3.10 22-0533 Subject: Proposed Ballot Measure On Public Spending On Oakland A's Project At Howard Terminal
From: Councilmember Gallo
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution On City Council's Own Motion For Submittal To The Voters At The November 8, 2022 General Municipal Election Of An Advisory Vote On Spending Public Funds For Infrastructure And Other Costs At The Oakland A's Privately Owned Proposed Baseball And Real Estate Project At Howard Terminal; On The July 5, 2022 City Council Agenda On Non-Consent
Please oppose this resolution that is in fact just a frantic ploy by outside interests desperate to not have their polluting disrupted by one of the biggest residential, commercial, and entertainment projects the state has seen in a long time. Once developed, HT could generate $10 million in property taxes (even with IFD contributions factored in) each year which is the same amount of revenue that 50 years of the Howard Terminal site in its current use- a waterfront parking lot for idle trucks- would reach. That money created by but-for funds that only exist with the project could fund schools, libraries, parks, homeless, police, and fire department and it's a bald-faced lie that the faux-grass roots group East Oakland Stadium Alliance which is bankrolled by SSAMarine, their parent company Blackstone Group, and Schnitzer Steel whose motivations could not be clearer when spreading misinformation to the public that the project uses money that could be used elsewhere. If this was put on the ballot, those 3 would do everything in their power and hundreds of billions in capital to sway public opinion on the measure enough to kill it as they have with energy bills that would disrupt their business. Wasting taxpayer money to make this an unnecessary ballot measure when the City Council has had the luxury of information, insight, and resources to make well-informed decisions on the project would only exist to fuel EOSA's goal to be as spiteful and derail this generational project.
This is complete nonsense, a waste of taxpayer money, and will cost the city of Oakland their last professional sports team. I strongly oppose putting this on any ballot.
Don’t let the name of this faux-grassroots group fool you (East Oakland Stadium Alliance). The biggest and most influential member is a $800 billion dollar investment firm, Blackstone Group (parent company of SSAMarine). Why would they be interested in a public vote you say? If successful, Blackstone will use their resources, (PR Firms) to sway public opinion to stop Howard Terminal project from happening. It’s a playbook invented by the Koch Brothers in the 90’s. PR firms would be used to write prepared communications, and send them to local experts (news outlets, journalists, social media outlets) all in the name of misinformation. Once the public has been influenced, they in turn will be allies to dissuade from this project moving forward, just like what the Koch Brothers/Fossil Fuel industry did to kill a important energy bill.
It is deeply disappointing to see members of our City Council entertain a bad-faith, misleading astroturf campaign by Schnitzer and maritime interests. The push for a public vote has nothing to do with any desire for citizen involvement in major decisions—if it did, the vote proponents would likewise push for votes on each and every city budget (after all, our budgets are typically multi-billion dollar propositions, with impacts that range far beyond a single glorified parking lot near Jack London Square), and they would be pushing for a vote on Howard Terminal's port priority use designation (after all, that decision is currently up to the unelected BCDC). The vote proponents' actual motivations could not be clearer. Schnitzer wants to keep polluting as it has for years, and the maritime interests are, in effect, seeking to speculate on the possibility that Howard Terminal might someday—perhaps in 20 or 30 years—be used in a manner that makes them money (of course, if shipping patterns change—for instance, because we finally develop a national industrial policy—maritime interests lose nothing, but Oakland loses the A's and is stuck with a waterfront parking lot). The City Council should reject Schnitzer and maritime interests' fearmongering, misinformation, and bad-faith arguments, and get to work on a Howard Terminal stadium deal, which will bring thousands of desperately-needed housing units and enhance public access to our beautiful waterfront.
Please oppose this measure, this is why we have elected officials to decide complex issues that affect hundreds of thousands of people! The City Council
Is well versed on this project and has the capability to vote in the best interest of the city!
Please allow our elected officials to do what we voted them in to do! Further waiting just costs more and more money and wastes time. We desperately need the extra housing and tax revenue this project will bring to Oakland.
The EOSA has been spreading misinformation and lies to the public on how this project will be funded. As an elected official, it is your duty to make tough decisions like this project and you are able to make those tough decisions thanks to a dedicated staff who can provide the necessary and correct information and other resources. The average every day citizen does not have the same resources and will believe whatever lies told by the EOSA as they simply want to delay the city council vote with a public vote and cause the project to die. A public vote is not necessary. I strongly oppose this proposed ballot measure.
Please oppose this farce by moneyed interests who are intent on spreading misinformation and lies to continue their pollution. This ballot measure is a stall tactic that could easily derail this project and cause the A's to leave. The council has more than enough resources, insights and information to make informed decisions on the Howard Terminal project than most voters, and they should do that without forcing an unnecessary and wasteful ballot measure that would likely be rejected because of misinformation. Either put the entire city and Port budget up for vote, or none of it. You have a hard job and choices to make. This is the job you wanted, please do it to the best of your abilities, and don't run for cover when it gets controversial and hard. We demand better.
It is a bald faced lie by EOSA that the Howard Terminal project will use public funds that could be spent elsewhere. Project uses money that would not exist without the project. I am strongly opposed to a public vote on HT as this would allow EOSA and their funders Blackstone to further their lies and misinformation to stop this project. They do not represent Oakland, they represent polluters of Oakland.
Don’t support this; this is a well-funded astroturf campaign from west Oakland’s most notorious polluters who are upset that a new stadium on unused port land will disrupt their polluting
This is all a scam by EOSA and their puppets in the council. I am highly opposed to further delay of utilizing and rejuvenating the JLS district and Howard Terminal. Do not delay this any longer with frivolous ballot measures meant to derail an win win situation for the city of Oakland.
As an Oakland resident I’m strongly against this smokescreen of an effort to delay a vote on Howard Terminal and deflect responsibility away from the city council. The council has more than enough resources, insights and information to make informed decisions on the Howard Terminal project, and they should do that without an unnecessary and wasteful ballot measure.
This proposed ballot measure is a waste of city time and taxpayer money. Please city councilmembers just do the job you were elected to do and make the decision.
Do your job. This is a complex process that needs experts to serve the city's best interest, not outside interests buying their way with misinformation.
This is a very complex question with many jobs, homes, and community benefits at stake. Unlike the public, you have a full time staff and decades of years of experience to guide you on your path. We believe you can do this. Now, you just need to believe in yourselves.
Why is it ok that billionaire companies like Blackstone, Schnitzer Steel, and SSA get to bankroll a group like EOSA that spreads misinformation? Blackstone, who drives up rents by gobbling up single-family homes. Schnitzer Steel, who refuses to stop polluting West Oakland and should be evicted. And SSA, along with other shipping companies are making billions profiting off the supply chain crisis by raising their prices and price gouging their customers. It's gross that EOSA is given a platform. Please stop listening to them. This process is NOT going too fast. In fact, it is going way too slow! It's been 20 yrs and we are tired! Just do something and don't pass the buck!
This proposed ballot measure smacks of 'someone' not getting their way through persuading their fellow council members in rigorous debate, getting outvoted, then trying to move the goal posts. It's designed as a poison pill to derail the process, effectively force the A's from the table, and ultimately the city. Shenanigans like this are why Oakland's city government is often (and with some merit) ridiculed by outside observers. Gallo, EOSA, and 'private maritime interests' (polluters) are sensing momentum picking up towards a Howard Terminal deal getting done, so they've devised this monkey wrench ballot proposal. It's dishonest, and a waste of money.
The facts seem to bear that the Howard Terminal proposal would largely be funded by revenue that will ONLY exist should the project be built, and through federal and state funds that will ONLY be applied to Oakland should the project get approved. The project would not divert money from the general fund, and it is money that cannot be used in other areas, because it will not be generated unless Howard Terminal is built. IF that is not the case, PROVE IT. IN COUNCIL. Let your arguments stand on merit, allow the process and the city council to function as designed, and PLEASE don't waste precious money on this ill advised proposal.
This campaign has been funded by billion-dollar shipping companies, none of whom care about East Oakland or Oakland residents. The City has worked tirelessly for several years to develop a fiscally responsible plan to develop the Howard Terminal site that involves NO TAXPAYER DOLLARS OR MONEY FROM THE GENERAL FUND. The stadium is 100% privately financed and the "money that could be used elsewhere" are but-for revenues that will be collected by the City of Las Vegas to fund services in Nevada if our city loses its last major sports team. The City Council has everything it needs to make a decision. Members of Council who oppose this project can go on the record and do so without the cover of a public "vote" fueled by this misinformation campaign.
Absolutely not. This is another lame, hail mary attempt by moneyed interests who want to keep polluting West Oakland without consequence. Don’t fall for the propaganda.
Please oppose this resolution that is in fact just a frantic ploy by outside interests desperate to not have their polluting disrupted by one of the biggest residential, commercial, and entertainment projects the state has seen in a long time. Once developed, HT could generate $10 million in property taxes (even with IFD contributions factored in) each year which is the same amount of revenue that 50 years of the Howard Terminal site in its current use- a waterfront parking lot for idle trucks- would reach. That money created by but-for funds that only exist with the project could fund schools, libraries, parks, homeless, police, and fire department and it's a bald-faced lie that the faux-grass roots group East Oakland Stadium Alliance which is bankrolled by SSAMarine, their parent company Blackstone Group, and Schnitzer Steel whose motivations could not be clearer when spreading misinformation to the public that the project uses money that could be used elsewhere. If this was put on the ballot, those 3 would do everything in their power and hundreds of billions in capital to sway public opinion on the measure enough to kill it as they have with energy bills that would disrupt their business. Wasting taxpayer money to make this an unnecessary ballot measure when the City Council has had the luxury of information, insight, and resources to make well-informed decisions on the project would only exist to fuel EOSA's goal to be as spiteful and derail this generational project.
This is complete nonsense, a waste of taxpayer money, and will cost the city of Oakland their last professional sports team. I strongly oppose putting this on any ballot.
I strongly oppose this notion, which is clearly a ploy by parent companies and conglomerates that do not care about Oakland…only themselves.
Don’t let the name of this faux-grassroots group fool you (East Oakland Stadium Alliance). The biggest and most influential member is a $800 billion dollar investment firm, Blackstone Group (parent company of SSAMarine). Why would they be interested in a public vote you say? If successful, Blackstone will use their resources, (PR Firms) to sway public opinion to stop Howard Terminal project from happening. It’s a playbook invented by the Koch Brothers in the 90’s. PR firms would be used to write prepared communications, and send them to local experts (news outlets, journalists, social media outlets) all in the name of misinformation. Once the public has been influenced, they in turn will be allies to dissuade from this project moving forward, just like what the Koch Brothers/Fossil Fuel industry did to kill a important energy bill.
It is deeply disappointing to see members of our City Council entertain a bad-faith, misleading astroturf campaign by Schnitzer and maritime interests. The push for a public vote has nothing to do with any desire for citizen involvement in major decisions—if it did, the vote proponents would likewise push for votes on each and every city budget (after all, our budgets are typically multi-billion dollar propositions, with impacts that range far beyond a single glorified parking lot near Jack London Square), and they would be pushing for a vote on Howard Terminal's port priority use designation (after all, that decision is currently up to the unelected BCDC). The vote proponents' actual motivations could not be clearer. Schnitzer wants to keep polluting as it has for years, and the maritime interests are, in effect, seeking to speculate on the possibility that Howard Terminal might someday—perhaps in 20 or 30 years—be used in a manner that makes them money (of course, if shipping patterns change—for instance, because we finally develop a national industrial policy—maritime interests lose nothing, but Oakland loses the A's and is stuck with a waterfront parking lot). The City Council should reject Schnitzer and maritime interests' fearmongering, misinformation, and bad-faith arguments, and get to work on a Howard Terminal stadium deal, which will bring thousands of desperately-needed housing units and enhance public access to our beautiful waterfront.
Please oppose this measure, this is why we have elected officials to decide complex issues that affect hundreds of thousands of people! The City Council
Is well versed on this project and has the capability to vote in the best interest of the city!
Please allow our elected officials to do what we voted them in to do! Further waiting just costs more and more money and wastes time. We desperately need the extra housing and tax revenue this project will bring to Oakland.
The EOSA has been spreading misinformation and lies to the public on how this project will be funded. As an elected official, it is your duty to make tough decisions like this project and you are able to make those tough decisions thanks to a dedicated staff who can provide the necessary and correct information and other resources. The average every day citizen does not have the same resources and will believe whatever lies told by the EOSA as they simply want to delay the city council vote with a public vote and cause the project to die. A public vote is not necessary. I strongly oppose this proposed ballot measure.
Please oppose this farce by moneyed interests who are intent on spreading misinformation and lies to continue their pollution. This ballot measure is a stall tactic that could easily derail this project and cause the A's to leave. The council has more than enough resources, insights and information to make informed decisions on the Howard Terminal project than most voters, and they should do that without forcing an unnecessary and wasteful ballot measure that would likely be rejected because of misinformation. Either put the entire city and Port budget up for vote, or none of it. You have a hard job and choices to make. This is the job you wanted, please do it to the best of your abilities, and don't run for cover when it gets controversial and hard. We demand better.
It is a bald faced lie by EOSA that the Howard Terminal project will use public funds that could be spent elsewhere. Project uses money that would not exist without the project. I am strongly opposed to a public vote on HT as this would allow EOSA and their funders Blackstone to further their lies and misinformation to stop this project. They do not represent Oakland, they represent polluters of Oakland.
Don’t support this; this is a well-funded astroturf campaign from west Oakland’s most notorious polluters who are upset that a new stadium on unused port land will disrupt their polluting
This is all a scam by EOSA and their puppets in the council. I am highly opposed to further delay of utilizing and rejuvenating the JLS district and Howard Terminal. Do not delay this any longer with frivolous ballot measures meant to derail an win win situation for the city of Oakland.
As an Oakland resident I’m strongly against this smokescreen of an effort to delay a vote on Howard Terminal and deflect responsibility away from the city council. The council has more than enough resources, insights and information to make informed decisions on the Howard Terminal project, and they should do that without an unnecessary and wasteful ballot measure.
This proposed ballot measure is a waste of city time and taxpayer money. Please city councilmembers just do the job you were elected to do and make the decision.
Do your job. This is a complex process that needs experts to serve the city's best interest, not outside interests buying their way with misinformation.
This is a very complex question with many jobs, homes, and community benefits at stake. Unlike the public, you have a full time staff and decades of years of experience to guide you on your path. We believe you can do this. Now, you just need to believe in yourselves.
Why is it ok that billionaire companies like Blackstone, Schnitzer Steel, and SSA get to bankroll a group like EOSA that spreads misinformation? Blackstone, who drives up rents by gobbling up single-family homes. Schnitzer Steel, who refuses to stop polluting West Oakland and should be evicted. And SSA, along with other shipping companies are making billions profiting off the supply chain crisis by raising their prices and price gouging their customers. It's gross that EOSA is given a platform. Please stop listening to them. This process is NOT going too fast. In fact, it is going way too slow! It's been 20 yrs and we are tired! Just do something and don't pass the buck!
This proposed ballot measure smacks of 'someone' not getting their way through persuading their fellow council members in rigorous debate, getting outvoted, then trying to move the goal posts. It's designed as a poison pill to derail the process, effectively force the A's from the table, and ultimately the city. Shenanigans like this are why Oakland's city government is often (and with some merit) ridiculed by outside observers. Gallo, EOSA, and 'private maritime interests' (polluters) are sensing momentum picking up towards a Howard Terminal deal getting done, so they've devised this monkey wrench ballot proposal. It's dishonest, and a waste of money.
The facts seem to bear that the Howard Terminal proposal would largely be funded by revenue that will ONLY exist should the project be built, and through federal and state funds that will ONLY be applied to Oakland should the project get approved. The project would not divert money from the general fund, and it is money that cannot be used in other areas, because it will not be generated unless Howard Terminal is built. IF that is not the case, PROVE IT. IN COUNCIL. Let your arguments stand on merit, allow the process and the city council to function as designed, and PLEASE don't waste precious money on this ill advised proposal.
This campaign has been funded by billion-dollar shipping companies, none of whom care about East Oakland or Oakland residents. The City has worked tirelessly for several years to develop a fiscally responsible plan to develop the Howard Terminal site that involves NO TAXPAYER DOLLARS OR MONEY FROM THE GENERAL FUND. The stadium is 100% privately financed and the "money that could be used elsewhere" are but-for revenues that will be collected by the City of Las Vegas to fund services in Nevada if our city loses its last major sports team. The City Council has everything it needs to make a decision. Members of Council who oppose this project can go on the record and do so without the cover of a public "vote" fueled by this misinformation campaign.
Absolutely not. This is another lame, hail mary attempt by moneyed interests who want to keep polluting West Oakland without consequence. Don’t fall for the propaganda.