Jean Quan
Jean Quan 關麗珍 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 49th Mayor of Oakland | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2011[1] | |
| Preceded by | Ron Dellums |
| Member of the Oakland City Council for the 4th District | |
| Assumed office January 2003 | |
| Member of the Oakland School Board | |
| In office 1991–2003 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 21, 1949[2] Livermore, California[2] |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Floyd Huen |
| Children | William Huen Lailan Huen |
| Website | Quan for Oakland |
Jean Quan (Chinese: 關麗珍; pinyin: Guān Lìzhēn) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party. She is the mayor of Oakland, California, where she previously served as City Council member for Oakland's 4th District.[3] Upon inauguration on January 3, 2011,[4] she became Oakland's first female mayor, as well as Oakland's first Asian-American mayor and the first Asian-American woman to head a major city in the United States.[5] She is currently board chair of the Chabot Space & Science Center[6] and serves on the Board of the California League of Cities.
Oakland School Board and City Council
Quan was on the Oakland School Board for 12 years, starting in 1990 after organizing a citywide parent organization, Save Our Schools. As a parent leader she helped save the music program in the Oakland Schools. She was recognized as a national advocate for urban and immigrant students, serving as chair of the California Urban Schools Association, the Asian Pacific Islanders School Board Members Association, and the Council of Urban Boards Association (the urban caucus of the National School Board Association representing the nation's 100 largest districts). She was appointed by the Clinton Administration to represent School Boards on the Title I Rules Making Committee. In these roles she advocated for more funding for urban and immigrant students, more inclusion of minority community history in text books, comprehensive school services and after school programs, and expansion of pre-school and adult education programs.
Quan led campaigns to raise school bonds to modernize and seismically retrofit buildings totaling $700 million. She also led campaigns to raise funds for class size reduction, music/arts and library programs, and improved technology in the schools.
In 1996 with Quan as President, the school board instituted a program using Standard English Program strategies to teach standard English to African American students. The press misconstrued this as teaching students Ebonics, creating a national controversy over what was essentially a commonly accepted and frequently used best teaching practice.[2]
In 2002, Jean Quan was elected to her first term as Council Member for Oakland District 4 (Allendale, Brookdale, Crestmont, Dimond, Laurel, Maxwell Park, Melrose, Montclair and Redwood Heights). During her time on the Council she led several initiatives, including:
Measure Q: To prevent the closure of city libraries and increase funding for materials.
Oakland Wildfire Prevention District: Funds annual programs of vegetation control, safety inspections and homeowner education, and green waste/composting programs.
Oakland Cultural Arts Funding: Hotel Tax to fund the Oakland Zoo, Oakland Museum of California, Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Fund for Arts.
Measure Y for Public Safety and Measure BB: These initiatives fund Fire, Police and Violence Prevention Programs. The measure funds 63 police officers including geographically deployed "beat officers" and programs to prevent crimes and violence.
Quan was a past chair of StopWaste.org (the Alameda County Waste Management Authority) and the Alameda Recycling Board. She also authored legislation which banned the use of polystyrene containers for take out foods, now widely adopted in other parts of California.
In July 2010, Quan along with fellow City Council member and mayoral candidate Rebecca Kaplan were investigated by Oakland police for their actions during a protest following the manslaughter verdict of former BART Police officer Johannes Mehserle. Police claimed Quan and Kaplan joined a "human chain" which prevented officers from clearing a street, while the two countered they were acting as "peacekeepers".[7] No charges were filed against the Councilwomen. Quan was the victim of a street robbery in September of the same year, in her Fruitvale Avenue neighborhood. Quan attributed the crime to lack of employment opportunities in Oakland.[8]
2010 Oakland mayoral election
Oakland's 2010 election was held under the city's new instant-runoff voting or ranked choice voting ballot system, which allows voters to indicate their first, second, and third choices of candidate. More than 120,000 voters participated in the largest turnout for a Mayor's race in recent memory. Though ranked choice voting is promoted as a way to reduce mud-slinging between the candidates, Quan paid for several negative hit pieces on her closest rival.[9] The top three finishers among a field of 10 candidates were Quan, Don Perata, and Rebecca Kaplan.[10] In the initial tally on election night, Perata led Quan, 40,342 to 29,266 but did not have a majority of the 1st-place votes. The votes were then re-tallied by eliminating Kaplan, the third-place finisher, and allocating her votes among Perata and Quan. Quan won the election 51.01:48.91 More people voted in this election than in previous Mayoral elections; Jean Quan garnered more votes than Mayor Ron Dellums in 2006 or Jerry Brown in 1998 (43,828 to 42,180 for Dellums in 2006 and 48,129 for Brown in 1998). The US Court of Appeals has upheld Ranked Choice Voting as an accepted procedure. {[Appeals court upholds ranked-choice vote for S.F.}} Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Two weeks later, Quan introduced a plan for the police department which included updating the technological staff and rehiring 10 of the 80 officers who were laid off the previous year.[11] Batts announced his intention to remain in Oakland a few days later.[12] Oakland City Attorney John Russo has also been reportedly considering a resignation after clashing with Quan on various issues.[13]
Quan announced she would taking a 25% pay cut on her salary, from $183,397 to $137,000 for 2011.[14]
References
- ^ Kuruvila, Matthai (January 2, 2011). "Becoming mayor after years of fighting authority". San Francisco Chronicle. p. A - 1. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ^ a b c Cecily Burt (2010-12-28). "Humble beginnings shaped Jean Quan into a tireless champion for underserved". Oakland Tribune. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
- ^ BREAKING NEWS: JEAN QUAN WINS MAYOR'S RACE
- ^ City of Oakland press release about inauguration events
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_localsfo/20101111/ts_yblog_localsfo/jean-quan-is-oaklands-mayor
- ^ ChabotSpace.org: Joint Powers Authority Board
- ^ Matier, Phillip; Ross, Andrew (July 14, 2010). "Oakland cops probing 2 councilwomen at protest". Matier & Ross. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
- ^ Johnson, Chip (September 21, 2010). "OOakland's problem entrenched crime, not few jobs". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
- ^ Quan's Negative Hit Pieces
- ^ Ranked-Choice Voting Results - Registrar of Voters - Alameda County
- ^ Bryson, Samantha. Quan rehires 10 laid-off OPD officers, but Batts’ future still vague. OaklandNorth. January 31, 2011.
- ^ Lee, Henry K. Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts says he'll stay. San Francisco Chronicle. February 5, 2011.
- ^ Elinson, Zusha; Shih, Gerry. Russo, at Odds with Quan, May Resign as Oakland City Attorney. The Bay Citizen. February 15, 2011.
- ^ Matier, Phillip; Ross, Andrew. Oakland Mayor Jean Quan slashing salary 25%. San Francisco Chronicle. February 9, 2011.
External links
- Oakland North: Jean Quan embraces “underdog” status in mayor’s race: “I’m not intimidated”
- Jean the Giant Killer by Bob Gammon, East Bay Express, November 17, 2010
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