City Government

Did Mayor Schaaf Intimidate Council Members to Vote to Enhance Her Power?

Published

8 years ago

July 29, 2016

Only two members of the City Council – Desley Brooks and Rebecca Kaplan – were willing to stand up for a motion to deprive the mayor of the power to appoint three members of the seven-member Police Commission that will go on the ballot in November.

This lack of support for removing the mayoral appointments may have been in part due to pressure exerted on council members by Mayor Libby Schaaf, the Post has learned.

Multiple sources have told the Post that Mayor Schaaf privately threatened one or more council members, saying that if they did not support the version of the measure that the mayor wanted, she would back candidates against them in upcoming elections.

“This leads one to wonder what pressures were brought to bear against council members, since only Brooks and Kaplan were the only ones who were immune to the pressures,” according to a City Hall observer.

“The mayor’s backroom- muscle-type threats to get council votes can back re and threaten her recently passed $600 million housing bond ballot measure, which she has loaded with more than $150 million of bailout monies for her developer friends under the guise of affordable housing,” said Post Publisher Paul Cobb.

Responding to the allegations, Erica Derryck, the mayor’s director of communications, said, “This ridiculous assertion is totally false.”

“In fact, well before the proposed police commission’s structure was finalized, Mayor Schaaf had the foresight to propose that $1 million in city budget savings be designated to support the commission should voters pass the measure this fall,” said Derryck.

Noel Gallo spoke at Tuesday night’s council meeting about another type of pressure he had faced as someone who spearheaded efforts to work with the community to produce a proposal that would gain enough support on the council to go on the ballot.

“I have been called all kinds of things,” he said. “I have been called a cop killer. I am not a cop killer. I have been called that several times,” Gallo said.

Gallo said he ignores this kind of name-calling and remains dedicated to passing the charter amendment in November.

The Post inadvertently failed to publish the response from the Mayor’s office in its print version of this article.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

1 day ago

April 26, 2024

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

5 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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City Government

Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Published

5 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Beverli Marshall began her first day with the City on April 10. ICMA image.

Special to The Post

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.

Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”

According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.

“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”

When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.

At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”

While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.

On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.

“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.

The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.