Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland, California

3/13/2018

Mayor Libby Schaaf

c/o Office of the Mayor

City of Oakland

1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza

Oakland, CA  94612

Dear Mayor Schaaf,

My name is Matt Winick from Ann Arbor, Michigan with a strong interest in learning history and social justice. In these subjects, I like to learn the importance of making Civil Rights stronger to reduce discrimination, protecting the environment from pollution, and many others.  Mayor Schaaf, the main reason I’m writing you a letter is to explain how I find your work as 50^th Mayor of Oakland, California to be very inspiring to me.

In your current role as Mayor of Oakland, California I’m very proud on how you are a strong supporter of Civil Rights by advocating for people with disabilities’ rights, supporting funds for women including minorities businesses to help them compete in the economy, working with city council to strengthen laws to help combat against hate crime to help protect minorities including people who are different, and supporting the need for equal pay for women.   Your approach on improving the economy like expand on job-training programs to help train youth including workers to help them prepare for the economy, teaming up with tech companies to find ways to help train people to develop tech skills, and expressing the need to raise the minimum wage to help minimum wage workers is common sense.   On education, I like how you are supporting funds for special education to help students with disabilities get education accommodations they need, pushing for after school programs for youth to  get help on their assignments from tutors,  and working with schools to expand on more arts including history and diversity classes to help make education diverse to learn.  To protect the environment, I liked on how you are pushing for more renewable energy resources to help reduce addiction to oil with gas and working with city council to provide funds to help improve city services to help clean parks including water resources to make them safe for people to use.  Another thing that I liked about your role as Mayor of Oakland, California is how you are an advocate with a supporter of immigration reform to help protect immigrants including refugees and DACA children from being oppressed, implement citizen police commission to help reduce police corruption along with giving ideas to make the law enforcement work for the people, expand on drug treatment programs to help drug-users get the care they need to reduce drug addiction, work to push for funds to help preserve along with restore historical sites including attractions to help improve tourism while improve learning history with culture, work with law enforcement services to improve programs  to help victims of crime or victims of domestic violence get help on their trauma, and express the need for affordable housing to help people who are low-income or people who can’t afford to live get shelter.  I’m also very proud on how you had the courage to warn immigrants including illegal immigrants along with refugees about he ICE immigration raids  when they don’t have probable cause even though it wasn’t popular or when both political parties in Congress, the president elect, and the news media aren’t supportive for immigration reform or help protect immigrants that are innocent.

Mayor Schaaf, I have autism with a learning disability. Having a disability is hard for me because I have trouble comprehending  on learning different advance subjects, sometimes I struggle to communicate my thoughts, and get teased. Your commitment to be a strong supporter of Civil Rights including people with disabilities’ rights really inspires me to work hard on my disability.  Also your role as current Mayor of Oakland, California gives me motivation to continue to learn history and social justice.  My future goal is to someday work in these areas to help emphasize the need to make Civil Rights stronger,  have immigration reform, protect the environment, and many others. My letter is a gift to you for inspiring me and for Women’s History Month to help recognize women who work hard to make a great difference for society.

I strongly believe that you are making a great difference for society. I’m very proud on how you are working hard to support Civil Rights, protect the environment, advocate with support immigration reform, and many others. You have truly inspired me to work hard on my disability and to continue to learn history including social justice.  Thanks for taking the time to read my letter, working hard including having the courage to work hard to push for common sense ideas, and inspiring me.  I wish you the best to continue to make a great difference when political environment is tough.

I hope that I get a chance to meet you and visit Oakland.

Sincerely,

Matt Winick