Biography
Rebecca Kaplan represents the entire City of Oakland as its Councilmember At-Large and serves as Council President Pro Tempore. Elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012, she works to provide energetic and effective leadership on behalf of her constituents – working to improve quality of life by restoring public safety, expanding economic opportunity and rebuilding trust in government.
Rebecca has worked to establish coherent and holistic approaches to public safety, economic opportunity & job creation, fiscal responsibility and other strategies to create a thriving city and move Oakland forward
On the Council, Rebecca has fixed long-standing legislative logjams, voting against police layoffs and successfully advocating for the restoration of police officers while pushing for transparency and accountability, has helped broker job-generating projects like the Countywide Transportation Plan and the Oakland Army Base, and has stewarded public dollars by holding banks accountable for foreclosures, blight and other predatory misconduct.
Rebecca is strongly committed to expanding economic opportunity for all Oakland, working to create jobs, attract new retail and keep people safe by employing new, innovative approaches to fighting crime like Operation Ceasefire and supporting technology such as ShotSpotter.
Prior to her service on the Oakland City Council, Rebecca served as At-Large Director on the AC Transit Board of Directors from 2002 to 2009. During this time, she helped bring AC Transit its first hydrogen fuel cell buses and continued her commitment to improving active transportation for Oaklanders by working to improve biking, walking and public transit opportunities. Rebecca led the creation of the new all-night transit service, new service to San Francisco and to BART stations and pushed for technological upgrades to make service faster and more reliable.
Councilmember Kaplan has made Oakland her home for the past two decades.
Councilmember Kaplan earned a Bachelor of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was awarded the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor. She also holds a Master of Arts in Urban & Environmental Policy from Tufts University and a Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School.
COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
Oakland City Council
The Oakland City Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Committee meetings are held every second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. To view council and committee meeting agendas, minutes, and video click here.
Councilmember Kaplan serves on Council leadership as President Pro Tem and sits on the following committees:
- Chair, Committee on Public Works
- Committee on Finance & Management
- Committee on Life Enrichment
Regional Boards
Councilmember Kaplan serves on a number of regional boards and committees, including:
- Vice Chair, Alameda County Transportation Commission
- Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority
- ACTC Countywide Transportation Plan and Transportation Expenditure Plan Steering Committee
- Alameda County Waste Management Authority
- Alameda County Source Reduction Recycling Board
- Executive Board, East Bay Economic Development Alliance for Business
- AC Transit Bus Rapid Transit Policy Steering Committee