FPPC fine, Santa Rita Jail death, and freeway surveillance cameras in Alameda County
Some candidates are already forming election committees for 2024
CITY NEWS
OAKLAND
—FPPC FINE—A 2020 Oakland ballot measure committee was issued a $3,000 fine by the state Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) this month.
—“Yes on Q! Oakland Neighbors for Our Parks and People” was found to have failed to disclose Kaiser Permanente as a major sponsor of the committee on a mailer and newspaper ad.
—Kaiser Permanente contributed $150,000 to the parcel tax campaign, more than 80 percent of the committee’s total donations during the 2020 election cycle, according to the FPPC.
—The FPPC, however, found no evidence of deception on the committee’s part.
—Oakland’s Measure Q was supported by 68 percent of voters in the March 2020 primary, and enacted an annual $148 parcel tax on single-family units. Nearly two-thirds of Measure Q’s proceeds are allotted to parks and recreation, and roughly 30 percent for homelessness.
—HOWARD TERMINAL UPDATE—The California Supreme Court upheld the successful appeal by Schnitzer Steel, the metal recycler that resides next to the proposed Howard Terminal ballpark, of a lawsuit filed by the Oakland Athletics asserting the company be reclassified as a toxic polluter.
—In 2021, the A’s were initially successful in their claim, which some perceived as an act to ingratiate air quality advocates in West Oakland, and to also provide a sharp jab at Schnitzer, which through an AstroTurf group, has long opposed the waterfront ballpark plan.
—But last October, an appeals court sided with Schnitzer Steel, leading to this week’s ruling at the state’s high court.
HAYWARD
—PLANNING COMMISSION APPTS—Now that two former members of the Hayward Planning Commission are newly-minted councilmembers, the Hayward City Council moved on Tuesday to fill the seats with a pair of appointments.
—The council selected Karla Goodbody, a former aide to Rep. Barbara Lee and former state Sen. Liz Figuroa; and Annika Patterson, a Hayward library commissioner.
—The openings follow Julie Roche’s election last November to the city council, and Dan Goldstein’s appointment last week to the same body. Like the city council appointment process, which attracted 45 applicants, 35 sought the two planning commission seats.
—The council also selected Shanta Franco-Clausen as an alternate to the planning commission. The terms for each runs through Sept. 30.
LEGISLATURE
STATE BUDGET
—Notably the state budget forecast released last week, which highlighted a projected $22.5 billion shortfall, did not account for the prospect of a recession arriving sometime this year.
—If there is, indeed, a recession, the projected budget deficit could ballooned to up to an additional $50 billion, the state’s Department of Finance said on Wednesday.
—State Sen. Nancy Skinner, who previously voiced displeasure with proposed cuts to mental health care, said at a hearing on Wednesday, that part of the problem is a lack of workers in jails who are properly trained to care for inmates suffering from mental health issues.
COUNTY NEWS
SANTA RITA JAIL
—ANOTHER INMATE DEATH—An inmate at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin hanged himself on Tuesday night, KTVU reports. The inmate, 38-year-old Stephen Lofton, was arrested last week by Hayward Police, and was reportedly alone in his cell when he committed suicide.
—The number of inmate deaths at Santa Rita Jail since 2014 is now 62. The large number of deaths at the facility has attracted greater public scrutiny and lawsuits against the Sheriff’s Department.
—Yesenia Sanchez, the new Alameda Count sheriff, pledged during the campaign to institute better safety protocols at the jail and increase transparency.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
—SMILE—A $10 million state pilot program backed by Gov. Gavin Newson to install surveillance cameras on freeways in four counties, including Alameda County, will go forward with or without the county’s blessing.
—The pilot program came before the Alameda County Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee meeting last month. Supervisor Nate Miley was seeking to move a resolution to the full board in support.
—Referencing a number of homicides recently on freeways in the county, Miley said, “We’ve seen instances of criminal activity on our freeways from sideshows to homicides in Alameda County. We have a responsibility to our public to ensure public safety and I take that responsibility extremely serious.”
—The pilot and the proposed resolution did not receive proper public vetting, a number of speakers said.
—Miley added that some of the pilot’s opponents were “flamboyant” in their arguments, equating the proposal to the dystopian novel “1984” and the Chinese government’s invasive surveillance state. “When I’m speaking, I’m speaking of Britain. I’m speaking of Israel. Democratic societies that have cameras and the safeguards they provide,” Miley said.
—Work on upgrading surveillance cameras with higher image resolution and 30x zooming capabilities has already been approved to begin at 25 freeway locations in Oakland, Albany, Emeryville and San Leandro. In total, the pilot includes 50 surveillance cameras in Alameda County.
—Because the freeway surveillance cameras are within the state’s right-of-way, approval from cities and the county is not needed, a representative from CalTrans said.
—Supervisor Richard Valle, however, raised concerns about whether the county issuing support of the pilot through a resolution could potentially harm the county. For this reason, the item was directed to county counsel for study.
REGISTRAR OF VOTERS
—OUT OF THE OFFICE REPLY—The root cause of much of the controversy involving Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis is his chronic inability to communicate with the public. It’s been a hallmark of his time as registrar. Even a mundane request for the list of an election’s approved write-in candidates goes unanswered.
—The East Bay Times reports that lawyers for the Oakland school board candidates who had the certified results of their November election flipped by a tabulation error, say they still have been unable to schedule a meeting with Dupuis since the snafu was reported to them in late December.
ELECTION 2024
FILINGS
—NEVER TOO EARLY—Assemblymembers Mia Bonta, Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, and Liz Ortega opened committees for 2024 re-election campaigns on Tuesday. State Sen. Aisha Wahab opened a committee last Friday for re-election in 2026.
—Dublin Councilmember Sherry Hu opened a committee last Friday for mayor in 2024.