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Jerry Brown Had Nothing To Do With The Oakland Housing Value Boom

Someone just sent a comment to one of my posts -- that I published -- in which he attributes Oakland's property value boom to Jerry Brown.

Gimme a break!

Property values in Oakland started increasing just two year's before Jerry was elected and that was Bay Area wide; not just in Oakland -- memories are short.

All of us in Elihu's administration said that Jerry was lucky: he was taking over as Mayor at a time when the Bay Area economy was booming and all of the office and housing projects Elihu helped to get off the ground were being constructed. From the new skycraper on 11th street and just behind the APL Building, to Old Oakland Housing Phase II, to The Rotunda, and all of the government buildings downtown. All of that -- the modern Oakland skyline -- was Elihu's stamp; not Jerry Brown's.

Heck even Jerry himself said this. I was there when he did at the ceremony for the new Rotunda building. That structure was redeveloped by Phil Tagami and California Commercial Investments and all under Elihu's tenure and he and I played key roles in it (both of our names are on the plaque in the building).

Jerry said "Well, I didn't have anything to do with this..."

He was correct.

Comments

Zennie said…
What a freaking howler! Under your logic, I can show prices from 1980 through 2005 and say "See. Here's proof that the late Lionel Wilson improved Oakland housing values -- even beyond his death.

Man, you've got to be kidding me. Ok. You've had your six bullets, now I'll have my sixty.
Zennie said…
It's still a howler, because you're forgetting that San Francisco property values increased first -- Oakland followed after an almost 10 year lag.

Why? Because of out-migration.

People move due to economics. In this case, San Francisco housing prices. This dramatic rise caused a decrease in the African American population all the way down to the just over 7 percent it stands today.

That same housing cost problem fueled Oakland's population increase. But don't be so limited as to thing it was just Oakland.

Ha.

Condo prices in the entire Bay Area were at record levels in 2005, so to use that as a comparison is incorrect. I can find an example to top yours using almost any Bay Area city.

Moreover, prior to 1998, when Jerry Brown was elected -- he took office in 1999, Bay Area housing prices were increasing at record levels.

Also, Van Ness Avenue has been on the decline for some time, so to use that as part of your evidence is like saying "I can take any part of San Francisco and it should have a higher percentage increase than Oakland."

Come on, man. Do better than that.

Finally, here's my dinner winner:

Housing prices in Rockridge from 1980 and 1990 and to such a point that by 1990 and though 1996, the most expensive condos in Oakland were in Rockridge.

Why? The Rockridge BART station opening in 1984, and the demand that was met for a transit system connecting the Oakland Hills to downtown San Francisco, sparking a speculation boom that Oakland had not seen since 1950.

All of this was such that to compare the Rockridge of 1980 to that of 1990 is mind-blowing -- and yes, the rate of increase in the Rockridge area of Oakland far outpaced San Francisco as a whole between 1980 and 1990.

This happened during the Late Lionel Wilson's Administration.

How can you forget that Deckin??

...I'll take my dinner at Girabaldi's -- steak with Chocolate Bundino desert and a good port.

Thanks!
Zennie said…
You're just trying to get out of paying for dinner!

1) Rockridge BART didn't open in 1972; the BART system did

2) To take the whole of Oakland's housing price and not isolate Rockridge is intellectually sloppy. I know how to do this.

3) Not all data is online; you've got to take a trip to the MTC-ABAG library on 8th and Oak Street and do a Census tract-level analysis. I have; you take the walk.

4) You are too busy changing the rules of the game so you can win. This is proof of your desire to ignore facts and twist Oakland to fit some lousy idea that there was a stupid Jerry Brown effect.

I'm not convinced that you are open to being shown the truth via numbers. You seemed to forget that you challenged me to find a PART of Oakland that had greater levels of growth by rate of increase in housing prices than the whole of SF over the 1980 to 1990 time period -- I did so.

You can't stand that I'm correct.

OH, you're betting I can't find data on Rockridge? Wrong. Again, learn how to read the census and get the information. You've got to dig. Again, go to the MTC-ABAG library.

I also never offered to buy dinner; that was you -- there you go changing the rules of the game -- and my guess is Girabaldi's is too high for ya. I never expected you to keep your promise. I'm disappointed to learn I was correct.

I can't have a good exchange with you as long as you continue this path of intellectual dishonesty.
Zennie said…
Cool. We're back online then! More information soon.

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