Press Release
I am adding my first official statement as to why I am running for this very important position which received some coverage but was hushed up by others.
Press Release 12/31/2013
After looking over the candidates that have thrown their hats into the ring and the rumor of two or three others who are also considering, I have decided that the residents of Oakland deserve a candidate that knows the history of Oakland, is hands on in activism and has no connections to the machine politics that has devastated Oakland for over 35 years.
While the few who have made millions off the lucrative contracts, corruption and nepotism that engulfs how politics functions in this city; it is time that the voters start taking an active role and start thinking outside the perceived frame work that money raised and prominent endorsers make for a qualified and caring candidate.
We as voters, who complain and get discouraged because, to date those who have sought elected office and won, have not been representative of Oakland as a whole. They come with baggage because those who endorse them now own them.
We need a candidate who comes from the citizens who make up Oakland and has long involved roots and activism as well as not being afraid to represent and stand shoulder to shoulder with every person in every street throughout Oakland. I, Nancy Sidebotham, am that person!
I have lived in Oakland since September 1964 and have been politically active since 1982. I graduated from Merritt College at the old campus on Grove Street, renamed Martin Luther King Way in 1968. I went on and graduated from CSUHayward, now CSUEast Bay, in 1970. I have lived in various neighborhoods throughout Oakland from Beacon Street near Lake Merritt, Vernon Street off Santa Clara, Shafter Ave. in North Oakland, Georgia Street in the Laurel, Whittle Ave. in the Dimond and since 1980 on Hillmont Drive in the Millsmont area.
I have been active over the years in almost every aspect of Oakland’s issues. I have run a number of times for the District 6 council seat. I have never walked away but continue to stay involved, educate and challenge all who I have come in contact with, either physically or over the internet, to fight and take control to bring about positive change to their neighborhoods, districts and City. I have never been afraid to speak up or fight for the rights of Oakland’s citizens. I have been there as a participant, leader and helper whenever the opportunity presented itself. I have over the years demanded accountability for actions and monies being asked of Oakland citizens.
I am fed up with Oakland’s politics as usual! The handpicked candidates that profess promises that are rarely kept so that the machine politicians continue to keep Oakland in the strangle hold while we, the citizens, continue to be frustrated, has got to stop.
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We have all seen neighbors and friends relocate due to the frustrations that mismanagement of this city has reaped over the years.
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The high taxes that are collected year in and year out with little to show for them and no accountability on how they are really spent.
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The continued devastation of a once proud and well managed police department that machine politics has brought to its knees. The Officers are proud of the work they do and deserve our respect and support.
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The loss of qualified city staff that earned their positions due to knowledge and abilities and not nepotism and payback.
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Oakland deserves leadership that will demand quality work and give the respect and recognition to the work force that has been ignored and cut to the bone to protect the inability of those individuals due to lack of professional management skills.
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Reduce the over inflated positions and delegate the workload to the different Departments without political interference.
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Stop the welfare mentality of City Hall and encourage development of Oakland that represents everyone on an equal footing.
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Stop the territorial mentality that highlights the politics of Oakland and keeps areas throughout the city segregated from each other. This benefits a few while most of Oakland is neglected till an election comes around.
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Lead by example, by outreaching to bring jobs back to America, bring back employment and keep people in their homes. This is a national crisis and the fight to make change has to start at the local level.
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Lip service needs to stop and real hands on action by the DA’s office needs to step up to the plate not only in going after banks regarding the foreclosures but in actually prosecuting those who break the law so that the message gets out that there are consequences for illegal actions.
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We cannot continue to talk about progress, transparency and a bright future, while greed, self-interest and political maneuvering out shine the respect, freedom and rights that should be our first priority.
If Oakland, as a City, is to progress, she needs to stop living off handouts from the Federal Government and State and start rebuilding herself from the bottom up.
If one was to look at who controls the politics of Oakland and how elections are manipulated by what will sell (which is the definition of an Ad Campaign), versus what will work; then the residents as voters will come to understand why we continue to flounder in thin air and never reach objectives that other surrounding cities have flourished on.
Oakland has been a training ground on what NOT to do for up and coming talented staff. These individuals have learned their trade and taken their abilities to other surrounding cities and brought prosperity to those municipalities, along with longtime businesses who have become fed up with stagnation.
Oakland was the hub for transportation and growth and in that same medium, the center for many to make their wealth and then leave to “greener pastures”. Oakland has been a playground for many over its history who saw a way to make a financial killing at the expense of the residents.
This needs to change! I am proud to be a 50 year resident of Oakland and will continue to fight to make her the center that she has always been in the past and has the potential to be again in the future. There are no empty promises here because I know I cannot do this alone It will take the commitment from all of us with diverse ideas coming together to solve and build the immediate time line and future of this great City. The talent is here and I have the ability and the passion to guide Oakland, with your help, to sustainability and a culturally diverse future.
Are you with me? I ask that you get involved, this is our city and it is going to take hands on action to bring about positive and real change.
Nancy