The Alameda County grand jury's annual report is typically released in late June.OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | The spate of controversies that followed the Oakland City Council’s decision last August to initially award a $1 billion garbage contract to a local operator with little requisite infrastructure to handle the job has gained the attention of the Alameda County … Continue reading Alameda County grand jury is examining Oakland’s bungled garbage deal
Category: non-intererence laws
Gallo wants McElhaney to publicly address ethics allegations against her
Councilmember Noel Gallo wants CouncilPresident Lynette Gibson McElhaney toaddress newpaper's allegations against her.OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | At least one member of the Oakland City Council is willing to speak publicly on the multiple controversies surrounding council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney detailed recently in a series of investigative reports in the Express.At the start of a … Continue reading Gallo wants McElhaney to publicly address ethics allegations against her
Report: Oakland councilmember used her office for personal gain
Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaneyOAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | Two thousand fifteen has not been pleasant for new Oakland City Council President Lynette McElhaney.First, a report in January found she may have been flipping homes in her West Oakland district through her personal non-profit at the same time she was lashing out against gentrification. Her taxes … Continue reading Report: Oakland councilmember used her office for personal gain
Long-Time Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid May Soon Quit
Councilmember Larry ReidOAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | There may be another city council seat open this November in Oakland. Sources at City Hall say Councilmember Larry Reid is set to retire after 17 years in office.However, Reid was already telling a few council colleagues of his decision at least one month ago, He cited health problems … Continue reading Long-Time Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid May Soon Quit
2013 Year In Lists: Desley Brooks’s Top 5 Stages of Grief Over Ethics Allegations
2013 YEAR-IN-REVIEW | The five stages of grief is denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Before and after a report from City Auditor Courtney Ruby alleged Councilmember Desley Brooks violated the City Charter's non-interference laws that sets a barrier between council members and city staff, the bellicose District 6 representative over the next four months … Continue reading 2013 Year In Lists: Desley Brooks’s Top 5 Stages of Grief Over Ethics Allegations
Kalb Begins Task Of Giving Oakland Watchdog Group Some Teeth
Councilmember Kalb's public ethicsgroup began work this week.OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL//ETHICS | Oakland Councilmember Dan Kalb took a moment Monday to speak for the entire council. “There’s a sense out there in the community that residents have lost trust in city government,” the first-term council member said during an informal public ethics work shop this week. … Continue reading Kalb Begins Task Of Giving Oakland Watchdog Group Some Teeth
Oakland Auditor Finds City Staff Received $23,000 In Gifts; Improperly Used Workers’ Comp Fund
Oakland City Auditor Courtney RubyOAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | Within a two-year period, 14 Oakland city managers and staffers received an estimated $23,000 in improper gifts from vendors associated with the city's workers' compensation program, said City Auditor Courtney Ruby in a blistering report released Tuesday. Ruby also reported the city’s worker compensation’s risk division overspent its … Continue reading Oakland Auditor Finds City Staff Received $23,000 In Gifts; Improperly Used Workers’ Comp Fund
Reid For Mayor? ‘If I Can Raise $400,000, I’m In The Race’
Larry Reid: awaiting a call from God or campaign donors?OAKLAND//MAYOR | Councilmember Larry Reid entered the Oakland City Council chambers last Thursday evening to a wave of cheers from supporters on hand early for a truly raucous, yet divisive night. Their exuberance was mixed with calls urging for a run for mayor next year by … Continue reading Reid For Mayor? ‘If I Can Raise $400,000, I’m In The Race’
Brooks Escapes Censure; Council Admonishes Itself For Past Interference
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | Oakland Councilmember Desley Brooks escaped censure Thursday night in a meeting filled with racial innuendo and a flood of support from members of her East Oakland district. However, the City Council voted to reprimand itself, excluding its three new members, for unspecified past conduct of interference laid out, in part, in an Alameda … Continue reading Brooks Escapes Censure; Council Admonishes Itself For Past Interference
Defiant Brooks Offers 35-Page Retort To Censure; Calls Charges ‘Purely Political’
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL//BROOKS CENSURE | Don’t confuse the relative silence from Oakland Councilmember Desley Brooks before she faces censure proceedings this Thursday with resignation, she’s merely been assembling her defense. On Monday, Brooks, who was accused last March by City Auditor Courtney Ruby of violating the City Charter’s non-interference laws on 12 occasions, offered the City Council a … Continue reading Defiant Brooks Offers 35-Page Retort To Censure; Calls Charges ‘Purely Political’
Alameda County D.A. Won’t File Charges Against Oakland Councilmember Brooks
The statute of limitations for prosecuting Oakland Councilmember Desley Brooks for allegations of 12 violations of the City Charter has passed, said Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley.On the heels of a civil grand jury report criticizing Brooks and the City Council's inaction over the matter, O'Malley told the San Francisco Chronicle Wednesday says the alleged … Continue reading Alameda County D.A. Won’t File Charges Against Oakland Councilmember Brooks
Reid Withdraws Proposal To ‘Audit the Auditor’s Audit’
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | Oakland Councilman Larry Reid has withdrawn an item from next week’s agenda asking for an outside auditor to look into allegations made against him and Councilmember Desley Reid by the city’s own auditor.Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby, in a statement Wednesday afternoon, said Council President Pat Kernighan has also withdrawn an … Continue reading Reid Withdraws Proposal To ‘Audit the Auditor’s Audit’
Gallo Urges Oakland City Council To Confront City Auditor’s Allegations
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL//RUBY REPORT | Oakland Councilmember Noel Gallo called on the City Council Tuesday night to confront the issues raised in a politically explosive city audit last month against members Desley Brooks and Larry Reid.“This issue has come up and its been here awhile,” said Gallo, the District 5 representative, “and for this council … Continue reading Gallo Urges Oakland City Council To Confront City Auditor’s Allegations
Brooks Calls Audit A ‘Political Vendetta’
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL//RUBY REPORT | In her first public comments in response to a city auditor's report alleging 12 violations of the city charter, Councilmember Desley Brooks called its findings a “political vendetta” and demanded her colleagues ask for proof.“This council should be asking the auditor to provide the evidence of the specious allegations that she made,” said Brooks … Continue reading Brooks Calls Audit A ‘Political Vendetta’
‘Larry You Are My Brother’ Facebook Page Lacking Likability, But Friends Lurk In Low Places
"Larry You Are My Brother" Facebook pageOAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | When times are tough, many say, the only people you can really count on is family. In embattled Oakland Councilman Larry Reid’s case, his propensity for calling everyone his brothers and sisters just may get him out of the jam laid out in a hard-nosed city … Continue reading ‘Larry You Are My Brother’ Facebook Page Lacking Likability, But Friends Lurk In Low Places
EAST BAY CITIZEN 