City Government

Public Ethics Complaint Filed Against Abel Guillén

Published

8 years ago

May 14, 2018

Co-founder of activist group Eastlake United for Justice Mari Rose Taruc speaks at a press conference on the corner of E. 12th St. on May 9 to discuss a complaint filed against District 2 Councilmember Abel Guillèn for allegedly violating the Oakland Campaign Reform Act. Photo by Sarah Carpenter

Former supporters of Councilmember Abel Guillén spoke at a press conference Wednesday in support of a complaint against the District 2 councilmember to the Public Ethics Commission for allegedly violating the Oakland Campaign Reform Act.

The complaint alleges that Guillén accepted campaign donations from donors associated with UrbanCore and EBALDC (East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation) while continuously voting to sell city-owned land to those companies — land that many of his constituents had hoped would be used for affordable housing rather than the mostly market-rate high rise the City Council ultimately approved.

“I walked door to door for [Guillén’s] campaign when he was down in the polls, because we thought he would stand up for working folks,” said Gary Jimenez, a vice president for SEIU Local 1021. “Needless to say, I won’t be walking for him this time.”

Guillén, who is up for re-election this November, is confident that his campaign has complied with all local donation regulations. “This is nothing but a political red herring—they should have checked the facts,” he said.

A local activist with Eastlake United for Justice, Dunya Alwan, filed the complaint against Guillén. She and other community organizers have been fighting for the fate of a parcel of land at the corner of E. 12th St. and Lakeside Dr. for years now.

“This complaint is because as residents of D2, many of us are deeply disappointed in [Guillén’s] conduct and I look forward to the Ethics Commission holding him accountable,” Alwan said.

Alwan and other activists held a press conference Wednesday to discuss the complaint. A small band of community activists held up signs with an artistic depiction of Guillén’s face, a money backdrop, and the pun-injected words “CorruptAbel,” “FireAbel,” and “ReplaceAbel.”

The E. 12th St. land was slated to become a luxury condo tower made by UrbanCore, but the original deal was scrapped after a secret memo was leaked revealing City Attorney Barbara Parker’s opinion that the deal was in violation of the state Surplus Lands Act.

After the initial deal was scrapped, UrbanCore teamed up with EBALDC, an affordable housing developer group, and submitted a new proposal, which contained some affordable housing.

Local activists teamed up with SAHA (Satellite Affordable Housing Associates) to present the “E. 12th People’s Proposal” in October 2015, for a development that would be 100 percent affordable housing.
Guillén said the SAHA proposal “called for fewer total units in a much shorter building” and that “it would have netted us fewer affordable units citywide than the [UrbanCore + EBALDC] proposal, by requiring significantly more in city subsidies.”

The complaint cites three parties who donated a total of six times in a total amount of $1800 to Guillén’s campaign during the time in which the council was negotiating the land sale—Zachary Wasserman (a private attorney working for UrbanCore), Ener Chiu (a director with EBALDC), and Jason Overman (previously an UrbanCore lobbyist).

The timing of the donations tend to align with months in which Guillén voted in favor of the UrbanCore and EBALDC proposal, but both UrbanCore and EBALDC have correctly stated that none of these donations have come from either of their companies.

“EBALDC has a policy against making political donations,” said Executive Director Joshua Simon. “We respect the privacy of our staff and will not comment on donations that may have been made by individuals.”
The Public Ethics Commission will review the complaint in the coming weeks, to determine its validity.

“I don’t expect this complaint to invalidate the council’s decision [about the land deal],” said Dan Siegel, attorney for East 12th Coalition. “However,…nothing has happened regarding the final sale of the land, so the council has the authority to reconsider this agreement.”

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 22 – 28, 2026

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 15 – 21, 2026

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From Disparity Study to Solutions: Oakland Coalition and Mayor Barbara Lee Renew Commitment to Reform City Contracting

She committed to ensuring the coalition has direct access to City leadership by designating Assistant Deputy City Administrator Chuck Baker the primary liaison. Working alongside Deputy City Administrator Sofia Navarro, DWES Director Emylene Aspilla, Race and Equity Director Darlene Flynn, and other City departments, the coalition will continue advancing these priorities while maintaining regular communication with City leadership.

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2 weeks ago

July 15, 2026

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Present at the recent meeting on implementing recommendations on Oakland’s Disparity Study on city work contracts were (first row, l. to r.): Chuck Baker, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Darlene Flynn. Second row, l. to r.) Samuel Adams, Erica Astrella, Chadwick Spell, Cathy Adams, Stanley Cooper, Maria Wagner, Len Turner, Derek Barnes, Paul Cobb. Photo courtesy of Oakland Mayor’s Office.

Special to The Post

On June 30, a coalition of minority business leaders, contractors and others met with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee to discuss the City’s commitment to implement recommendations outlined in Oakland’s Disparity Study and eliminate barriers that have historically prevented Black and minority-owned businesses from fully participating in public contracting opportunities.

Representatives of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC), National Association of Minority Contractors Northern California (NAMC NorCal), Construction Resource Center (CRC), and the East Bay Rental Housing Association (EBRHA) said the meeting represented an important milestone in a process that has been underway for several months.

On April 21, the Oakland City Council’s Life Enrichment Committee received a progress report from the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (DWES), where Director Emylene Aspilla presented the coalition’s working document and outlined a collaborative implementation plan between the coalition and the City. That report established 30-, 60-, and 90-day objectives focused on five key priorities:

Reforming Local and Small Local Business Enterprise (L/SLBE) waiver practices
Strengthening prompt payment compliance
Improving procurement forecasting and transparency
Expanding contractor capacity building and business development
Increasing oversight, accountability, and public reporting

A series of working sessions was scheduled between coalition representatives, DWES, and the City Administrator’s Office to begin implementing those priorities but were temporarily delayed by the resignation of former City Administrator Jestin Johnson.

Rather than allowing that momentum to stall, OAACC President and CEO Cathy Adams requested a meeting with Lee to gain clarity on the City’s direction and reaffirm its commitment to implementing the recommendations contained within the Disparity Study.

Coalition leaders described the meeting as productive, candid, collaborative, and encouraging.

During the meeting, Lee spoke not only from her role as mayor but also from her experience as an 8(a) contractor and business owner, sharing that she understands firsthand what it takes to build and grow a successful company, employ a substantial workforce, compete for public work, and navigate the complexities of municipal contracting.

Mayor Lee also expressed her commitment to personally participate in future working meetings with the coalition.

“This meeting represents a renewed commitment to partnership,” said Adams. “Mayor Lee listened, engaged, and demonstrated that she wants to move beyond conversation and into implementation.”

CRC’s Len Turner said the roadmap is already in place. ““The City already has the evidence. What’s been missing is execution. …Now it’s time to deliver results.”

Mario Wagner, president of NAMC NorCal agreed that the next phase must focus on implementation, funding, and accountability.

“The coalition is ready to get to work. …The next step is ensuring these initiatives receive meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle. Just as important, the City must establish transparent reporting mechanisms that keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and accountability.”

Coalition leaders also acknowledged that while City leadership has indicated it is reviewing Local and Small Local Business Enterprise waiver practices, the community continues to seek a formal response regarding existing long-term waivers, including waivers extending 10 and 25 years. The coalition believes those waivers should be comprehensively reviewed and, where appropriate, rolled back as part of the City’s broader contracting reforms.

The coalition is also calling on the City to include meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle to support implementation of the Disparity Study recommendations and establish better methods and mechanisms to keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and transparent accountability.

The coalition’s immediate next step is to schedule a working meeting with Baker, Aspilla, Lee, and the appropriate City staff to review what has already been accomplished under the implementation framework.