Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee wants to hire a new staff member in her office to focus on one specific issue: reducing barriers for “mission-driven” tech companies to do business in Oakland.
The Kapor Foundation, based in Oakland, has selected the city to participate in its P.R.I.M.E. Alliance program, according to the mayor’s office. The Kapor foundation and center focus on issues of technology and racial justice, and the P.R.I.M.E. program tries to reduce governmental red tape for startups working at this intersection.
Under the proposed plan, Lee’s office would receive $100,000 and technical support from Kapor to partially fund a staffer to lead the city’s participation in the alliance over two years.
The alliance, according to the mayor, is a joint effort with the NAACP, the African American Mayors Association, and the National League of Cities.
“The initiative works with a select group of jurisdictions committed to policy reforms that remove barriers for mission-driven technology startups delivering services in areas including childcare, housing, health, education, workforce, and transportation,” the mayor said in a report to the council.
The mayor’s office declined to answer any questions about the award before the council weighs in, so it’s unclear when that will happen. However, according to the office’s report, Oakland needed to move ahead with participation in the program before the council resumed. We asked for clarification but haven’t heard back.
The Kapor Foundation did not respond to an interview request.
According to the mayor’s report, the city would be in charge of hiring the new staff person. The Kapor Foundation would not have a say.
The staffer would help identify challenges in city processes and regulations for mission-driven startups and facilitate community engagement. It is unclear whether the position would be full-time or not, and how much public funding, if any, the city would contribute.
The award comes as controversy has bubbled up around much more established tech coming to Oakland. News last month that a local developer is seeking to place a data center in a building downtown prompted polarized reactions. Around the same time, reports came out that both Tesla and a company founded by Jeff Bezos are leasing industrial space in West Oakland.
Lee has a large staff of 17, including the city’s first director of data and technology transformation, Erica Joy Astrella.
Her office includes three staffers hired through a partnership with another foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies. Visraant Iyer, Patricia Merino Price, and Lindsey Moore are on the mayor’s “innovation team,” working through the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative on climate justice work.
“*” indicates required fields