Supervisor Tam calls for independent investigation of Hayward girl's death

What about that sheriff's oversight committee? Superintendent calls for OUSD special election

COUNTY NEWS

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

—TAM CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION—Alameda County Supervisor Lena Tam today will ask for an independent investigation into the death of Sophie Mason, the eight-year-old Hayward girl who was allegedly abused by her mother’s boyfriend and killed last year in Merced County.

—Sophie’s mother and the boyfriend have been charged with murder, in addition, to other criminal counts.

—Calls to the county for an independent investigation of the case that involved a string of missteps by Alameda County social workers was urged by some Hayward councilmembers last fall.

—The proposed independent investigation would likely look into why a seemingly obvious set of data points indicating Sophie was in danger were ignored by county social workers.

—They include a pattern of school absences, a report by a Kaiser employee of extensive bruising on Sophie’s body and cigarette burns on her arms,

—County social workers also failed to interview Sophie to discern whether she was being abused, the East Bay Times reported last month. And failed to act on concerns about Sophie’s well-being that were voiced by her relatives, including the grandmother.

—Alameda County is 57th out of 58 counties in California when comes to acting on reports of abuse within 10 days, the Times found.

—Last month, Sophie’s grandmother filed a lawsuit against the Alameda County Department of Children and Family Services.

—BUDGET SEASON—Alameda County supervisors will return today for another special budget hearing in order to close a $54 million budget shortfall. Despite the large figure, by county standards, the projected shortfall is manageable.

—What has happened since the last special budget hearing on May 11? The state’s May budget revise estimated a $32 billion shortfall. That’s $10 billion more than the governor’s original budget last January. The news could tweak the county’s budget outlook.

—SHERIFF’S OVERSIGHT—The Board of Supervisors will receive an update on the creation of a sheriff’s oversight board on Tuesday afternoon.

—Under former Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern, community advocates had long called for oversight of his department.

—In late 2020, AB 1185 was approved by the Legislature, which tasks counties with creating civilian oversight of their sheriff’s department, or appoint an inspector general. The oversight board would have some heft, including subpoena power to look into wrongdoing at the sheriff’s department.

—With Ahern’s defeat at the polls last summer, calls for an oversight board still exist, but are less vocal under the nascent leadership of Alameda County Yesenia Sanchez.

—SPECIAL ELECTION CALLED—A vacancy on the Oakland school board’s District 5 will be filled through a special election. Alameda County Superintendent Alysse Castro set the special election for Nov. 7.

—District 5 school boardmember Mike Hutchinson was redistricted out of the seat last year and ran last fall in the infamous District 4 race that was affected by a ranked choice voting error.

—Hutchinson ultimately won the District 4 race and resigned his District 5 seat last March, necessitating this November’s special election.

—The move puts a shorter timeframe for embattled Alameda County Registrar Tim Dupuis to sort out any potential problems with the ranked choice voting algorithm.

—Dupuis has previously voiced concerns about time constraints for his office due to the shorter than normal turnaround for the March 2024 primary. In addition, there’s the unresolved matter of Oakland 16- and 17-year-olds being allowed to vote in school board elections.

—Oakland voters approved Measure QQ in 2020 giving teenagers the right to vote, but Dupuis has yet to act on the matter, which also includes Berkeley’s Measure Y1, a 2016 voter-approved ballot measure that does the same.

ELECTION 2024

—CATCH OF THE DAY—San Leandro council hopeful Ed Hernandez held a fundraiser last Thursday at Scott’s Seafood Restaurant in Oakland.

—There was some question why a San Leandro council candidate was holding a fundraiser in Oakland? The reason is the simple. The venue owner, Raymond Gallagher, is a big donor who’s given to other San Leandro candidates in recent years.

—Hernandez is eyeing a rubber match for San Leandro’s District 2 against Councilmember Bryan Azevedo. Hernandez won the seat in 2016, only to lose it to Azevedo in 2020.

—In attendance at Hernandez’s fundraiser, was another recipient of Gallagher’s support—7th State Senate District candidate Sandre Swanson. Gallagher and his family contributed a total of $15,500 to Swanson’s campaign on April 10.

—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond also sent Swanson a maxed out a $5,500 contribution last month.

—Swanson received a shout out at the fundraiser for his primary campaign that includes an already packed race. Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, Oakland Councilmember Dan Kalb, AC Transit Board Director Jovanka Beckles, and labor leader Kathryn Lybarger, have filed intent to run in the March primary.

—ENDORSEMENTS—Our Revolution East Bay announced endorsements on Monday for Jovanka Beckles’ 7th State Senate District campaign, and Jennifer Esteen’s bid for Alameda County supervisor in District 4.

—FUNDRAISER—12th Congressional District candidate Lateefah Simon is holding her campaign kickoff on June 10, at the Oakstop Broadway Event Hall in Oakland.

LEGISLATURE

—RENTAL DEPOSIT BILL—An assembly bill that would limit landlords to seeking no more than one months rent for a security deposit, was approved by the state Assembly on Monday, 51-14. The legislation, AB 12, heads to the state Senate.

—The bill authored by San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney, would remove a large barrier for many struggling renters who often do not have the personal savings to pay thousands of dollars for a rental deposit.

—Haney’s bill is very popular with the East Bay’s legislative caucus. Six of them are either principal coauthors of the bill or coauthors.

—They include Assemblymembers Mia Bonta, Buffy Wicks, Alex Lee; state Sen. Aisha Wahab; as principal coauthors. Assemblymember Liz Ortega and state Sen. Nancy Skinner are listed as coauthors.

—COSTA-HAWKINS BILL—State Sen. Aisha Wahab’s SB 466, legislation that seeks some changes to the state’s Costa-Hawking Rental Housing Act, was approve last month by the Senate Judiciary Committee, 7-1.

—However, no date is set for the bill heading for a state Senate floor vote. Under Costa-Hawkins, rental housing built after 1995 is exempt from local rent control ordinances. Wahab’s bill, instead, seeks to replace the specific date with a rolling yearly date.

PROGRAM NOTE: The newsletter will be published through Thursday, May 25, and return on Wednesday, May 31, in observation of the Memorial Day holiday.