Mia Bonta, Liz Ortega couldn't muster a vote for bill that further criminalizes child sex trafficking
Oakland mayor moves closer to $75k pay raise; San Leandro officials also hoping to sweeten their own pot; There's an official committee to recall 'Madame DA' Price
LEGISLATIVE NEWS
CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING BILL
—NOT KIDDING AROUND—East Bay Assemblymembers Mia Bonta and Liz Ortega avoided a vote on a bill that would make repeated offenses for human trafficking of a minor a serious felony and designating it as a strike under the California’s Three Strikes law.
—Bonta and Ortega, who together represents much of Northern and Central Alameda County, choose not to vote on the legislation on Tuesday, along with every Democrat on the Assembly Public Safety Committee. The legislation failed but could be reconsidered next year.
—The issue Democratic assemblymembers had with the legislation was concerns about the bill furthering a system of overincarceration.
—“Sending someone to prison for the rest of their lives is not going to fix the harm moving forward and that’s the part that I am struggling with,” Ortega said.
—Bonta was not present at Tuesday morning’s committee hearing for SB 14.
—Senate Bill 14 is authored by Republican State Sen. Shannon Grove of Bakersfield and was unanimously passed by the State Senate in May.
—East Bay Democratic state Sen. Steve Glazer is a coauthor of SB 14. He voted yes in the state Senate on May 25.
—Fellow East Bay State Sen. Aisha Wahab, as chair of the State Senate Public Safety voted yes in committee, and did so again on the Senate floor. At Tuesday’s hearing. Grove said Wahab has also signed on as a coauthor for SB 14.
—The divergent votes among Democratic state senators and Democratic assemby committee members made Tuesday’s vote even more curious.
—The California Republican Party had a field day with the Assembly Public Safety vote. “The message was received loud and clear once again today that California is the premier state for criminals to thrive, thanks to Gavin Newsom and California Democrats,” California GOP Chair Jessica Millian Patterson said.
COUNTY NEWS
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
—SIDESHOWS—Unincorporated Alameda County’s crack down on sideshows was approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday for a second and final reading of the ordinance, which focuses on sideshow spectators.
—Supervisor Elisa Marquez was the lone no for the first reading of the ordinance last month, but she did not elaborate upon the rationale for her vote.
—Marquez on Tuesday called the ordinance an “overreach and difficult to enforce.”
—In addition, after speaking with Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez, Marquez said she believes the sheriff has been proactive in blocking areas where sideshows are often staged in the unincorporated areas, and would prefer more of that strategy rather than arrests.
—HAIRCUT MAKES THE MAN—During a discussion about government procurements, Supervisor Nate Miley offered his thoughts before delivering a light-hearted comment on Tuesday afternoon.
—“Finally, Mr. Chair, I want to say that is a nice looking haircut you’ve got,” Miley said of Supervisor David Haubert;s fresh coif.
—“Thank you, President Miley,” Haubert replied before jumping right back on the agenda item.
CITY NEWS
OAKLAND
—MAYOR MONEY—Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is heading toward a $75,000 pay increase after just six months in office. The Oakland City Council Finance and Management Committee on Tuesday forwarded the proposal that will boost Thao’s salary from $203,000 to $278,000.
—The vote was 3-1. The full Oakland City Council will take up the item at its July 18 meeting.
—Among Finance Committee members, Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas, one of Thao’s top allies, appeared to be the proposal’s biggest backer. Oakland’s mayoral salary has not been adjusted since 2013, Bas said.
—The pay raise amounts to roughly a three percent annual increase over the past 10 years, Bas added. During the same time, Bas said, the city has given cost-of-living increases to its workers and approved pay increases in other city departments, but not the mayor’s office.
—Thao is not seeking the pay increase. It is mandated in the Oakland City Charter.
—Councilmember Janani Ramachandran voted against the wage bump, but said her opposition was mainly due to the amount of the increase. Noting the city’s economic troubles, “We need to be on the lower end of that scale,” Ramachandran said.
—She proposed raising the mayor’s salary by 75 percent of the average of city managers in six similarly-sized California cities, which is roughly $230,000 a year.
SAN LEANDRO
—BACKDOOR COUNCIL RAISES—San Leandro councilmembers made a number of changes to their council handbook, the bodies guiding document. But there was a few notable requests on Monday night.
—Council consensus exists for the inclusion in the handbook of an annual assessment of their pay. Councilmember Bryan Azevedo floated a five percent annual pay increase. He added the proposal was first offered by Councilmember Fred Simon, who was absent on Monday night.
—Simon had previously sought a council pay increase. As a concurrent elected member of the Oro Loma Sanitary District Board of Directors, Simon also sought a pay increase.
—Earlier, Councilmember Pete Ballew asked for and received consensus for the council’s annual technology allowance to be raised from $2,100 to $3,000. The revisions to the council handbook will return to the council at its July 17 meeting.
ELECTION 2024
RECALL
—RECALLING MADAME DA—The effort to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price can now begin raising money.
—A committee named Save Alameda For Everyone (SAFE) filed a Statement of Organization Recipient Committee on Tuesday, which allows the group to solicit contributions.
—According to the filing, one of the main backers of the recall campaign against Price is Carl Chan, the president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce.
7TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT
—MONEYBALL—Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin’s campaign for the open 7th State Senate District seat is off to a strong start on the fundraising front.
—Arreguin’s campaign reported raising $330,000 from more than 400 contributors through the mid-year reporting period that ended on June 30.
—Campaign finance reports for the mid-year period are not yet publicly available. None of the other candidates in the 7th District March primary race have volunteered their fundraising numbers.
—The 7th District includes Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, El Cerrito, and Richmond. State Sen. Nancy Skinner is termed out of the seat in 2024.
—Program note: East Bay Insiders is now on Threads @eastbayinsiders!