Bay Area
‘Extremely Disturbing’: City Audit Reveals Mayor’s Office of Housing Has $482 Mil in Unspent Funds
A San Francisco supervisor is calling for a hearing to find solutions to problems within the city’s affordable housing production team. Supervisor Dean Preston requested the hearing during the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, in response to a nearly two-year performance audit of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development released the same day.
By Olivia Wynkoop
Bay City News
A San Francisco supervisor is calling for a hearing to find solutions to problems within the city’s affordable housing production team.
Supervisor Dean Preston requested the hearing during the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, in response to a nearly two-year performance audit of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development released the same day.
The audit found that the department, which oversees the city’s affordable housing projects, counted on informal records and internal discussions for its decision-making. The department has also had an average surplus of $482 million in unspent funds for the past five years.
Per request by the Board of Supervisors in July 2021, the San Francisco Budget and Legislative Analyst investigated how the housing department reported the status of housing projects, prioritized funding and handled unspent funds.
The audit found that the department did not comply with city reporting requirements, did not have a formalized record-keeping system on how financial decisions were made and could not provide clarity on where unused funds are going.
The audit cited that 93 percent of the department’s unused funds were dedicated to housing developments, though it’s unknown if 58 percent of those funds are officially set in stone with a committed loan.
Preston, who called for the audit, alleged that the office itself is a “major barrier” to the city reaching its ambitious affordable housing goals – San Francisco is aiming to build 46,500 new units by 2031.
“Given what is revealed in this audit, I am deeply concerned that we are entrusting the crucial task of affordable housing production to a department that has no oversight, no transparency, no policies guiding key funding decisions, and cannot even account for a half billion-dollar balance — namely how much is committed and how much is available,” Preston said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Eric Shaw, director of MOHCD, responded to the audit via letter, and said the department faces “substantial complexities” that make it difficult to make concrete policies.
“Due to the complexity of aligning unpredictable funding streams in a volatile market, financing affordable housing projects is a complex process that cannot be replicated or standardized over years or across projects,” reads the letter addressed to Severin Campbell, director of the Budget and Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Bay Area
Faces Around the Bay: Jim Brosnahan, Esq.
James J. Brosnahan, ESQ, an international trial lawyer and trial advocacy teacher, has remained unshaken in his fervent belief in the power of the law to right injustices. Brosnahan has fought to open the legal profession to those previously excluded and worked to provide lawyers to the millions who go without.
By Barbara Fluhrer
James J. Brosnahan, ESQ, an international trial lawyer and trial advocacy teacher, has remained unshaken in his fervent belief in the power of the law to right injustices.
Brosnahan has fought to open the legal profession to those previously excluded and worked to provide lawyers to the millions who go without. He has argued for the administrators of justice to represent the whole community. He’s tried 150 cases to conclusion and is ranked among the top 30 trial lawyers in the U.S. (Legal 500 US). He’s been called “scrappy,” “a lion in the courtroom,” and “ultra- liberal.”
One of his earliest cases (1962) involved two Navajo children shot by a White man on a reservation in Arizona. “The legal system needed to work as well for Native Americans as for White people,” he said. “The defendant was found guilty of second-degree murder.”
In 1963, U.S. Attorney Cecil Poole hired him as U.S. Attorney from a list of 200 applicants.
He and Poole, as federal observers, led the Vietnam protesters as they marched. The purpose: to avoid violence.
“Poole taught me preventative law in a chaotic situation and became one of my strongest mentors,” remembers Brosnahan.
In 1964, Brosnahan served on the NAACP’s Housing Committee in S.F., when 70% of the city’s housing was not available to Blacks. They sued racial discriminators, fought for reform and opposed the displacement of minorities in the Western Addition. They won and they lost, but they became the racial conscience of San Francisco in the fight for fair housing.
In 1969, two Black community workers in Oakland were indicted for stealing federal money.
“My two clients were activists in Oakland. I believed there was an element of racism running through Washington’s decision to indict two Black men who worked every day to help the poor,” he said.
The case was eventually dismissed. In the early 70s, he responded to a subpoena and testified against Judge Rehnquists’ confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court. He had witnessed Rehnquist obstructing voting at a polling place. Amid threats on his life, he was the chief defense lawyer for the American who joined the Taliban in 2002.
Brosnahan, his wife Carol and three children moved from S.F. to Berkeley in 1964, in part, to participate in the Berkeley school integration program. She is a retired Alameda County Superior Court judge.
Brosnahan, 90, checks in to his San Francisco firm, Morrison & Foerster often. He paints, reads, walks a mile a day, journals, and lectures, while writing another book: “Cultural History of Trials over the Centuries.”
His last book “Justice at Trial,” published in 2023, details his life and battles.
He reflects, “Over my career I have come to realize that one secret for enriching your own life is trying to help others. What better way to do that than to represent them in court.”
Activism
Obituary: Social Justice Leader, the Rev. Cecil Williams, Passes at 94
On April 22, community leader and social justice advocate Reverend Cecil Williams died at his home in San Francisco surrounded by his loved ones, according to his family. He was 94 years old.
By California Black Media
On April 22, community leader and social justice advocate Reverend Cecil Williams died at his home in San Francisco surrounded by his loved ones, according to his family.
He was 94 years old.
The reverend was a civil rights leader who advocated for the equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the Bay Area.
Williams was the head pastor of the non-denominational GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church. The church welcomed individuals from the queer community and people struggling with homelessness, housing instability and substance use disorder (SUD).
Through his work, Rev. Williams attracted national attention. Prominent political and cultural leaders such as Maya Angelou, Bono, Oprah Winfrey, and Bill Clinton all attended church services at Glide.
Congressmember Barbara Lee (D-CA-12) said she is deeply saddened about the passing of her dear friend.
“The Reverend changed the lives of millions through radical love, support, inclusivity, and a commitment to service to the most marginalized,” Lee said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said that the reverend inspired people across California to embody the values of generosity and acceptance.
Rev. Williams was, “a visionary leader whose legendary compassion and love for his community transformed the lives of people from all walks of life,” Newsom said.
Rev. Williams served as the chief executive officer of the Glide Foundation until his retirement in 2023.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of May 1 – 7, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 1 – 7, 2024
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Community2 weeks ago
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