she's been spotted at church meetings, local diners, neighborhood tours - asking residents what they need.

'She's out there meeting people, listening, showing up,' said council member Ken Houston, who partnered with Lee to clear blighted blocks in East Oakland. 'We are all on the same mission - to try to accomplish real change.'

Despite signs of recovery, few believe Oakland is out of the woods. 

Commercial vacancies remain high and youth violence is spiking. And no one knows if the city can hold on to its fragile public safety gains with so few officers.

Across the Bay, San Francisco's mayor Daniel Lurie has embraced a moderate, clean-streets agenda. 

In Portland and Seattle, progressive strongholds are pushing to expand police forces and restore order to shattered downtowns.

In Oakland, the pivot may be even more dramatic. For years, the city was a favorite punching bag of conservatives and even Donald Trump has floated sending troops there. 

 

Her critics remain skeptical. Edward Escobar, who helped lead the recall of former mayor Thao, said Lee 'learned to serve up a word salad of nothingness' during her years in DC

Across the Bay, San Francisco's mayor Daniel Lurie has also embraced a moderate, clean-streets agenda 

 

Oakland, according to Trump, is 'so far gone', despite the Oakland Police Department announcing a 28 percent drop in crime in the first six months of 2025. 

'We're not going to stand for that,' Lee said defiantly. 'We're going to continue to resist it.

'This is not leadership - it's an attempt to score cheap political points by tearing down communities he doesn't understand,' Lee added. 

Officials fear that should Trump deploy the National Guard to the area, as he has announced for DC, that it would exacerbate already existing crime and incite protests across the state. 

Carl Chan, an Oakland Chinatown leader, told the East Bay Times that a takeover such as that would be 'disastrous' for the city. 

'If they send the National Guard to take over, there will be tons of protests within the city,' Chan said. 'We don't want to go from one extreme to another.'