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WORLD MAYOR 2018
Dedicated to women mayors The 2018 World Mayor Prize and Commendations will be conferred on women mayors who have made outstanding and long-lasting contributions to their communities. The organisers wish to show what outstanding women mayors achieve all over the world. By doing so, they hope to encourage more women to contemplate a career in local government and run for political office. The women, who will be awarded the 2018 World Mayor Prize and other honours, will be role models for young women and, indeed, men everywhere. Libby Schaaf, Mayor of Oakland (CA), USA, was shortlisted for the 2018 World Mayor Prize. |
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| FRONT PAGE About World Mayor City Mayors Foundation    WORLD MAYOR 2018 • Results 2018 • Project 2018 • Shortlist 2018 • Longlist 2018 • Raison d'être • World Mayor history • World Mayor Prize • Code of Ethics • Criteria • Meet the Press INTERVIEWS WITH • Mayor of Ancona • Mayor of Doncaster • Mayor of Rennes • Mayor of Zamboanga ESSAYS BY • Mayor of Ancona • Mayor of Cologne • Mayor of Doncaster • Mayor of Fort Worth • Mayor of Lille • Mayor of Paris • Mayor of Rennes • Mayor of Saarbrücken • Mayor of Trbovlje • Mayor of Tunis • Mayor of Zamboanga TESTIMONIALS • Mayor of Alphen / Rijn • Mayor of Ancona • Mayor of Baden-Baden • Mayor of Calais • Mayor of Chemnitz • Mayor of Cologne • Mayor of Cozumel • Mayor of Doncaster • Mayor of Fort Worth • Mayor of Grand Rapids • Mayor of Lille • Mayor of Lodz • Mayor of Molenbeek • Mayor of Narayanganj • Mayor of Oakland • Mayor of Omaha • Mayor of Paris • Mayor of Rennes • Mayor of Reutlingen • Mayor of Saarbrücken • Mayor of San Juan • Mayor of Trbovlje • Mayor of Tunis • Mayor of Zamboanga • Mayor of Zurich PROFILES OF • Mayor of Ancona • Mayor of Cologne • Mayor of Doncaster • Mayor of Fort Worth • Mayor of Lille • Mayor of Paris • Mayor of Rennes • Mayor of Saarbrücken • Mayor of Trbovlje • Mayor of Tunis • Mayor of Zamboanga WORLD MAYOR 2016 WORLD MAYOR 2014 WORLD MAYOR 2012 WORLD MAYOR 2010 WORLD MAYOR 2008 WORLD MAYOR 2006 WORLD MAYOR 2005 WORLD MAYOR 2004 |
Nominations for Libby Schaaf Mayor of Oakland, (CA), USA Nominated by Carrie C., Oakland: All World Mayor candidates are worthy, but Mayor Schaaf is the only one to put her professional career on the line by publicly opposing Donald Trump on many levels (such as immigration and trade) and specifically his deplorable treatment of women. Locally, Mayor Schaaf has made Oakland safer by embracing and supporting the Cease Fire initiative that treats deadly gun violence as a public health emergency it is. As a result, Oakland murder rates have been decreasing for the past 5 years. As a "sanctuary city" the mayor knows that residents are more likely to report criminal activity if they know their immigration status will not be part of the witness process. That alone is a huge factor towards keeping Oaklanders safe from criminal behavior - if everyone can report criminal behavior without fear. Oakland has one of the busiest shipping ports on the West Coast and the TransPacific trade agreement is a huge opportunity to continue stable growth at the Port of Oakland. Mayor Schaaf has publicly opposed the tariffs that the US government is attempting to impose on our trading partners. Interesting fact: The Port receives thousands of containers of electronic goods from Asia. What does it send back? Wine, lots of California wine. Homelessness - where do I start? Mayor Schaaf has the most patient and empathetic attitude for establishing many shelter communities using Tuff Shed units on vacant public land. Housing partners include the City of Oakland, Kaiser Hospital, Alameda County and other providers of physical and emotional services to the homeless. Oakland has fewer "tent cities" now then two years ago. It's a win-win for all! Mayor Schaaf is patient for some things, but is impatient and intolerant when it comes to illegal dumping on sidewalks, streets, alleys, and city parks. Do you want to see sparks and fire come out if the Mayor's head? Just mention illegal dumping! The City spends millions of dollars per year to clean up and dispose of mattresses, appliances, furniture, household garbage, and construction debris. As a result, the City has announced FREE monthly drop-off activities for the public to dispose of all these items. The City has also hired additional staff to investigate and punish individuals who still continue to dump illegally in Oakland neigborhoods. For all these reasons and MORE, I am voting for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf as World Best Mayor 2018. Nominated by Todd and Jose, Oakland: I have known Mayor Schaaf long before she was our Mayor of Oakland. She was our council person in District 4 for a number of years and it gave us an up close and personal view of how Libby works, her compassion, insight, grit and her personal ethics! We were thrilled when she ran to Mayor of Oakland and I only wish there were more people like Libby involved in government. We are extremely fortunate to have her as our Mayor! Nominated by Jerry M., Oakland: Libby has done so many wonderful things for the city of Oakland. To name a few: • Scholarships for low income family children and underprivileged children • Pre-school and after school programs for young children • Standing up to ISIS to protect immigrants • Shelters with showers and advisors for the homeless She is running for re-election because she has so much more that she wants to accomplish. Nominated by Susan S., Oakland: I vote for Libby. I live in Oakland. She is an authentic and genuine person, while managing a large, diverse city that experiencing growth and growing pains. She doesn’t shy away from defending our city’s integrity. Nominated by Robbie N., Oakland: Libby is amazingly brilliant, efficient, caring and accessible. She’s connected locally, state wide and even nationally and internationally. Nominated by Caleb S., Oakland: My name is Caleb, and I am a resident of Oakland, California. I wanted to write to you to encourage you to award the World Mayor 2018 prize to Libby Schaaf. I am an Oakland native who recently graduated from college and returned home to Oakland. While I was a college student, I interned in Libby Schaaf's mayoral office. Although she has an exceptional talent for assembling a team of experts and community advocates to effectively lead the city, she has always placed a heavy weight on providing opportunities for young Oaklanders to make a positive impact on their city. Therefore, she asked me, while I was an intern, to look into the state of emergency rental assistance for tenants facing eviction. I found that there were substantial gaps in the private assistance available, and working in tandem with relevant city experts, I was able to put together a pilot program proposal for expanding rental assistance to help all of the most at-risk residents. Libby not only took the proposal seriously, she went out and assembled a group of private partners to fully fund the initiative to the tune of $9 million. The initiative was opened to public requests for help starting this past Monday, and will help hundreds of Oaklanders avoid eviction and dozens of residents from becoming homeless. This ability to find a use for all those who wish to help (even college students) is why she has so effectively raised funds from private and intergovernmental partners for innovative projects like the eviction prevention assistance program and the Tuff Shed Cabin Communities (a program that is ramping up shelter programs for the homeless, with services on site, that is far more affordable and fast to roll out than anything else we are seeing tried in the region). It is the unending desire to find a better path forward (and the ability to juggle a nearly endless series of crises while still investing in long-term programs like the Oakland Promise), that make Libby a great leader. She is a fearless, creative, and brilliant leader, a team player, and an excellent listener. She played a major role in inspiring me to go into local government as a career, and I imagine Oakland will benefit from her good work for many years to come. Nominated by Kathleen, A., Oakland: I heartily endorse Libby Schaaf, Mayor of Oakland, for World Mayor. A native of Oakland, Mayor Schaaf has worked tirelessly for the greater good of all Oaklanders. Her accomplishments include: • Cleaning up the Oakland Police Dept. and hiring its first woman police chief • Raising more money privately for an innovative Cradle-to-Career program - Oakland Promise - of investment, mentoring and coaching of parents and Oakland Public School students, yielding more college applicants and college graduates in 20+ years • Creatively tackling the problem of affordable housing with the Tuff Shed, comprehensive services plan and required developers' fees for affordable housing • Streamlining the creation of 8,600 new homes and apartments, the first such development in more than 10 years • Standing up to Donald Trump and his hateful anti-immigration policies She's got my vote. Nominated by Sarah N.-S., Oakland: All of the women on your list are amazing, but I am a resident of Oakland, and can only speak on my experience of my representative. Libby Schaaff is awesome. Oakland is a diverse and culturally rich city, and I watch mayor Schaaf go to great lengths to make her constituents of all backgrounds feel connected to her as their elected representative and to their city. She consistently stands up to bullies and faithfully represents the people of Oakland. She does not shy away from controversy, and yet somehow always handles it with grace. Whether it is the POTUS threatening to imprison her, or the NFL threatening to pull their team, Libby does not bow. She is fighting to make Oakland a better place, and she is the champion our wonderful city deserves. Nominatd by Mary B., Oakland: I'm an Oakland resident and I am voting for Libby Schaaf to be world mayor. Since elected she's improved the Oakland community, crime has been down, commerce and business has increased, and Oakland is booming. She's a great role model and I love having her as my mayor. Nominated by Judy R., Oakland: I have lived in Oakland CA for 11 years, and I’m delighted with The performance of Libby Schaffer’s. She inherited a bundle of problems from previous ineffective Oakland mayors and she is the first to take concrete action. Libby has taken many steps to address and begin resolving the homeless problem in Oakland although it will take years to fully resolve. She was effective with the recent Trump/ICE immigration matter. She persisted! She is a wonderful communicator, a savvy and caring mayor, high energy and a terrific cheerleader for Oakland. She has my wholehearted support. Nominated by Carolyn J. T., Oakland: Hi – Libby Schaaf should win the 2018 World Mayor Prize because she treats all Oakland residents with the same respect and empathy, whether they are homeless or live in the hills. She is committed to making Oakland a better place to live and work and to retaining Oakland’s culture while still promoting and encouraging business growth and development. She is not afraid to make difficult choices even if they are unpopular. Nominated by Andrew S., Oakland: Mayor Schaaf for standing up for immigration rights and against our bully president. Nominated by Christina S., Oakland: Despite encountering enormous challenges, Mayor Schaaf handles them with grace, dialogue and a firm decision in the end. Her leadership qualities include empathy, engagement with constituents, but also a firm path that she will explain to all, though not all will be on board. Her self-promotion is minimal for a politician (unlike the Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico). I live in Oakland and was born and raised in Puerto Rico. I know both places well. I support Libby for World Mayor. Nominated by Donna McC., Oakland: Libby has what it takes to stand up to ANYONE/ANYTIME/about ANYTHING-FEARLESS and that's what is needed NOW! Go Libby! Nominated by Keara O’D., Berkleley, CA, USA: Libby Schaaf is a brilliant, forward-thinking woman who applies innovative solutions to the issues of the city. She stands up for Oakland's most vulnerable residents like immigrants and homeless people. She is progressive, transparent, and available to her constituents in a way that I feel few politicians are these days. Nominated by Lauren B., Castro Valley, CA, USA: I admire Mayor Schaaf for many reasons. She's never afraid to speak out against injustice and put her neck on the line when it matters. She stands up for all Oaklanders, like she did when she alerted the public that ICE was planning a raid in the Bay Area. She made sure our immigrant community could prepare and knew what their rights were. Another reason Mayor Schaaf deserves to be World Mayor 2018 is that she launched the Oakland Promise, an organization providing cradle to career support for low-income youth in Oakland. It provides $500 college savings accounts for babies born in Oakland, financial counseling for their parents, mentors and scholarships for middle and high school students. So far, the Oakland Promise has sent over 1100 youth to college with scholarships. This is effectively changing the outcome of the lives of these Oakland kids. While Oakland is currently in a housing-affordability crises, Mayor Schaaf is also pioneering new ways to keep at-risk residents housed by partnering with local business and charitable foundations like Kaiser Permanente and the San Francisco Foundation to provide financial assistance to those who are at risk of losing their homes/apartments. She has also set-up temporary tuff-shed cabin communities to move the homeless off the streets while providing them with services that can move them onto more stable housing and jobs. Thank you for your consideration. Nominated by Emily M., Oakland: I live in Oakland. I think Libby deserves to win because she has been a creative problem solver, a diplomatic leader, and an empathetic Mayor. At every step she celebrates what makes Oakland a unique and diverse city and strives to protect those characteristics and both the people that have lived here for generations and new residents that have joined the community. Nominated by Teddy McD., Oakland: Libby Schaaf is the best Mayor Oakland can wish for at a time when there is so much division in America. During her first term in office she has represented all city residents but paid special attention to the less fortunate, like people on low incomes, the young and elderly, homeless people as well as immigrants. Since 2015, when Libby Schaaf took office, Oakland’s economy has experienced an astonishing revival. In an editorial, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote it was impossible to miss the transformation under way in Oakland. “More than 8,000 new housing units are under construction, and the Uptown area is brimming with restaurants and cultural activity that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.” Libby Schaaf is a mayor with a longterm vision for Oakland but at the same time a pragmatist who realises that compromises are necessary and that the devil is in the detail. “The future is bright but potholes need fixing today.” Nominated by Elisabeth C., Oakland: Mayor Schaaf represents the best America has to offer. Her voice is heard across the nation. |