Tenuous unincorporated Alameda County tenant protections return on Tuesday, activists protest dissenting county supervisors
OPD police chief scandal widens, Taylor issues surprising criticism of Oakland Mayor Thao; San Leandro looks at dangerous "soft story" buildings
COUNTY NEWS
TENANT PROTECTION ORDINANCES
—STREET HEAT—Pro-tenant activists in unincorporated Alameda County protested at a event held by Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley on Friday night and descended on Supervisor Lena Tam’s district office in San Lorenzo on Monday morning.
—Activists demonstrated in Castro Valley at a celebration of Alameda County’s successful Measure D ballot measure on Friday. The group entered the building and were met by Supervisors Miley and David Haubert, who both did not support the three tenant protection ordinances last December.
—The activism comes a day before the Alameda County Board of Supervisors are scheduled to discuss a second and final reading of three tenant protections ordinances for the unincorporated areas that were narrowly approved on Dec. 20.
—Second readings of local ordinances are almost always perfunctory agenda items, but the trio of housing ordinances comes before a new board on Tuesday that now has a narrow pro-landlord tilt. A discussion on the county’s long-running eviction moratorium, due to expire this spring, also looms in the near future.
—The ordinances enacted just cause protections, a fair chance ordinance that prohibits the use of criminal history when determining tenancy, and the creation of a rent registry.
—The ordinances are intended to be the first phase of proposed tenant protections, and have bounced around various board committees since last March. Roughly 60,000 renters in unincorporated Alameda County do not have any of the tenant protections enjoyed by renters in neighboring cities.
—The makeup of the board changed after Tam won the District 3 seat once held by the late Supervisor Wilma Chan, who passed away in November 2021. Dave Brown served as a caretaker for the district until last November’s election.
—My Eden Voice, the unincorporated group, coincidentally created in part by Miley, urged Tam to “make good on her promise to uphold Wilma Chan’s legacy by voting for tenants rights.”
—While Brown supported the ordinances last December, Tam’s position is not yet known. Tam’s positions during the campaign were not clearly laid out when it comes to tenant protections.
—However, the California Apartment Association strongly supported her supervisorial campaign, leading many to believe she will not support the ordinances in their current configurations.
—If any changes are made to the ordinances on Tuesday, they will likely be deemed substantive by county counsel and require another second reading and another round of activism for and against the ordinances.
CITY NEWS
OAKLAND POLICE CHIEF
—FALLOUT—Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao made her first public appearance on Friday to quell chatter that Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong is on his way out.
—Armstrong was placed on administrative paid leave last week after the release of an independent investigation that found he did little to hold a police officer accountable for a hit-and-run and for firing a weapon in a police department elevator.
—Thao said it was premature to suggest Armstrong will be fired. Over the weekend, it was reported that Armstrong has lawyered up, in addition, to hiring superstar Bay Area media consultant Sam Singer.
—ARMSTRONG SPEAKS OUT—At a press conference today, Armstrong indicated he wants to be reinstated as police chief, and blamed Federal Monitor Robert Warshaw for the events of the last few days. “I believe that I am in this position because Federal Monitor Robert Warshaw acted in his own self-interests,” Armstrong labeled the move a “false crisis.”
—Warshaw’s aim is financial, Armstrong said, with the intention of extending his work as federal monitor. The latter comment will surely resonate with some Oakland councilmembers, who in the past have questioned the financial costs of Warshaw’s work.
—TAYLOR SPEAKS OUT—In a stunning move, Loren Taylor, the Oakland mayoral candidate who was narrowly defeated by Thao last November, spoke out against the new mayor’s decision to place Armstrong on administrative leave.
—“I have come to the conclusion that the decision to put Chief Armstrong on Administrative leave was excessive, and if I were Mayor, I would not have done it,” Taylor said on Saturday.
—Taylor added the punishment was not commensurate with the allegations against Armstrong.
—The Oakland NAACP also criticized Thao’s decision, and scheduled a press conference for Tuesday morning.
SAN LEANDRO
—SOFT STORY—San Leandro is looking to kickstart a program for retrofitting potentially dangerous “soft story” buildings—open-air carports that make up the ground floor of apartment buildings.
—A study updated in 2015 found San Leandro has more than 300 soft story buildings that include roughly 3,000 housing units. The soft story design is highly susceptible to extensive damage due to an earthquake.
—A vast majority of San Leandro’s soft story units reside on the east side of the city, and near the Hayward Fault.
—The cost of the proposed program may be a sticking point as the possibility of a recession looms. However, San Leandro has $100,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds available for the program, according to city staff.
—The proposed program, however, is still in its infancy. City staff will make a presentation at the City Council’s Rules Committee on Thursday evening. A draft proposal is not expected to come before the city council until the end of this year.
CONGRESS
14TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
—BURIED LEDE—A group of Bay Area congressmembers, including East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell, who were upset about an AstroTurf news website that repeatedly criticized them, along with promoting the efforts of Castro Valley’s Muwekma Ohlone tribe.
—The tribal group is seeking federal recognition. Last December, they appeared before the Alameda City Council, also seeking the city’s help in their efforts.
—The San Francisco Inquirer, a website of questionable origins, often attacked South Bay Rep. Zoe Lofgren. In a meeting with Muwekma tribal leaders, Swalwell leaned on them to essentially tell the website to cease with its attacks on his colleagues.
—The tribal leaders, though, took issue with Swalwell uttering what they assert is negative Native American imagery.
—“I think what my colleague Ms. Eshoo is saying is that it seems like on a lot of these issues, there’s a lot of support in this room, but there’s got to be a reset on your side of the arrows that are being aimed at my colleagues,” Swalwell said in recording of the meeting, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
—Swalwell’s comments echo those made earlier this month by BART Board Director John McPartland when he used the phrase “cotton-picking inspirational” in response to a presentation about the transit agency’s racial equity initiatives. McPartland later apologized.