Bay Area cities are toughening up on homelessness. Under Mayor Barbara Lee, will Oakland follow suit?

Bay Area cities are toughening up on homelessness. Under Mayor Barbara Lee, will Oakland follow suit?

Last year, Oakland voters recalled Mayor Barbara Lee’s predecessor, Sheng Thao, in large part over boiling frustrations about sprawling homeless camps that have taken root across the city. Now the pressure is on Lee, who entered office in May, to prove she can do a better job managing the crisis. Lee, a Democrat who served almost three decades in Congress representing Oakland and the East Bay, has so far offered relatively few details about how …