 Oliver
speaks of Oakland's financial woes in business
terms.
|
“I
used to sit at home watching city council
meetings on television and often I was
disappointed in the lack of leadership,”
Oliver says. “I finally said you know it's
easy to sit around and pontificate about the
roles of government and what is not working but
at some point you have to take action.” Oliver's younger brother
Norman Rice was mayor of Seattle at the time. She
says she learned a few things while working on
his campaignand later accepted his help with
hers. “Oakland to me is not complicated; it
needs to be embraced,” she says. “What
we have in the way of decision making is people
who do not understand how to negotiate
contracts.”
Oliver speaks
of Oakland's financial woes in business terms.
She calls the 5.2 million dollars spent in legal
fees to cover the botched Oakland Raiders deal a
gross mismanagement. “If we have 5.2 million
to give away in legal fees, why don't we give it
away to the schools?”
Although
“opportunity” is her favorite word,
Oliver also has had to deal with events out of
her control. 
|
