Alameda County

Alameda County Grand Jury Says Former D.A. O’Malley Violated State, County Regulations to Win 2018 Reelection

An investigation conducted by the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury has revealed that employees in the office of former District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, including prosecutors, may have violated state and county laws and regulations by using work emails and county-owned equipment to raise money and campaign for their boss in the 2018 election, according to the recent annual Grand Jury’s report.

Published

10 months ago

July 5, 2023

Oakland Post

Former District Attorney Nancy O’Malley (left) and current District Attorney Pamela Price. Post file photos.

By Ken Epstein

“When the District Attorney’s Office management learned that there was improper behavior among District Attorney staff, they took no immediate corrective action, and staff faced no consequences related to that behavior,” according to the report, which was released on June 23.

The grand jury’s investigation, which reviewed hundreds of documents and interviewed more than 30 people, concluded that about 25 staff in the district attorney’s office campaigned during work hours, using county-owned computers and the county-operated email system to raise money for O’Malley’s 2018 reelection campaign.

“(Violations) included requests from district attorney staff to donate to O’Malley’s campaign, as well as attending campaign events, distributing of campaign flyers, and participating in photographs that district attorney staff believed were used to help her candidacy,” the report said.

In addition, the emails were coordinated with police unions in other cities and counties to request their attendance at campaign events and to discuss campaign strategy.

According to the grand jury report, county ordinances, policies and state laws governing campaign activities include:

Government Code §8314, which forbids using public resources for unauthorized use, saying it is unlawful to use public resources for political campaign activities.
California Government Code §3205, which says employees of a government agency shall not solicit political contributions from an employee of the same or another government agency.
California Penal Code §424, which makes illegal misappropriation of public funds by public officials or any other individual who has been entrusted with public funds.
Alameda County Administrative Code Chapter 3.40.020, which provides that the county’s communications system shall only be used in the conduct of county business and that no county officer shall use or permit the use of the system for other than county business.

O’Malley won reelection in 2018, defeating civil rights attorney Pamela Price. O’Malley retired at the end of her term in 2022, and Price won election as district attorney against an opponent backed by the former D.A.

Among other policies, Price’s progressive campaign pledged to shake up the staff in the district attorney’s office, end racial disparities in prosecutions, stop mass incarceration, and end prosecution of minors as adults.

According to its website, the civil grand jury works “as an arm of the Superior Court, (and) is comprised of 19 citizens authorized to investigate local government to ensure that public agencies are working in the best interests of the public… (giving) the grand jury a unique role in securing local government accountability and in examining allegations of misconduct.”

Based on its interviews, the grand jury offered two reasons that may have motivated inappropriate staff behavior:

The 2018 election was the first in many years where an incumbent district attorney faced a challenger: “The Grand Jury learned that staff of the Office of the District Attorney had very strong concerns about the outcome of the election,” the report said.

Further, staff was deeply worried that Price would shake up the D.A.’s staff. “The fear that the election of a new district attorney, who had hinted at staff layoffs or terminations, was so overwhelming that staff failed to recognize their disregard of policies regarding campaign-related behavior as potentially illegal,” according to the report.

In its interviews the grand jury found that “while some staff recognized that these emails violated policies forbidding use of the county email system for political purposes, many engaged with colleagues and others in the campaign for district attorney …. No one appears to have spoken up to remind others of policies prohibiting use of county equipment and time on activities related to a political campaign.”

In a statement released this week, District Attorney Price wrote, “The Grand Jury exposed behavior that is unacceptable and especially inexcusable for lawyers. Our new administration will not make those same mistakes or violate the laws and policies ignored by the previous administration. We will not sacrifice our integrity or the public trust for political gain.

“In the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office of today, you can no longer prosecute the law and violate the law at the same time,” she said.

Price said that because she was involved in the original complaint, the DA’s office was recused from the grand jury investigation.

The Oakland Post attempted to contact O’Malley for a response to the allegations but by the newspaper’s deadline had received no reply.

In addition to the original complaint filed with the grand jury in September 2021, a complaint was also filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), and the California Attorney General.   On May 10, 2023, the FPPC complaint was resolved as “No Violation Found.”

While the grand jury conducted a similar investigation of the 2022 election, it found “only a handful of inappropriate campaign-related emails.”

The grand jury’s recommendations included “rigorous education” of all county employees “about policies related to State and County rules regarding their behavior during political campaigns.”

In addition, the grand jury also said county employees and the public “need to know that complaints will be investigated, that consequences of policy infringement will be administered promptly and fairly, and that a complainant will know that their complaint has been addressed.”

Response to Report by Alameda County Grand Jury: “Misuse of County Information Technology Systems During the 2018 Election Cycle”

The Grand Jury Report is important and needs to be seen in proper context to be fully appreciated as the problem-solving document it should be – not the political hammer some would like it to be.

In every election cycle since 2009, the District Attorney’s office issued clear policies reminding staff of prohibitions against personal or political uses of the county IT system. Because of an oversight, the policy was not distributed in the 2018 election cycle but verbal reminders were widespread. As a result, fewer than 1% of employees were found to have run afoul of the law.

Looking at the numbers, of 363 employees of the District Attorney’s office, approximately just 25 inadvertently, inappropriately and minimally used the County IT system for campaign related communications. During that same time period, more than 77,000 emails were sent or received by the District Attorney’s office, and a statistically immeasurable number were campaign activity. No amount of improper IT use can ever be condoned, but the numbers show actual abuse was very infrequent. The Grand Jury report makes clear that when the District Attorney learned of even this small breach, every employee was required to participate in a training, which was well-documented. It is unclear why the Grand Jury did not receive the documentation.

The recommendations of the Grand Jury — particularly universal training and documentation — will ensure no errors and/or misuse of county property going forward. That’s where this discussion should end.

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Alameda County

D.A. Pamela Price Fights Back Against Recall

In an attempt to thwart the recall call campaign against her, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price announced at a press conference on Tuesday, April 30, that her team is launching a state investigation on the political action committee funding the recall. Speaking at Everett and Jones Barbeque Restaurant at Oakland’s Jack London Square, Price accused the recall campaign as undemocratic and says she will fight against injustice.

Published

1 week ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price addresses the media and her supporters during a press conference at Everett and Jones Barbeque Restaurant at Oakland's Jack London Square. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

Speaking at Everett and Jones Barbeque Restaurant at Oakland’s Jack London Square, Price accused the recall campaign as undemocratic and says she will fight against injustice.

Price announced that the California Fair Political Practices Commission (CFPPC) was looking into the complaint filed by her supporters against two groups supporting the recall.

Price said the group Reviving the Bay Area appears to be the financial and organizational arm of Save Alameda For Everyone (SAFE), the group leading the recall effort against her. The complaint by recall-opposing group Protect the Win for Public Safety alleges Reviving the Bay Area has breached the law by not filing a third quarter report listing its contributors and hiding its funding sources from the public at least through September of 2023.

Price also claimed that the SAFE recall group is functioning illegally both financially and operationally.

“Between September 2023 and November 2023, they donated approximately $578,000 to SAFE without complying with the laws that govern all political committees in California,” said Price. “We applaud the FPPC’s action to investigate this entity as well as the finances that have also come under question of the SAFE committee, where we’ve learned that they were paying some of the main spokespersons and funding an illegal force that they called a security force.

“So there have been a lot of financial irregularities, coupled with the irregular practices of the signature-gathering company PCI Communications that literally paid for hundreds of people to come into our community and gather signatures using bait-and-switch tactics and misleading people and engaging in fraudulent signature-gathering.”

Price also accused the Alameda County Registrar of Voters of not operating properly.

At a press conference at the City Hall Plaza late Tuesday afternoon, SAFE and recall supporters demanded that supervisors set a special election date before the November general election. Supporters of Price and opposers of Price clashed and spoke passionately against each other.

Supporters of the recall feel that Price’s, criminal justice reforms support perpetrators of crime, rather than the victims. They also blame Price for higher crime rates in the county. Price supporters feel that her reforms are necessary to transform an unjust system. “Price’s role is to uphold the law and this recall campaign is an attack on her,” said Oakland attorney Walter Riley.

Recall opponents reject those assertions and say Price’s critics don’t understand the role the county’s top prosecutor plays in the criminal justice system.

Price also said she would be going before the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to challenge the signature count for her recall campaign.

Later in the evening, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted in support of the recall, citing that enough signatures had been collected for the recall effort to continue.

On May 14, the Board of Supervisors will determine a date for a special election recall or place on the November ballot. According to Price, a special election recall will cost the county 15-20 million dollars and her supporters hosted another rally last week, urging the Board of Supervisors to not approve a special election recall.

#PamelaPrice #Recall #AlamedaCountyDA

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Alameda County

A Safe Place, Bay Area Domestic Violence Community Organization, Opens New Service Center in Oakland

Oakland-Bay Area non-profit, A Safe Place, announces the grand opening of its newly purchased building in Oakland that will be a service center for families that have suffered from domestic violence. The new, two-story building has over six new service rooms for counseling, mental health support groups, legal services, children’s treatment, safe space for community engagement, and partnership activities.

Published

1 week ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Façade of the new community center for A Safe Place opening on May 10 in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Courtney Slocum Riley

Special to The Post

Oakland-Bay Area non-profit, A Safe Place, announces the grand opening of its newly purchased building in Oakland that will be a service center for families that have suffered from domestic violence.

The new, two-story building has over six new service rooms for counseling, mental health support groups, legal services, children’s treatment, safe space for community engagement, and partnership activities.

Domestic violence occurrences and offenses account for a considerable amount of all violent crimes in Alameda County. A Safe Place is attempting to provide a safe place for families to heal. A Safe Place is the only comprehensive domestic violence assistance program including a safehouse, in Oakland.

The grand opening celebration will also serve as a fundraiser to build out healing, therapeutic spaces for children and adult victims and survivors and survivors of domestic violence (male and female).

The new service center will expand the work of the organization, founded in 1976 when a group of women working in San Francisco came together to address the urgent need for a shelter in the East Bay. A year later, they founded A Safe Place (ASP) in Oakland. Run solely by volunteers, they set up a crisis line to offer crisis counseling and information to battered women and their children.

The organization serves over 500 adults and children annually through a host of services including crisis counseling via 24-hour crisis line, emergency motel and safehouse sheltering, mental health services (counseling and support groups).

Under the leadership of Executive Director, Carolyn Russell, the organization has grown from a single program into the comprehensive domestic violence and assistance program. ASP strives to meet the growing and diverse needs of our growing community.

The organization hopes to complete all the upgrades and therapeutic room improvements by August 2024. The public is invited to donate to the effort by using the website at www.asafeplace.org/donate. The organization also accepts in-kind gifts as well as items from the organization’s Amazon Wishlist.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

An Oakland Homeless Shelter Is Showing How a Housing and Healthcare First Approach Can Work: Part 1

Hundreds of tents and abandoned vehicles now dot major streets and neighborhoods of the Bay Area. Unfortunately, this problem is expected to worsen as the housing market skyrockets and the cost of living becomes unattainable for most Americans.

Published

1 week ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Oak Days shelter, once a Days Hotel, resides in the Hegenberger corridor of Oakland. It is used as a temporary home to 60 residents who have experienced chronic homelessness or are medically vulnerable. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

By Magaly Muñoz

As one of California’s biggest public policy challenges, over the past four years, the state has allocated nearly $20 billion to housing and homelessness initiatives. Despite this substantial investment, the issue does not seem to be easing. Instead, the number of people without stable housing is surging.

A 2022 Point In Time (PIT) Count showed that there were 9,747 homeless individuals living on the streets in Alameda County, an almost 22% increase from the 2019 count of 8,022 homeless individuals. Many reports estimate that this number will rise once the 2024 data is released.

Amongst the many initiatives to end homelessness, the 2016 Senate Bill 1380 established California as a “housing first” state that would provide assistance, programs and funding to those experiencing homelessness. The bill recognized that the evidence-based model of prioritizing housing could end all types of homelessness and is the most effective approach to ending chronic homelessness.

In the years following the passage of the law, doctors, county officials and a community organization came together to create a first of its kind shelter to combat homelessness with housing and healthcare: the Oak Days shelter. Located in the Hegenberger corridor of Oakland, this facility, once a Days Hotel, now houses 60 individuals, some who are medically fragile.

As local counties navigated how to isolate people during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the state obtained federal funding to begin Project Roomkey, an initiative providing non-congregate shelter options, such as hotels and motels for people experiencing homelessness, to protect life and minimize strain on the healthcare system.

Dr. Alexis Chettiar, a medical director in Alameda County, witnessed firsthand how the coronavirus disease took over the lives of the most vulnerable populations who were too sick to remain stable unless they had hands-on supportive health care and permanent housing.

She also noticed a trend of medically vulnerable individuals with psychiatric illnesses or substance abuse issues being expelled from nursing homes, often ending up in encampments or unsheltered conditions.

This observation would inspire her, along with fellow medical director Catherine Hayes, to start Cardea Health, supported by county funding.

“What we really wanted to do was to be able to layer on the medical services to a permanent supportive housing environment so that people could age in place, they could stay there, no matter how their care needs change over time. They could stay there through the end of their life,” Chettiar said.

Cardea Health provides medical and personal care for almost 60 patients across two sites. One of these sites is an Old Comfort Inn that was also transformed into a shelter for those experiencing homelessness and chronic illnesses. The medical team assists with tasks such as injecting insulin, administering dialysis, helping patients use the restroom or get dressed.

Chettiar shared that she’s seen people as young as 40 years old with health-related issues mimicking that of an 80-year-old. Some individuals had untreated wounds that led to infections or chronic illnesses that went untreated for years, leading to immense suffering before they were able to receive medical attention.

The harsh conditions of living on the streets have exacerbated what could’ve been manageable situations, into a full-blown health crisis that ultimately put them on the priority list for Cardea’s health assistance.

UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative conducted a survey of 3,200 people to study who is experiencing homelessness, how they became homeless, what their experiences are and what is preventing them from exiting homelessness.

Data from those surveys showed that 45% of those experiencing homelessness reported poor or fair health and 60% reported having a chronic illness. Participants also reported that being homeless worsened their physical and mental health.

Of those experiencing health problems, 23% couldn’t access necessary healthcare in the prior six months. Additionally, 38% visited emergency departments without hospitalization and 21% reported a hospitalization for a physical health concern.

Chettiar stated that the work at Cardea is intended to reduce hospital visits for those living on the streets, providing essential care where it’s needed most.