Recall charter amendment gets a second look
When will independent investigation of San Leandro police chief be complete?
COUNTY NEWS
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
—RECALL RULES RETURN—The county’s proposed recall charter amendment returns to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
—Last month, the Board approved a first reading of a resolution to place a charter amendment measure on the March 2024 Primary ballot to align the county charter’s rules for recalling elected officials with the state’s procedures.
—Two weeks ago, a second and final reading of the resolution was continued to the Nov. 14 board meeting by Supervisor Lena Tam, who said the public was uncertain about ballot measure, in addition to its impacts on the current recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.
—The Price recall has operated on the assumption that 73,195 valid signatures are needed to place the recall question on a future ballot.
—The number is based on the county charter’s calculations for recalls which is tied to 15 percent of the number of Alameda County votes in the previous gubernatorial election.
—However, if the proposed charter amendment to align the county with the state election code appears on the Mar. 5 primary election and is successful, it would increase the number of valid signatures for Price recall to 93,320, or an additional 20,000 valid signatures.
—That’s because the state’s calculation for recalls is 10 percent of registered voters in Alameda County. In this case, the number of valid signatures is 93,320.
HEALTHCARE
—SPARE CHANGE?—The future of Hayward’s St. Rose Hospital remain uncertain. County, state, and federal funding has been used to keep the facility running as a long-term solution is sought. In the meantime, St. Rose is happy to get any money they can get.
—On Sunday, a political action committee supported by the California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (CAHHS) reported a lengthy list of contributions to health care systems across the state, including four to St. Rose since last July for a total of $5,088.
CITY NEWS
SAN LEANDRO
—PRIDGEN INVESTIGATION—The independent investigation of San Leandro Police Chief Abdul Pridgen for allegedly violating the department’s policies is expected to arrive later this month.
—Pridgen was placed on paid administrative leave on Sept. 11 pending an investigation. An interim police chief was subsequently named by the city manager.
—The move to place Pridgen on leave upset some in the community who praised him for his attempts at reforming the police department. Some members of the city’s Community Police Review Board complained that they were left in the dark about the move.
—RO IN THE ‘DRO—A similar situation is brewing at the San Leandro Unified School District, where parents are upset about a lack of transparency involving the reassignment of popular San Leandro High School co-principal Ronnie Richardson .
—A group supporting Richardson is calling for a student walkout at 1:45 p.m. this afternoon. They say the school board’s decision was made in secret and without consultation from the public. They are also urging supporters to speak at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
—Reginald Richardson, the twin brother of Ronnie Richardson is also a co-principal at San Leandro High School.
PLEASANTON
—WATER WARS CONTINUE—The Pleasanton City Council approved a whopping 30 percent increase in water rates last week amid PFAS contamination in some city wells and additional water purchases from the nearby Zone 7 Water Agency.
—The increase will begin next year and followed by another 12 percent increase in 2025. Needless to say, the increases were met with strong opposition from the public.
—For a medium-to-low use customers, their bimonthly water bill will increase nearly $50 over the next two years.
—Pleasanton has not moved to raise water rates since 2011, according city staff, and its Water Enterprise Fund is projected to have a $29 million shortfall.
“There's just not a lot of options,” Pleasanton Mayor Karla Brown said. “Bankrupting our Water Enterprise Fund is not a solution.”
ELECTION 2024
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
—LOGAN’S RUN—Oakland City Council District 3 candidate Warren Logan kicked off his campaign to unseat Councilmember Carroll Fife on Thursday. Black Panthers icon Elaine Brown was set to be a guest speaker at the fundraiser.
—Logan presents Fife a problem in next fall’s election. He’s steeped in Oakland government after serving as a policy director under former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and was instrumental in the city’s response to the pandemic. He’s also presents a stark change of pace from the often combative and polarizing Fife.
