Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
The Politics Of Oakland Outhouses's
To Pee, Or Not To Pee,
That Is The Question...
That Is The Question...
The Politic\'s Of Oakland Outhouse\'s
By Lynda Carson 7/17/01
********************************************************************
Oakland City Council
Agenda Items: (13)-(13-1) Tuesday July 17th, 2001
Report from Staff
13 An update report from the Director, Public Works Agency, for either a proposed Ordinance to Adshel, Inc. or a proposed ordinance to Infinity Outdoor, Inc. to award a non-exclusive Franchise Agreement for a Street Furniture Program (000749-1)
Agenda Item:
13-1 An ordinance awarding a non-exclusive franchise agreement with AdShel, Inc. for a Street Furniture Program (000749a)
http://www.oaklandnet.com/government/government.html
*******************************************************************************
Oakland,Ca--Politic\'s of the bizzare is the norm of Oakland, and tonight\'s City Council Meeting made sure that this tradition was not tarnished. Several Agenda Items were meant to decide wether Oakland gets Public Outhouse\'s or not. The stench of urine is nothing new to downtown Oakland along it\'s city streets, and doorways. In addition, during tonight\'s City Council Meeting, the 4 year old public debate roared over the controversy of wether or not Oakland installs Bus Shelters on the streets such as in San Francisco. Four years ago Oakland Council Members voted down a measure to provide Bus Shelters for the Citizens of Oakland, but have since changed their minds so as to give Oakland that first class look of any other major world class city. Bus Shelters with trash cans, and Bill Boards protected by anti-graffiti glass, were also a part of the package deal included in Agenda Item 13-1, if passed. The battle lines were drawn over wether or not to award the contracts to one company called Adshell, or a different company called Infinity Outdoor Inc. Proponents of Agenda Item 13-1 would have awarded the City Contracts to Adshell had this measure not gone down to defeat in a tie vote, which now needs a tie breaking vote by Mayor Jerry Brown to pass it in the future, and perhaps as soon as in next weeks City Council Meeting. The pressure was on the Council Members to award the contracts to Adshell, despite a long littany of items from a list read off by Councilman Danny Wan that clearly showed it was in Oaklands best interest\'s to vote for Infinity Outdoor Inc, and that revenues to Oaklands Treasury would also be greater if the contracts went to Infinity. Pressure from the Mayors Office, City Staff, and from Adshell in the form of Free Bill Boards for the Mayor or Council Members, corrupted the process and pushed Council Members into a pitched battle denouncing each other as the tie vote was finally cast 4 to 4.
Agenda Item 13-2 which would have reversed the situation and thus hand over the contracts to Infinity Outdoor Inc, was immediatly voted upon. This time the vote was thwarted when Council Member De La Fuente abstained from voting, leaving the original vote to stand with the need for Mayor Jerry Brown to cast the tie breaker. The fix was in one way or another, and Politics got in the way of what is actualy best for Oakland.
For now, Public Outhouse\'s, and Bus Stops with Bill Boards upon them meant to invade the thoughts of Oakland Citizens with Corporate Bullshit, are now on hold until Mayor Jerry Brown leaves his chicken coop to face the City of Oakland in the Council Chambers
when the next vote is to be cast. After observing tonight\'s heated debate, one can only look forward to what lies ahead, as this political feud continues. Perhaps the Mayor will
announce that he is to step down from Office as Councilman Reid did, leaving a clear path into office for Wilson Riles Jr. as Oaklands next Mayor.
Councilman Reid was the surprise of the evening tonight. It was during this heated feud over the Politics of what occured, that Councilman Larry Reid announced that he will not run for a future Council Seat again. In Reid\'s own words, he stated that he\'s been pissing off his colleagues by voting the way he has in the past, and that from here on out he\'s voting for the right things for Oakland. Councilman Reid went on to publicly question the other Councilmembers, asking them how they can stand to look into a mirror after making the sort of votes that they make against the best interest\'s of Oakland. Council President DeLaFuente was not about to sit still as the wise cracks were made by Reid, and DeLaFuente did his best to interrupt the frothy comments of Reid, who definitely has an insiders view of the backroom deals going on in Oakland.
Councilman Reid went on to denounce the Bill Boards already put up by Adshell
throughout the City of Oakland meant corrupt the process of tonight\'s vote. Some of the Bill Boards made a pitch to promote Mayor Jerry Browns Military School, another for Lake Chabot, and then Council Member Jane Brunner stated that she never wanted the one posted to promote herself that Adshell put up. This has been nothing but Politics since day
one Brunner went on to say, then she voted for Adshell anyways.
Despite the cost of the contracts, a vote for Adshell meant less Outhouse\'s and Bus Stops, for the City of Oakland. A vote for Infinity meant more Outhouse\'s, and bus Stops for the City of Oakland. Councilman Spees was against the Outhouse\'s, and Council President DeLaFuente predicted that the Bus Stop\'s will become, Graffiti Heaven. This was the sort of rhetoric tossed out by Spees and DeLaFuente to defend their votes from the crafty Councilman Danny Wan who revealed that the numbers showed that the better deal for Oakland comes from the contract from Infinity. Councilman Spees tried to boost
his position by dredging up memories of recent news articles blaming Public Outhouse\'s
of San Francisco as being poorly maintained shooting galleries for the local drug addicts.
Some of these clowns never miss a chance to beat up on the poor, or downtrodden when trying to promote their agendas, and tonight it was Councilmembers Reid and Wan who took the high road on this one alongside with Councilmembers Nadel and Chang.
No doubt, the Politics of Outhouses\'s, should remain in the Outhouse, but shall resume
in the Council Chambers next Tuesday, with Mayor Jerry Brown in attendance. The smell of this one goes way beyond the stench of the dark streets of Oakland, and lands right on the Mayors lap.
Oaklands Power Elite
http://www.oaklandnet.com/government/government50.html
By Lynda Carson 7/17/01
********************************************************************
Oakland City Council
Agenda Items: (13)-(13-1) Tuesday July 17th, 2001
Report from Staff
13 An update report from the Director, Public Works Agency, for either a proposed Ordinance to Adshel, Inc. or a proposed ordinance to Infinity Outdoor, Inc. to award a non-exclusive Franchise Agreement for a Street Furniture Program (000749-1)
Agenda Item:
13-1 An ordinance awarding a non-exclusive franchise agreement with AdShel, Inc. for a Street Furniture Program (000749a)
http://www.oaklandnet.com/government/government.html
*******************************************************************************
Oakland,Ca--Politic\'s of the bizzare is the norm of Oakland, and tonight\'s City Council Meeting made sure that this tradition was not tarnished. Several Agenda Items were meant to decide wether Oakland gets Public Outhouse\'s or not. The stench of urine is nothing new to downtown Oakland along it\'s city streets, and doorways. In addition, during tonight\'s City Council Meeting, the 4 year old public debate roared over the controversy of wether or not Oakland installs Bus Shelters on the streets such as in San Francisco. Four years ago Oakland Council Members voted down a measure to provide Bus Shelters for the Citizens of Oakland, but have since changed their minds so as to give Oakland that first class look of any other major world class city. Bus Shelters with trash cans, and Bill Boards protected by anti-graffiti glass, were also a part of the package deal included in Agenda Item 13-1, if passed. The battle lines were drawn over wether or not to award the contracts to one company called Adshell, or a different company called Infinity Outdoor Inc. Proponents of Agenda Item 13-1 would have awarded the City Contracts to Adshell had this measure not gone down to defeat in a tie vote, which now needs a tie breaking vote by Mayor Jerry Brown to pass it in the future, and perhaps as soon as in next weeks City Council Meeting. The pressure was on the Council Members to award the contracts to Adshell, despite a long littany of items from a list read off by Councilman Danny Wan that clearly showed it was in Oaklands best interest\'s to vote for Infinity Outdoor Inc, and that revenues to Oaklands Treasury would also be greater if the contracts went to Infinity. Pressure from the Mayors Office, City Staff, and from Adshell in the form of Free Bill Boards for the Mayor or Council Members, corrupted the process and pushed Council Members into a pitched battle denouncing each other as the tie vote was finally cast 4 to 4.
Agenda Item 13-2 which would have reversed the situation and thus hand over the contracts to Infinity Outdoor Inc, was immediatly voted upon. This time the vote was thwarted when Council Member De La Fuente abstained from voting, leaving the original vote to stand with the need for Mayor Jerry Brown to cast the tie breaker. The fix was in one way or another, and Politics got in the way of what is actualy best for Oakland.
For now, Public Outhouse\'s, and Bus Stops with Bill Boards upon them meant to invade the thoughts of Oakland Citizens with Corporate Bullshit, are now on hold until Mayor Jerry Brown leaves his chicken coop to face the City of Oakland in the Council Chambers
when the next vote is to be cast. After observing tonight\'s heated debate, one can only look forward to what lies ahead, as this political feud continues. Perhaps the Mayor will
announce that he is to step down from Office as Councilman Reid did, leaving a clear path into office for Wilson Riles Jr. as Oaklands next Mayor.
Councilman Reid was the surprise of the evening tonight. It was during this heated feud over the Politics of what occured, that Councilman Larry Reid announced that he will not run for a future Council Seat again. In Reid\'s own words, he stated that he\'s been pissing off his colleagues by voting the way he has in the past, and that from here on out he\'s voting for the right things for Oakland. Councilman Reid went on to publicly question the other Councilmembers, asking them how they can stand to look into a mirror after making the sort of votes that they make against the best interest\'s of Oakland. Council President DeLaFuente was not about to sit still as the wise cracks were made by Reid, and DeLaFuente did his best to interrupt the frothy comments of Reid, who definitely has an insiders view of the backroom deals going on in Oakland.
Councilman Reid went on to denounce the Bill Boards already put up by Adshell
throughout the City of Oakland meant corrupt the process of tonight\'s vote. Some of the Bill Boards made a pitch to promote Mayor Jerry Browns Military School, another for Lake Chabot, and then Council Member Jane Brunner stated that she never wanted the one posted to promote herself that Adshell put up. This has been nothing but Politics since day
one Brunner went on to say, then she voted for Adshell anyways.
Despite the cost of the contracts, a vote for Adshell meant less Outhouse\'s and Bus Stops, for the City of Oakland. A vote for Infinity meant more Outhouse\'s, and bus Stops for the City of Oakland. Councilman Spees was against the Outhouse\'s, and Council President DeLaFuente predicted that the Bus Stop\'s will become, Graffiti Heaven. This was the sort of rhetoric tossed out by Spees and DeLaFuente to defend their votes from the crafty Councilman Danny Wan who revealed that the numbers showed that the better deal for Oakland comes from the contract from Infinity. Councilman Spees tried to boost
his position by dredging up memories of recent news articles blaming Public Outhouse\'s
of San Francisco as being poorly maintained shooting galleries for the local drug addicts.
Some of these clowns never miss a chance to beat up on the poor, or downtrodden when trying to promote their agendas, and tonight it was Councilmembers Reid and Wan who took the high road on this one alongside with Councilmembers Nadel and Chang.
No doubt, the Politics of Outhouses\'s, should remain in the Outhouse, but shall resume
in the Council Chambers next Tuesday, with Mayor Jerry Brown in attendance. The smell of this one goes way beyond the stench of the dark streets of Oakland, and lands right on the Mayors lap.
Oaklands Power Elite
http://www.oaklandnet.com/government/government50.html
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$330.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network
plans to build bus shelters. I, my friends, and thousands of public transit
passengers have been stranded in a strange part of town wishing we could get
a glimpse of a map of Oakland bus routes. We've been waiting for a bus that
would never come, wondering when the next was scheduled to appear. We've
been passed by speeding buses because we stood a few feet from the stop to
get out of the rain. We've been sunburned on hot summer days waiting fully
exposed under the sun. We've suffered through numerous illnesses due to
standing in the cold rain for hours. Everyone I know who regularly rides
Oakland buses has longed for shelters like those provided in San Francisco.
"Four years ago Oakland Council Members voted down a measure to provide Bus
Shelters for the Citizens of Oakland, but have since changed their minds so
as to give Oakland that first class look of any other major world class
city."
In my opinion, it seems silly to build these shelters to make the city look
better, when the most obvious benefit is the comfort they would provide to
thousands of Oakland residents. In fact, I agree that they would make the
city look worse:
"For now, Public Outhouse's, and Bus Stops with Bill Boards upon them meant
to invade the thoughts of Oakland Citizens with Corporate Bullshit..."
"Council President DeLaFuente predicted that the Bus Stop's will become,
Graffiti Heaven."
No doubt advertising and graffiti will adorn the walls of the proposed bus
shelters. I detest advertising to the extent that I don't watch television
or read magazines, but in this case, I'd happily embrace a little capitalism
if it would help ward off pneumonia.
"Some of these clowns never miss a chance to beat up on the poor, or
downtrodden when trying to promote their agendas, and tonight it was
Councilmembers Reid and Wan who took the high road on this one alongside
with Councilmembers Nadel and Chang."
Actually, if one wanted to effectively "beat up the poor," the best way to
do it would be to mercilessly expose them to the elements. It is easy,
while driving past in your car, to complain about the social ills of
advertising and graffiti, but bus shelters are sorely needed. For the sake
of the Oakland poor, I hope that the proposal goes through without a hitch,
and bus shelters are promptly erected on every corner.
Nora
Thursday, July 19, 2001 3:34 AM MST
Bus shelter debate hits fever pitch
Mayor Brown uses clout to steer deal to Adshel
By Laura Counts
STAFF WRITER
OAKLAND -- Mayor Jerry Brown has used his strong mayoral powers to break a City Council tie only once -- to ensure that a measure giving him the power to appoint three school board members made it onto the ballot.
But next Tuesday, he will again be called in to break a tie, this time on an unlikely subject: a contract to place hundreds of bus shelters with advertising on city streets.
It's an issue that has involved some of the most passionate politicking of the City Council's legislative session, and it reached a fever pitch Tuesday when Brown used his clout to steer the deal to his pick.
For months, rival companies Infinity Outdoor Inc. and Adshel have been duking it out over the lucrative contract.
Adshel, owned by the same parent company as Eller Media, got the strong backing of Brown and city staff, but Infinity promised the city more cash and appeared to have rallied more support on the council and in the community.
At the council's second-to-last meeting before summer break, members deadlocked 4-4 over awarding it to Adshel after Brown convinced council newcomer Moses Mayne (Eastmont-Seminary) -- whom he helped win the special election to replace Nate Miley -- to take his side.
In a maneuver to seal the deal, Council President Ignacio De La Fuente then abstained on a second vote to contract with Infinity, ensuring it would die with a 4-3 vote.
Brown did not respond to questions Wednesday about why he prefers Adshel.
Four years ago, the council rejected the idea of bus shelters altogether because of fears they would be graffiti magnets. But the pleas of bus riders, especially seniors, convinced council members to reconsider.
Mayne said Tuesday he had been leaning toward the Infinity proposal, and admitted that earlier in the day Brown had asked for his support on Adshel. He said he based his final decision on the city staff's recommendation.
"(Infinity) seemed better on paper," he said before the vote. "When I talked with staff, it seemed they had some trust issues with Infinity. So now I'm leaning toward trusting staff."
Adshel has proposed 256 bus shelters and 12 kiosks with advertising, and plans to immediately take down 12 Eller billboards at specific locations throughout the city. It will pay the city $75,000 a year, or $1.3 million over 15 years.
Infinity, meanwhile, promised to pay $150,000 a year plus share 10 percent to 20 percent of gross revenue from the advertising, which the city projects would be $9.2 million over 15 years.
Infinity planned to install 250 to 375 bus shelters with advertising, plus another 125 without advertising in the neighborhoods. Its proposal included 20 advertising kiosks, five interactive kiosks, five public information kiosks, and 15 newsstand kiosks, plus an option for eight public toilets manufactured by JC Decaux.
The company also said it would take down 50 billboards at locations the city chooses.
In May, both companies installed demonstration shelters on Clay and 14th Streets, and both have been declared satisfactory.
But rarely have council members been so diametrically opposed on a contract, and emotions ran high Tuesday as they questioned each other's motives.
Long argument for Infinity
Councilmember Danny Wan (Grand Lake-Chinatown) made a long argument in favor of Infinity, saying the process had been biased from the start. Infinity offers far greater revenues, less advertising and more billboard removals, and the option of toilets, if these are wanted.
Infinity also planned to contract with a local firm to do the maintenance, a crucial part of the contract that gained them community support.
Wan was joined in his argument by Nancy Nadel (Downtown-West Oakland), who said Infinity had complied with everything the city had asked, and by Henry Chang (At-Large) and Larry Reid (Elmhurst-East Oakland).
Reid blasted his colleagues and Brown for supporting Adshel, saying they only supported the company because Eller Media had given free billboards for their elections or pet causes.
"Are we doing this for Jerry Brown or are we doing it for the people of Oakland?" asked Reid, who said he regrets going along with Brown on some past votes.
Vehement Adshel arguement
Councilmember Dick Spees argued just as vehemently for Adshel, pointing out the company planned to spend $8,500 per shelter compared to Infinity's $5,000, and would spend twice as much a year on maintenance, done by locally hired union workers.
"I don't want our city to have a bunch of raggedy bus shelters," he said.
Councilmember Jane Brunner (North Oakland) and De La Fuente (San Antonio-Fruitvale) also supported Adshel. Brunner said Eller had once put up a billboard supporting her, but she asked the company to take it down.
"Talk about politics," she said. "This has been political from the beginning. Both sides have done an amazing amount of politics."
City Manager Robert Bobb said politics aside, Adshel had offered a higher quality product and better maintenance, which was more important to the city than revenue.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
©1999-2001 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers