Stories

There's a harmonious rapport between Oakland’s City Council and mayor, which is viewed by many as a good thing, but some worry that a lack of debate makes the chamber less transparent and responsive to public input.

“When you don’t have debate, you don’t surface other perspectives,” said John Pelissero, senior scholar at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. “The Council can also easily move to a vote to approve things without having fleshed out in public the pros and cons” of potential policy decisions.

John Pelissero, senior scholar, government ethics, quoted by The Oaklandside.