City Government

Mayor London Breed Announces Leadership Transition at the Office of Housing and Community Development

Published

7 years ago

July 27, 2019

Mayor London N. Breed and the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) Director Kate Hartley Monday announced that Hartley will leave her role on Friday, July 26, 2019. Current MOHCD Deputy Director of Housing, Dan Adams, will serve as Acting Director while a comprehensive search for the MOHCD Director position is undertaken.

“Kate Hartley has been an incredible and passionate leader in our City’s efforts to build more affordable housing,” said Mayor Breed. “From helping to spearhead the largest affordable housing bond in our City’s history to working to rehabilitate our public housing properties through our Rental Assistance Demonstration and HOPE SF programs, Kate has always fought for the people who need housing so badly in this City. She is a true public servant and we are sorry to see her go, but I wish her luck as she takes her next step.”

“The last five years I have spent at MOHCD, first serving as Deputy Director and now as Director, have been the most rewarding years of my professional career,” said Hartley. “I am proud to have led our department’s growth since 2014 by providing affordable housing for individuals experiencing homelessness, seniors, working families and special needs populations in San Francisco. I am also extremely gratified that we implemented an online housing lottery system to make affordable housing opportunities easier to access for all. Although I am stepping down, I remain fully committed to the work of MOHCD and to Mayor Breed’s housing goals, and I have the utmost confidence in Dan Adams to lead the way forward.”

Kate Hartley was appointed Director by the late Mayor Ed Lee in 2017. During Director Hartley’s tenure, she oversaw the revitalization of thousands of units of public housing through the Rental Assistance Demonstration and HOPE SF programs, as well as the implementation of the 2015 Affordable Housing Bond funds and placement of the 2019 Affordable Housing Bond on this year’s ballot. MOHCD also spearheaded an effort to create its first Racial Equity Action Plan under Hartley’s leadership.

Hartley has 25 years of housing experience, including time spent in nonprofit and for-profit development, as well as in public service for the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. She started her career in the field as a nonprofit developer, building affordable homes in the Bayview and Western Addition Neighborhoods. In August 2019, Hartley will begin new work in affordable housing finance for the benefit of San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area.

Dan Adams has over 20 years of affordable housing and community development experience and is a licensed architect. He has been with MOHCD for eight years, most recently as the Deputy Director of Housing overseeing the agency’s new construction pipeline, acquisition and preservation initiatives, and affordable housing policy-making and legislative affairs. In addition, he has served as a Director of Housing Development at both BRIDGE Housing and MidPen Housing.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of July 22 – 28, 2026

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

Published

20 hours ago

July 27, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of July 15 – 21, 2026

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

Published

1 week ago

July 18, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

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.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 15, 2026

Oakland Post

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.