Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao addresses FBI raid and more: Full interview | KTVU

all right mayor thank you so much for joining us we appreciate you're taking out the time to talk to us this morning absolutely uh we're going to get to the budget shortfall because there's a lot to talk about with that and the council is voting on that today but first I want to get to some issues that uh people want to hear about residents of of the city uh want to hear your thoughts of uh and that goes back to the FBI raid that sudden raid that happened at your home uh early one morning uh you denied any wrongdoing in your speech last week after the FBI raided your home have you met with the FBI since the raid you know I can't speak on Ong investigation but what I can say is I'm cooperating with the FBI 100% and not just that I am not the target more so than that you know if I find any information that I can share I'm going to be 100% transparent with the community what we're focused on is running this city working off of the progress that we've already made in just the short period of time 18 months can you say if they took anything from your house or why they why if you're not the target why they chose their house you do I wish I could say I do but again it's an Ong investigation so I cannot say further separate from the raid though there was some talk though of your partner Andre Jones is he involved in any kind of uh work with your administration at all oh absolutely not I mean he is my partner he is his own person and so with that being said again this is an ongoing investigation so your but your former Chief of Staff Regina Webb she came up publicly and said the FBI questioned her about him had you heard that before she had said something about it so she was my chief of staff on the city council and so with that being said it's an ongoing investigation and uh we can't say further more give out further information and you can't say anything about about Andre Jones has nothing to do with your administration at all you could say that for sure oh absolutely all right and one more question do you have any association with the dwang family the houses their houses were also rated on the same day that your um house was also rated too what is your association with them just in General apart from anything that might be going on so what I can say about that is that you can see that uh associations or whatever have you that you would consider Association is that everybody was actually you know we take pictures with everybody and so you can see that other elected have taken pictures with them as well and so but that's all that I can say again ongoing investigation and so uh we are not able to talk about that you said during that press conference as well that that there are some billionaires that don't live in the city from San Francisco and pedmont as well that you said have something against your Administration and want you out of office what can you tell us about that because that was the first time I had heard uh any sort of uh thing like that but but what do you have to show that that is the case and that you have these billionaires coming coming after you so to speak oh absolutely you know H at the end of the day we know that there is a lawsuit right now against the people who are trying to recall me because they're refusing to work with law enforcement to really show who is actually donating money for the recall itself and so we all should be concerned we should all be concerned when the public ethics commission has subpoena for this information which is what they need to do is show who's donating and uh how much they're donating but they're refusing to cooperate and so that's very concerning we do know that there are millionaires and billionaires from pedmont and San Francisco who are who may be donating to this pack and so and that's part of probably part of the reason why they don't want to actually uh be transparent about who's donating you said uh there there might be some correlation between the recall effort and and the raid on your home do you believe that to be the case there's some sort of something behind the scenes that that they're working actively against your Administration you know I actually didn't say that you know I think that those are two very different things or they could be the same thing we don't know yet it's an ongoing investigation gotcha all right um the recall I heard the city council is going to take that up uh today a resolution placing the recall against you on the November ballot what is your message to the council and to oaklander about this we've done great work coming into office let's be be let's recall that right when I got into office 18 months ago that this recall started so it is a waste of money a waste of resources right now we're dealing with a huge deficit in the city of Oakland where we are looking under couch cushions to see how we can actually deliver services this is not the Dem Democratic way of doing things and not just that but it's going to ca cost City residents millions of dollars millions of dollars that the city does not have should the council set up a date for the recalls move forward with it if we're still in the process of verifying the signatures and who's donating well the signatures are verified but the donation part the ethics part of looking into the recall effort should we be moving ahead with that if they're still looking into uh the who's donating to the recall effort campaign you know of course that's going to be the decision of the city council that's number one but you make great points you know we don't know who's donating to this pact illegally right and we don't know who's behind running uh the recall efforts in regards to the finance part of it however it's going to be on the city council to make that decision and then number two again you know we all know that this is going to cost the residents in the city of Oakland millions of dollars millions of dollars that we do not have for the services that we need to deliver what is your plan to combat uh this this recall effort you know this is something else on the on on your plate that you have to deal with it's not going to be easy it's going to be expensive what is your plan of attack on this is to do what we've been doing is making sure that we're effective and a results driven you know what we've seen is that for many many decades politicians have come and gone and in areas that needed investment like deep East Oakland with the Coliseum like West Oakland you know where we know that there's a ton of air pollution and inequities that we've already built out Randi Park you know we have that for the Oakland Ballers these are all the successes that we have been able and their huge successes that my Administration have been able to deliver for the city of Oakland and this is how we generate new monies so that we can actually uh fulfill our duty of serving the city of Oakland and its residents let's talk about the budget here city council uh could vote on that budget today uh we're talking about a shortfall of $177 million is that correct uh $63 million in cuts are proposed right now is that correct as well well that's not my proposal not your proposal but the council proposal um you you still have some you still have over $100 million that still need to be cut here um what is the plan now to attack this budget well you know I've already have my mayor's proposed budget out and it's been out for a few weeks now and basically I do believe that the mayor's proposed budget what we did was we really looked at how do we continue to deliver on the key items the key item is Public Safety First and for foremost right that's our department of violence prevention that's our Police Department our fire department and not just that but a clean City we're just talking about the basics here right a clean city is what we all deserve and so uh and then the third part of that tranch is making sure we have Economic Development how do we bring in more resources so that we continue to actually build on this uh you know the economic pie that we have here in the city so we can continue to deliver the services so with that being said the mayor's proposed budget Theos budget that I put forward is fiscally responsible and it also allows for us to deliver the those Services however the council's uh uh other budget that the council is looking to probably maybe vote on it doesn't do that it actually doesn't even have a plan for Public Safety it cuts our Force our police force it cuts the department of violence prevention it cuts uh it Browns out meaning shuts down fire stations with no plan and so you know running a city like the city of Oakland you have to ensure that you can deliver Services I mean coming into office we saw that crime was on the rise before I even got to the office and then we were able to bring back the ceasefire program really hone in on why we were having so much crime and then honing in on those people who are committing the crime and what we're seeing is that under my Administration we have a 17% drop in crime rates across the city within the last three years and 30% drop in crime rates within just the last year but the budget though the budget has made up I think a good chunk of it to Public Safety to the police department that's right it's going to suffer from these budget cuts right what way well in that case it's like there are no under the mayor's proposed budget what I'm proposing is that we have no cuts to OPD the Swarm Personnel right now there will be attrition there will be attrition meaning like when officers leave the department or when they retire uh or what have you that we would not F in those positions until uh we get to the 678 number right and that's the number of officers that I'm asking for under the council's other proposal budget 610 there is no way that we can say that we are actually focused on Public Safety if we allow for the council proposal to move forward the Police Officers Association they're having a press conference right now this morning denouncing uh the cuts uh what do you have to say what is your message to the POA about proposed Cuts about the threat of of of uh budget cuts to the department to police yeah you know the budget cuts uh it's happening we're seeing it's happening across all cities in all well at least all large city across the California and California the state itself is going through a lot of deficits and budget cuts with that being said all departments across the city have had to cut down on their what they're spending on and so with that being said what I would say to people is that the mayor's proposed budget is the public safety budget it is the budget that really puts forward the public safety plan it go it brings the number of Officer 678 but remember we also have an opportunity to renew measure Z and that is going to be important because the renewal measure Z creates a minimum threshold of 700 police officers and so moving from 678 to 700 it's a lot easier than what the council may be proposing which is 610 and I warn everyone that that is going to be very dangerous all right uh back to the the the budget issue we have a budget shortfall this year but we're projected to have one next year as well uh do you have any idea how we're going to fix all of that uh and and and how does a Coliseum Factor Coliseum sale or possible sale factor to this well we all we know that for decades everyone's always talked about Coliseum and developing it but nothing's been done and so I know that if we move forward with the AEG which I am in intimate conversations and negotiations with them if we are very close to a deal I should say that that this $63 million that could come in from that cell will help us in this dire situation and that's what these onetime monies can be used for that is a legal way that we can actually help close that Gap however to your point we do have a deficit for next year as well and that's why we are going to start the budget process we usually start it in January while I'm telling the whole all of the city staff that we're starting in September to really have the hard conversations about how do we close this Gap so that we're fiscally responsible and at the same time able to deliver services in public safety I've seen the Coliseum reports rather I'll say this uh that the Coliseum sale would be valued at over $100 million um what can you say about that about those reports is is that could conceivably what it could bring in yes absolutely you know it's $105 million right and uh at the end of the day you know uh when the county sold their half to the Oakland A's or now I should you know the A's in general um you know that was actually uh $85 million right that's what it was priced at and so the $105 million for that site is uh key for the city of Oakland in regards to resources being brought in uh but it's also key for the the location at itself because again we've been waiting for it to be developed for decades is there any way to use that $105 million import into the to the budget to to kind of wipe out absolutely is that plan to use the entire 105 Milli I think that we need to think about really you know the shortterm and our long-term Financial Health and so with that being said you know uh I am moving forward with bringing in some professionals to look at how do we actually get financially sounded in regards to the long term and this has not actually happened under previous leadership and so moving forward forward I want to ensure that the city of of Oakland has Financial fiscal Health like strong financial fiscal Health you're talking about bringing in an outside Source here the POA also um said we should probably bringing an outside sour look at the budget what do you what do you say to that AB I think that we all need to be hands- on deck I think that you know with our all of our uh labor unions at the city the POA seciu Local 21 fire everybody needs to be at the table and outside eye need to come in as well too so we could put all of our brains together to see how we can best move forward I mean we are one team we are one team so in order to solve this crisis we have to work together M let's go to the issue of Public Safety again we had five or six maybe homicides recently in the city um the one that happened uh I think the day or so before you raid over at Lake Meritt um when you see those numbers Spike like that after the numbers that were just released that showing the numbers of you know pretty much all crime across Oakland and falling um what goes through your mind what were you thinking when you heard that number you know um we already know that every year right time after time every year during the summer months where our children are out of school or what have you and it's warmer that we will see an increase a spike in crimes and so with that being said you know I have put together a team to do what we can to ensure that that doesn't happen especially around our gangs and our groups and our uh networks our criminal networks right and so we're tackling that I think I do believe that OPD is doing a great job under Chief Mitchell to ensure that we're being proactive see speaking of Chief Mitchell has been more than a month he's been on the job now uh you know your thoughts on his performance so far he's incredibly he's he's an incredible person not just that but he's a great mentor for the Department he's a great partner he's uh learning the city of Oakland quickly and understanding you know some of the uh different changes that need to take place and that's why you're seeing that um you know that's a part of the budget process as well it's a complicated City though I mean is he is he understanding the the the ins and outs i' I've heard from other people they were worried whether or not he was going to be able to understand the intricacies of Oakland yeah no he's a professional he's a professional and he understands and he learns quickly and so I'm really excited and also um I've heard nothing but great things about the chief with internally in the from the department and externally from the community are we're going to be able to hear from them soon sit down with them and talk to them a little bit absolutely you could definitely do that you know but I want to also say that we are going on a public safety um leadership tour basically my Public Safety leadership team right myself uh City administrator Justin Johnson Chief Mitchell Chief Covington You Know Chief josi were all going to have Town Hall meetings across the whole city so I want the public to stay tuned for that and join us oh one more thing I want to get back to you you have a new lawyer now for the case that that recently happened with you um what was the issue with Tony brass that happened I mean he said he was surprised at the press conference at least that's what he told us of course he would be surprised he wasn't my attorney yeah yeah it wasn't your attorney but you what was what was the dust stuff why why did you um you know I'm very I I'm just very gracious that you know at the foreset you know when everything was happening you know as a mom I of course you know I've not gone through an FBI raid before so as a mom uh I wanted to make sure that my son was safe that I was safe I wanted to ensure that you know I found a legal representation to see you know what it is that I can say and what I can't say and so with that being said I needed some time so I do appreciate Tony uh being able to help support by putting out a public statement but at no point in time was there uh a contract between him and I for him to represent me and so uh at the end of the day um you know uh I Wasing my time to look for representation and Jeff Sai Jeff Sai is the only attorney that I have signed with was anyone home when the right happened I think you weren't there but was anyone at your house like was your child there I mean it's got to be SC scary you know I could only imagine what it's like CU they don't tell you anything they just come yeah um so if anyone was inside what went through their minds were was your child children home well Andre on that part what I can tell you what I can tell you is that you know um I think that at the end of the day if my child was home my child was not home but that's what I'm going to tell you that's the only thing I'm going to tell you because uh at the end of the day if I if I could say more about what happened during the raid or what have you then I'll be here again to talk to you about it but outside of that I can't speak on it m thank you so much for joining us today we know you have a busy day on T today so U we appreciate you taking a few moments out absolutely thank you so much for having me Andre

Channel: KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco

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Keywords: ktvu, oakland mayor sheng thao, fbi raid, budget, oakland mayor, sheng thao, fox news, ktvu fox 2 san francisco, oakland mayor fbi raid, oakland fbi raid, oakland mayor sheng thao fbi raid, sheng thao fbi raid, fbi raid in oakland, andy duong, duongs, sheng thao interview

Id: vJLnDd69ndw

Length: 16min 54sec (1014 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 02 2024