Don't say the b-word in Oakland
Oakland's risky budget maneuver is approved, despite opposition; Sunol leaders on their way to be recalled; Alameda's council minority blocks bond measure for climate-related infrastructure fixes
CITY NEWS
OAKLAND
—BOBBITT BETTER HAVE MY MONEY—Oakland’s budget administrator repeatedly rang the alarms of impending economic doom and a councilmember used a word forbidden for use in public discourse—bankruptcy.
—Nevertheless, the Oakland City Council approved a balanced budget on Wednesday that is predicated on money the city does not yet have in their pocket.
—If the city’s proposed sale of its half-interest in the Oakland Coliseum complex to the African American Sports & Entertainment Group (AASEG) fails to materialize by Sept. 1, debilitating cuts to public safety and layoffs could be on the table.
—Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, who attended the meeting remotely after being infected with Covid, and Councilmember Dan Kalb expressed confidence a deal with AASEG and its spokesperson Ray Bobbitt, will be completed prior to the September budget deadline.
—“Our responsibility to the people of Oakland is preserving our public safety services,” Bas said. The option favored by Bas assumes $63 million from the Coliseum sale will be received within the fiscal year.
—An alternative option did not include money from the Coliseum sale, but called for steep cuts to police officer staffing and closure of fire stations.
—“There are no good options, no happy options,” Kalb said. “They’re all unpleasant, problematic options.”
—The council’s move on Tuesday afternoon was panned by Oakland Councilmembers Janani Ramachandran, Treva Reid, and Noel Gallo. Each voted against the budget.
“This budget has been an insult to the people of Oakland,” Ramachandran said. “This is a wildly fiscally irresponsible decision.” She faulted the mayor and city administrator for the budget debacle.
—The vote could result in Oakland’s bond rating being downgraded, a development that would make it more costly for the city to fund infrastructure projects and programs.
—In addition, Oakland could be staring down economic ruin next year absent attempts to work on the city’s ongoing structural deficit. Some Oakland officials appeared distressed by this realization.
—When Councilmember Gallo uttered the word “bankruptcy” he was strongly admonished by Kalb. “That is completely irresponsible to use that word,” Kalb told Gallo.
—Later, Councilmember Carroll Fife said councilmembers are instructed not to make comments that might cause scrutiny from creditors. “It gives me great concern when we use the b-word,” she said,
—SPY VS. SPY—Prior to Tuesday morning’s budget hearing in Oakland, the city’s police union held a press conference down the street to register opposition to proposed cuts to public safety.
—Police union officials noticed a member of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s staff in the middle of the press scrum.
—It turns out Thao’s beleaguered office isn’t good at, among other things, going undercover. The staffer concealed their face with a mask, but was easily identified by police officials.
ALAMEDA
—MINORITY RULES—The Alameda City Council was unable to pass a resolution to place a $150 million infrastructure bond on the November ballot.
—The item required four votes for passage, only three councilmembers supported the bond measure.
—The opposition of Councilmembers Trish Herrera Spencer and Tony Daysog blocked the bond measure from coming before voters in the fall.
—“This is sometimes known as the tyranny of the minority,” Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft said following the vote.
—Spencer and Daysog said the general obligation bond measure wasn’t fully fleshed out.
—Alameda has $800 million in deferred maintenance. Many of the infrastructure improvements are related to mitigating climate change.
FOURTH OF JULY
—JULY 4 FESTIVITIES—Alameda’s three-mile long Fourth of July Parade starts at 10 a.m. at the corner of Park Street and Lincoln Avenue. I’ll be there near the Starbucks on Central Avenue.
—Fremont’s 25th Fourth of July Parade also begins at 10 a.m. on Paseo Padre Parkway near Stevenson Boulevard.
NEWARK
—QUICK TURNAROUND—Newark officials are not giving the public much time to apply for the open seat left vacant by Councilmember Mike Bucci’s resignation last week.
—The deadline for application is this Sunday, July 7 at 5 p.m. However, Newark City Hall is closed from July 4-7. Applications can be emailed to the city clerk.
—Bucci announced his resignation on June 26, citing the high cost of homes in Newark.
COUNTY NEWS
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
—COURT REPORTER—A reporter for Oaklandside, a news website in Oakland, is suing Alameda County to block an ordinance approved by the Board of Supervisors in June 2023 to punish spectators observing illegal sideshows, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
—The federal lawsuit asserts the county’s sideshow ordinance is unconstitutional and violates a reporter’s First Amendment rights to cover the gatherings.
—The ordinance carries a fine of up to $1,000 for spectators attending sideshows in unincorporated Alameda County.
—Since its adoption last summer, the ordinance appears to be working, according to presentations given by Alameda County sheriff’s deputies to municipal advisory councils in the unincorporated areas.
ELECTION 2024
125 days until Election Day
SUNOL GLEN RECALL
—SCHOOL BOARD EXPULSION—Voters in unincorporated Sunol are leaning toward clearing out two-thirds of their school board.
—Sunol Glen school boardmembers Ryan Jergensen and Linda Hurley are at risk of being removed from office, according to early returns in the Sunol Glen special recall election.
EARLY ELECTION RESULTS
—Recall Jergensen?
Yes 254 votes, 53.81%
No 218 votes, 46.19%
—Recall Hurley?
Yes 249 votes 52.75%
No 223 votes 47.25%
—The Sunol Glen Unified School District includes just 824 registered voters. Early turnout for the recall election is high, currently at 57 percent.
—Two weeks ago, the Alameda County registrar said he expected high turnout based on the number of vote-by-mail ballots already received.
—The recall effort was triggered last fall after Jergensen and Hurley approved a resolution to allow only the U.S. and state flags to fly over its lone campus.
—Members of the LGBTQ community balked, saying the resolution’s intent was to block the Pride flag from being raised.
—The Sunol Glen recall is the first of three recalls scheduled for Alameda County this year. The recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price and Oakland on the Nov. 5 ballot.
—On Tuesday, the Oakland City Council voted to place the recall of Mayor Sheng Thao on the same November ballot.
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 5
—SWITCHING LANES—The crowded field in Oakland’s at-large city council race is down one candidate. Erin Armstrong, a staffer in Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley’s office, is now challenging Oakland Councilmember Noel Gallo’s re-election in District 5.
—The at-large council race was upended last spring with the addition of former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, by far, the most recognizable name in the now nine-candidate field, and potentially its strongest fundraiser.
—It would not be surprising to see the at-large field to further shrink as the nomination period for candidates to officially file for November races opens on July 15 for all campaigns in Alameda County. The filing deadline is Aug. 9.
—FOOD SCRAPS—Another candidate hoping to unseat Oakland Councilmember Noel Gallo this fall upset some residents at Alameda Point by throwing cooked and raw taco meat into a dog park.
—Dominic Prado, the owner of Tacos El Ultimo Baile who filed an intent to run in District 5, clashed with dog owners at a pop-up outside East Bay Insiders headquarters.
—The owners of two dogs believe the meats and other scraps, including red onions and cilantro, sickened their pets.
—When one dog owner angrily confronted Prado, the taco seller cursed out the man and fat-shamed his dog.
Program note: The East Bay Insiders Newsletter will return on Monday, July 8.🧨🇺🇸