Barbara Lee, sworn in as Oakland’s mayor, promises a ‘government you can trust’

OAKLAND The room fell silent Tuesday when Barbara Lee was sworn in as the city s mayor After a rousing standing ovation it quieted once again when Lee acknowledged a personal significance of the moment The Bible she had placed her hand on during the Oakland City Hall ceremony Lee explained had belonged to her grandfather who was born just two years after Juneteenth when slaves in Texas uncovered out they had been freed Lee ran through more of her family s history including how her father who had been a segregated World War II soldier once tried to purchase a home in San Leandro but he couldn t because he was Black and ended up being ran out of town Little did my parents know then that I would end up representing San Leandro for three decades Lee reported referring to her years as an East Bay congresswoman a decorated legacy that paid off with Oakland voters in the April special balloting Now Lee will represent Oakland a much smaller territory with a large set of challenges The mayor is at the tail end of her political career but can expect to face a new test in governing a city with split politics a shaky national reputation and steep financial struggles Still Lee related her upbringing in both Texas and Southern California as a lesson in multiculturalism Lee s father Garvin Alexander Tutt eventually got divorced and re-married a woman from Japan whom Lee taught English and considered a second mother I think about Oakland and I think about its beautiful diversity Lee revealed hewing once again toward a message of unity that powered her mayoral campaign which earned approval from over of voters Newly elected Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee speaks after being sworn at City Hall in Oakland Calif on Tuesday May Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group The positive vibes in the packed council chamber echoed those during a swearing-in earlier Tuesday of Charlene Wang the newest councilmember in the city s District which spans Jack London Square Chinatown Eastlake San Antonio and neighborhoods around Lake Merritt Unlike the political arm of constituents labor unions that backed Lee and other candidates in the special voting Wang was supported by deep-pocketed business interests As a candidate Wang called out Oakland s problems dispiriting residents displays of crime drug addiction and homelessness more vocally But on Tuesday she struck a similarly optimistic tone It would be easy to feel overwhelmed Wang reported referring also to the Trump administration s attacks on general funding for local governments But yet this is a moment when we are called to lead Oakland doesn t fold under pressure Oakland gets sharper it gets stronger In the coming weeks the City Council will address a two-year budget proposal by Councilmember Kevin Jenkins who had served until Tuesday as interim mayor part of a leadership carousel that ensued following ex-Mayor Sheng Thao s removal from office last year Newly elected Oakland City Councilmember Charlene Wang mingles with attendees after being sworn in at City Hall in Oakland Calif on Tuesday May Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group Jenkins re-assumed his duties Tuesday as the council s president who runs the society meetings Council deliberations have historically become tense during budget discussions but Lee on Tuesday promised a clear-eyed fiscal approach with realistic spending We will keep the community informed the whole way Lee mentioned The mayoral swearing-in ceremony had earlier been revealed as a private event but members of Lee s organization ultimately broadcast the festivities online and the local TV station KTOP with invited guests and various media present The new administration s chief of staff will be Miya Saika Chen who previously worked for Nikki Fortunato Bas the council member who left the District seat vacant after she was elected as a county supervisor last fall Wang s swearing-in as the new District councilmember also marked the final meeting of Rebecca Kaplan who served in the council s at-large seat for years and filled in as District s leader the past sparse months Kaplan exits the council as its most-tenured member leaving behind a relatively young roster District Councilmember Noel Gallo and District Councilmember Carroll Fife are now the only members of the eight-person board who have served for longer than a single term Among the objectives Lee has outlined for her shortened term it will last until the end of in what would have been the rest of Thao s tenure is a re-examination of the mayor s responsibilities which do not include veto power over the council s legislative decisions Newly elected Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee mingles with attendees after being sworn in at City Hall in Oakland Calif on Tuesday May Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group The mayor and council have often clashed in Oakland Lee however praised the current members as phenomenal saying they mentored her during and after a truncated polling cycle Her commitment to a unified Oakland may be tested by the city s financial constraints and social problems which continue to cast a shadow over the town s cultural offerings and its rich history of progressive politics Lee s supporters however see her as a unifying force after a period of divisiveness at City Hall And her own history is vast the new mayor closed her remarks Tuesday by reading a passage from Still I Rise a poem by the late writer Maya Angelou whom Lee described as a very good friend of mine Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise reads the poem s excerpt that Lee read aloud Into a daybreak that s wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave I am the dream and the hope of the slave I rise I rise I rise Shomik Mukherjee is a reporter covering Oakland Call or text him at - - or email him at shomik bayareanewsgroup com