City Government

Councilmember McElhaney Seeks Justice at July 31 Public Ethics Commission

Published

4 years ago

July 28, 2017

By R.M. Arnold,

The Public Ethics Commission (PEC) staff released a report Monday accusing Councilmember McElhaney of violating the city’s ethics rules when seeking to get an out of town developer to build according to the code.

“I take our city’s ethics laws seriously and I look forward to this matter being finalized on July 31 by the Public Ethics Commission,” she said.

The controversy stems from an appeal the Councilmember’s husband filed on behalf of the neighbors impacted by a questionable condominium project.

“I was the one that got my wife involved. The guy was extremely disrespectful to my neighbor, and all we wanted him to do was build right,” said Clarence McElhaney Jr. who filed the appeal.

“At the outset when my husband brought the issue to my attention, I asked our City Attorney for guidance about whether I could assist my neighbors with the condo project given that it is next to my house, and I followed the advice I received,” said Councilmember McElhaney, who maintains that she did nothing wrong.

Community members had spent over a year trying to collaborate with the property owner and the planning staff, to improve the design to complement the neighborhood and address safety concerns, but their concerns were ignored.

“They came to me as a last resort,” says McElhaney, who expressed concerns that there is a pattern and practice of ignoring Black residents when out-of-town developers seek to get permits.

McElhaney’s husband then followed the same public process available to everyone to bring the issue to the city Planning Commission. During the appeal process, there was an issue as to whether the design of the project met the city’s open space requirements.

“I felt like the commission would benefit from having a subject-area expert opine, so I asked a local architect to testify on this specific technical question,” said Councilmember McElhaney. “If I had thought asking the architect for help could implicate the ethics laws, I, of course, would not have done so. My husband paid an independent planner to represent the neighbors, so if we thought that we had to pay for the expert testimony, we would have done so. There is no guidance we received that suggested that this was necessary.”

After numerous allegations against the councilmember, the only issue that must be clarified now is whether asking an architect for help on behalf of a community effort is a gift to the councilmember.

“I appreciate the PEC staff and the important work they perform on behalf of the city,” she said. “But I also believe that this matter exposes important public policy questions such as this that should be answered by the full Commission in a public forum. I look forward to resolving this matter with the Commissioners on Monday the 31st.”

The meeting will be held 6:30 p.m. at Oakland City Hall, Hearing Room 1.

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Activism

Zoom Town Hall Meeting to Stop State Takeover of Oakland Schools

The Zoom Town Hall, sponsored by the Oakland Post Salon & Oakland Education Association (OEA), will take place Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time (U.S. and Canada)

Published

4 hours ago

January 22, 2022

Oakland Post

Students, parents and teachers protested in January 2019 against the closure of Roots International Academy in East Oakland as the school board voted to permanently close the school - under the guidance of the Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team(FCMAT) and Karen Monroe of Alameda County Office of Education. Photo courtesy of ABC7.

By Post Staff

There will be a Zoom town hall meeting to learn about and take action to stop the takeover of the Oakland Unified School District by superintendent L. K. Monroe of the Alameda County Office of Education and the Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT) on behalf of the State of California.

The Zoom Town Hall, sponsored by the Oakland Post Salon & Oakland Education Association (OEA), will take place Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time (U.S. and Canada)

Join the discussion as we seek answers to the following questions:

How did this happen?
Why is L. Karen Monroe, Alameda County office of Education, doing this?
What is the role of the Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT)?
Why are they trying to force us to close more schools?
Why do they demand massive budget cuts when schools are awash in billions of dollars of state and federal funding?
What can we do to stop this?

https://bit.ly/saveOUSD

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

A short video that explains the issue can be viewed at https://bit.ly/noFCMAT

City Government

Gov. Newsom Proposes New Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications as part of California Blueprint

Established within the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), the new office will formalize and build on the work the state carried out as part of the 2020 Census and COVID-19 public awareness and community engagement campaigns. The new office’s first campaigns will include COVID-19 and climate justice.

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2022

Oakland Post

The OCPSC will work directly with respective State departments to develop priority public awareness and community outreach initiatives, facilitate coordination and collaboration across State government to maximize impact in California’s communities, provide grant funding to CBOs and other partner organizations, and share community insights with relevant State and external stakeholders.

By Emily Breslin

As part of the California Blueprint released Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed $65 million in ongoing General Fund monies to create the new Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications (OCPSC) to take on the critical role of managing priority public education and community engagement efforts and provide ongoing support to community-based organizations (CBOs).

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and during the 2020 Census, our community partners on the ground have played a major role in reaching Californians – especially our most marginalized communities,” said Newsom. “These organizations are committed to creating more resilient, healthy, and safe communities, and the new Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications will formalize support for these partners and catalyze the social infrastructure necessary to build a California for All.”

“Addressing climate change and building thriving communities in California requires not only an all-of-government approach but depends on the critical contributions of California’s frontline communities and the organizations that activate and organize them, said Samuel Assefa, director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. “As the state’s land use and planning agency, the Office of Planning and Research understands the unique value of public awareness and education and the singular role that community-based organizations play as trusted sources of information and in organizing local people power.”

“Our partnerships with diverse, trusted community-based organizations strengthened the State’s ability to engage Californians during the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 Census,” said Maricela Rodriguez, director of Civic Engagement and Strategic Partnerships in Governor Newsom’s Office. “We learned valuable lessons during these campaigns and the Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications will build upon them for future community outreach and engagement efforts.”

Emily Breslin is the deputy director of Communications and External Affairs, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.

Activism

City’s Environmental Report on Oakland A’s Project Fails to Protect Health and Safety of Local Residents, Says Community Coalition

“The City has rushed the Final EIR in order to meet the arbitrary end of the year deadline set by the Oakland A’s,” according to a factsheet released by the East Oakland Stadium Alliance (EOSA). “The City Council and Planning Commission should not be bullied by the Oakland A’s into certifying an EIR that fails to adequately consider the project’s full impact on the neighboring community and Port operations.” The public can attend and participate in the Final EIR vote at the City of Oakland Planning Commission Zoom meeting, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 3 p.m. at: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82519936593

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2022

Ken Epstein

The public can attend and participate in the Final EIR vote at the City of Oakland Planning Commission Zoom meeting, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 3 p.m. at: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82519936593

Oakland Port Commission Zoom hearing on Final EIR set for Jan. 19 at 3 p.m.

By Ken Epstein

The real estate development at Howard Terminal proposed by billionaire developer John Fisher, the owner of the Oakland A’s, and backed by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf “will result in numerous significant and unavoidable impacts in critical areas of concern such as toxics, traffic, air quality, and public safety,” according to a factsheet released by the East Oakland Stadium Alliance (EOSA).

An examination of the 3,500-page Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) produced by city staff found that the Final EIR did not adopt any of the recommendations from the over 400 comments that were submitted by community members who pointed out numerous deficiencies with the Draft EIR, according to the factsheet released by EOSA.

“By refusing to substantively improve the Draft EIR in response to these hundreds of comments, and instead simply defending the previous analysis, the City and the A’s (in the Final EIR) are ignoring the majority of community stakeholders,” the factsheet said.

The EOSA is a coalition of local businesses, workers, labor organizations, and Oakland community members who are concerned about the Oakland A’s’ proposal to leave behind their current Coliseum location in East Oakland and build a new stadium in the middle of Oakland’s thriving working waterfront. Coalition partners include the ILWU, California Trucking Association, Acts Full Gospel Church, Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, SSA Marine, Schnitzer Steel and the Oakland East Bay Democratic Club.

“The City has rushed the Final EIR in order to meet the arbitrary end of the year deadline set by the Oakland A’s,” the fact sheet said. “The City Council and Planning Commission should not be bullied by the Oakland A’s into certifying an EIR that fails to adequately consider the project’s full impact on the neighboring community and Port operations.”

Below are some of the “significant and unavoidable impacts of the Oakland A’s Howard Terminal project that the Final EIR fails to mitigate and address”:

Rail Safety – The EIR found that the project “would expose roadway users (e.g., motorists, pedestrians, bus riders, bicyclists) to a permanent or substantial transportation hazard.”

According to the factsheet, the EIR fails to provide any scenario where the project has adequate rail crossings for cars, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

“The A’s and City should not expose more people to potentially fatal safety hazards while traveling across these at-grade railroad crossings,” said the factsheet.

Air Quality – “Demolition and construction associated with the Howard Terminal development would result in daily emissions that exceed the City’s thresholds,” said the factsheet. “Significant and unavoidable air pollution impacts of the A’s Howard Terminal project also include contributing to cumulative regional air quality impacts and to cumulative health risk impacts on sensitive receptors.”

Truck Displacement -The EIR does not analyze the impacts resulting from the displaced trucks using the Howard Terminal site. This is a major impact of using Howard Terminal, but the EIR calls this analysis too “speculative” to analyze. “The project will likely result in more idling, more miles traveled, and more congestion on local roads for trucks trying to get to and from the Port,” said the factsheet

Toxic Remediation – “The EIR provides few details on the project’s required Remedial Action Plan because it still has not been drafted. This means that the City Council is being asked to approve the project before it knows the actual level of toxic remediation and the remaining toxic hazards,” according to the factsheet.

What information is in the EIR makes it clear that “the A’s don’t intend to clean up most of the site, but just to pave over and pile on the existing toxic pollution,” the factsheet said.

Maritime Compatibility – “The Draft EIR provided few comprehensive Seaport Compatibility Measures despite receiving dozens of suggestions from the maritime industry and waterfront labor that would minimize impacts on the Port,” the factsheet said.

To find out more about the East Oakland Stadium Alliance, go to www.eastoaklandstadiumalliance.com

The public can attend and participate in the Final EIR vote at the City of Oakland Planning Commission Zoom meeting, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 3 p.m. at: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82519936593