2004 GUN SAFETY INITIATIVE

Henry is currently working on a Gun Safety Initiative to require all Oakland hand gun owners to receive safety training and be issued a license after the successful completion of training (this is a retroactive requirement). The license will also require the installation of trigger locks for all handguns and the provision of locked cabinets to prevent guns from falling into the hands of children.

Gun Control:

Henry is the leading gun control advocate in the region. Henry wrote an ordinance prohibiting the sale of Saturday Night Specials in Oakland. These laws ban the sale of junk guns-poorly made, cheap guns that are easy to get. These types of guns are often used to commit crimes, causing heartache for victims' families affected by the violence. Through Henry's lobbying efforts the proposal initiated by Oakland was passed by some 16 contiguous East Bay cities during the same week. Shortly after his election as Governor, Gray Davis signed into law a measure that was based on the Oakland Junk Gun Ban for the entire state of California.

Henry also worked hard to pass a Gross Receipts Sales Tax that required all stores selling weapons or ammunition to charge an increased sales tax on every item sold in those stores. Due to Proposition 218, this proposal went to the voters for affirmation after passage by the Council. Oakland voters approved the measure by 75 percent. As a result of this measure, Oakland's Super K-Mart decided to stop selling all guns and ammunition. Soon after, the only gun store in Oakland, Siegles, closed.

Henry worked to pass an ordinance requiring trigger locks for all firearms sold in Oakland. The measure was approved unanimously by the City Council. This measure was mirrored and passed by the state Legislature.

Henry worked with San Francisco Supervisor Alicia Becerril to pass legislation that banned the sale of ultra compact handguns. These handguns have a barrel less than six inches long and are marketed as "easily concealable." With the support of both cities' police departments as well as community based organizations such as Youth Alive, Teens on Target, Handgun Control, Inc. and the Bell Campaign, both cities passed the legislation and are working with other communities throughout California to assist in passing similar legislation.

Henry worked tirelessly to create the police department's gun tracing program, based upon his belief that gun owners and manufacturers must be held accountable for violent crimes and senseless violence in our community due to illegal use of firearms.

Henry's philosophy on gun control is to develop legislation that can be adopted by other communities and passed at the statewide level. We have worked to provide models of effective gun control efforts.

Public Safety:

One of Henry's first acts on taking office in 1994 was to ask the City Council to revisit the previously adopted policies regarding community policing. At the time, the department was still organized according to a patrol-based, 911-response model. At Henry's urging and with the assistance of other members of the Public Safety Committee, a task force was created to recommend changes to the departmental structure to move them away from the patrol-based response model to a more proactive model involving dedicated beat officers

After 10 grueling months of meetings and discussions, a resolution was developed that defined and implemented Oakland's current community policing program. It was this resolution that crated the Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils, the Neighborhood Service Coordinators and 57 smaller police beats, each with a dedicated officer. Many of these Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils have evolved into inclusive and active organizations that represent merchants, tenants, homeowners and other residents dedicated to working on quality of life issues in their neighborhoods.

Education and Youth Issues:

City Councilmember Henry Chang has worked hard to make youth on of the city's highest priorities. As the former chair of Safe Passages (the Oakland Child Safety & Health Initiative) he worked to bring together the county, city and Oakland Unified School District to create a plan addressing the needs of the most at-risk youth in the city.

As chair of the City Council's Life Enrichment Committee, and as co-chair of the Education Partnership Committee, he has consistently championed the establishment of more after school programs for our youth. In that regard, the At-Large Council Office helped to fund the Skyline Teen Center. Henry has also used funds from his council office budget to support playground improvements at various schools, the most recent project being located at Piedmont Avenue School.

Through his efforts, and the efforts of the Oakland Community Organization, Oakland created 15 after school homework centers. Since their creation in 1997, that number has grown to more than 60 homework centers sponsored by the city, the faith community and various non-profit organizations.

Councilmember Chang strongly supports improving pedestrian safety near schools. He participates annually in the city's Walk to School event. The At-Large Council Office has contributed funds to install traffic signals near schools where pedestrian safety is a problem.

Henry often urges his fellow Councilmembers to ask themselves a question before they vote on key legislation: "Is this good for our children?"

Support for Seniors

Just as children are our future, seniors represent Oakland's rich history. Unfortunately, seniors are sometimes the forgotten segment of our population. As a member of the Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority, Henry has insured that Oakland receives its fair share of Measure B monies to support paratransit services for seniors and the disabled. He supported the establishment of the West Oakland Senior Shuttle. The At-Large Office has paid for security and lighting improvements at the East Oakland Senior Center.

Blight Abatement

Henry has sponsored legislation to combat Illegal Dumping in our city. He has consistently supported increasing funds to hire additional code enforcement inspectors to keep Oakland clean. He has provided dumpsters to various organizations to conduct neighborhood clean-ups. These clean-up programs have had a positive effect on the quality of life of our citizens by beautifying their surroundings, making for more a more pleasant living environment. Henry has also worked with City Staff to support a more aggressive program for removing abandoned vehicles which become a blight issue in our neighborhoods. He has also worked with the railroad companies to reduce illegal dumping within their right-of-way.

International trade:

Being a former Port Commissioner with his own business experience in China awakened Henry to the fact that there are hundreds of Pacific rim firms that would like to enter U.S. markets. Under his leadership, City of Oakland and Port of Oakland officials have worked to establish relationships with Chinese officials in Dalian (Sister Cities), Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou (Canton), Quingdao (Tsing Tao), Maoming, Beihai, Haikou, Chengdu, Changsha and Weifang. As a result, the Port of Oakland has increased traffic with more than 72 percent of its cargo originating in Asia. The port acts as a major international trade center and the main entry point for goods traveling from the Pacific Rim. Every container that goes through the Port of Oakland can be translated into potential jobs for Oakland residents.

Regional Issues:

As the City's At-Large Councilmember, Henry recognizes the importance of Oakland working in a collaborative manner with our neighboring cities to deal with the regional problems facing our jurisdictions. Issues such as traffic congestion, housing shortages, and air quality do not stop at city boundaries. Therefore, Henry is an active participant on the Alameda County Transportation Authority (as chair of the Administration, Legislation & Finance Committee), Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority, the AC Transit major investment steering committee, Alameda Mayors Conference, Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention JPA (as chair of the JPA) and as an alternate to the Association of Bay Area Governments.

Responsive Government

Everyone who lives or works in Oakland should have access to city services in a prompt and courteous manner. Nothing is worse than feeling ignored or receiving poor service from the City's organizations. Henry is a strong supporter of the City's Equal Access Ordinance, which requires the city services with frequent public contact to be made available with bilingual staff. Because of Henry's experiences as a private businessman, he believes that city government can be run more efficiently and cheaper. Therefore, he looks for every opportunity to restructure government to cut waste. As an architect, Henry has stated that the city's regulatory process needs to be streamlined because it drives up the costs of housing and is a deterrent to people who wish to invest in Oakland. The main mission of the City government should be to facilitate instead of regulate while reflecting a "can do" attitude.

Henry works hard to represent all the residents of Oakland, no matter the size of their needs. In addition to his focus on education and youth, promoting responsible gun legislation, encouraging Oakland's economy, and expanding support for seniors, Henry has also: