Courtesy of the Mayor’s Press Office

 The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has awarded the City of Oakland $15 million as part of the $2 billion Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program.

This significant investment aims to enhance broadband access for underserved and unserved communities across Oakland, bringing the city one step closer to achieving digital equity.

Mayor Sheng Thao expressed her gratitude for the grant, emphasizing the collaborative efforts that led to this achievement.

“This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team and partners. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the CPUC for their investment in Oakland.

“I also want to recognize Tony Batalla, our chief information officer, for his leadership and Patrick Messac from OaklandUndivided for his relentless commitment to bridging the digital divide,” said Thao. “Last Fall, I hosted a meeting in my office with the CPUC, City, and community partners to discuss our vision for a more connected Oakland. This grant is a significant milestone in making that vision a reality.”

Batalla stated, “I am extremely proud of the team that worked on this. I also want to thank the CPUC for selecting our project and providing this incredible opportunity to invest in underserved communities in Oakland.”

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Patrick Messac, director of OaklandUndivided, added, “This represents the culmination of years of collaboration between the City of Oakland, Oakland Unified School District, Oakland Housing Authority, and many trusted community partners. The Oakland Connect project will promote a more connected and more equitable Oakland.”

The CPUC’s Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program is a crucial component of California’s Broadband For All initiative, which aims to provide high-speed internet access to all Californians.

The program’s first round of awards, totaling $88.6 million, will fund projects that build community-based, future-proof, and equity-focused broadband infrastructure across the state.

For more information about the CPUC’s Federal Funding Account Recommendations and Awards, please visit their webpage.

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By Magaly Muñoz

The group advocating for the recall of Mayor Sheng Thao held a press conference Thursday morning defending themselves on why they will not hand over documents the Public Ethics Commission (PEC) requested for an investigation on the group.

Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao (OUST) is the focus of an investigation by the PEC for allegations that the group violated campaign finance laws.

Simon Russell, the enforcement chief for the PEC, filed a complaint in May that suggests that OUST used Foundational Oakland Unites (FOU), a newly founded nonprofit and alleged political action committee (PAC), to hide the origins of certain donations which would be in violation of finance reporting laws.

The complaint Russell submitted explained that there were a few discrepancies that prompted the investigation. OUST sent an email to potential donors saying they could contact FOU about “private” donations; the timing of FOUs creation to the quick $215,000 donation made to OUST for signature-gathering; and OUST and FOU having overlapping staff, such as Seneca Scott.

OUST refused to hand over documents that the PEC requested in order to conduct their investigation, which has now led to a lawsuit from the watchdog group for OUST’S failure to comply with their subpoena.

Brenda Harbin-Forte, former judge and leader of OUST, explained that while the group has nothing to hide, she believes the PEC is using this investigation for political purposes.

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“The Public Ethics Commission is abusing its investigatory authorities. I don’t like bullies,” Harbin-Forte said.

The former judge clarified that FOU is not a PAC or an independent expenditures committee, but a multipurpose nonprofit. FOU is filed under a 501(c)(4).

In the documents attached to the PECs complaint, a screenshot of Scott’s X (formerly Twitter) account was posted with a tweet that FOU was going to be formed as a PAC in order to support candidates in 2024.

LeAnna Powell, a former City Council aide for Thao, also spoke at the press conference, explaining that she currently has the only open PEC case against Thao. Several complaints have been made against the mayor for various reasons, but none have been taken on by the PEC yet.

Powell alleges that Thao and her staff forced her to work concurrently as a council aide and on the mayoral campaign on city time, which is illegal.

Powell said it’s been almost two years since filing her complaint with the PEC, but no investigation has been initiated. She disclosed that she is battling cancer and would like results before her “time is up.”

Speakers accused Thao of using her political power to influence the PEC because, allegedly, union members who are in her pocket and have donated to her campaign are working at the commission, and therefore using this as a tactic to negatively impact the recall group.

“This [accusation] is completely false and baseless. The Mayor is focused on doing the work that Oakland voters elected her to do,” the office of the mayor said in an email to the Post.

Russell wrote in a 2023 report that the PEC’s staff is too small to handle the massive amounts of complaints they receive at any given time so some cases were put on an indefinite hold.

Investigations are chosen based on greater public interest involving high-ranked officials, larger sums of money, and public safety issues. The PEC may also look at how much evidence is readily available for a case and how much staff has already invested in their investigation.

Harbin-Forte told the Post that despite her current issues with the PEC, their group is “incredibly important” but the investigations should be fair.

“The PEC should not be used to give someone an unfair advantage in this recall, which is what they’ve done,” she said.

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By Magaly Muñoz

Four years after passing Measure QQ, which advocated for youth voting in school board elections, Alameda County is progressing towards granting 16 and 17 year olds the opportunity to vote for their district directors in the upcoming November election.

The process for this outcome has been frustrating and somewhat slow for those who advocated for the measure. Two school board elections came and went since the measure was passed by 67% of the vote in 2020- one in 2022 and a special election in 2023- with many saying that would’ve been the perfect opportunity to test out the voting process.

At the time of the fall special election, the county Registrar of Voters (ROV) missed the deadline to introduce new voting systems, which were required in order to register the eligible teens for the election.

Sources told the Post that there had been considerable back and forth between the ROV and the city council, who needed to pass an ordinance to authorize teen voting, about when they would see tangible plans to make this happen. The ROV had allegedly not been very communicative with the city.

Now, the council has passed a first reading of the ordinance, and should everything run smoothly, eligible students could vote for one of the four school board seats in the fall.

Sam Davis, Oakland Unified District 1 director and board president, represented the students who participated in the voting initiative at the city council’s meeting. He told the Post he’s advocated for this measure since the beginning and is excited to see their years of efforts come to fruition.

“There’s been some different hoops to jump through, but it makes it all the more rewarding that this actually happened,” Davis said.

Davis explained that lowering the age to 16 and 17 will allow teens to get a sense of how the democratic process works before they get to vote in larger elections once they turn 18. He said with the current political climate, it’s important that teens know how to make informed decisions about their representatives.

Lukas Brekke-Miesner, Executive Director of Oakland Kids First (OKF), the group that assisted in pushing the 2020 measure forward, told the Post that he won’t feel real victory until everything is set in stone and students are standing in the voting line.

He said the teen voting was vital because it allows students to hold the board accountable when making decisions that directly affect them. Students have shared with him that they often have felt like their words were going through one ear and out the other when addressing the board, but this new voting changes how their voices are heard.

In 2022, Measure S for noncitizen parent voting, passed by 66% of the votes, but as of today, no word has been given on when that will see implementation in the city.

In 2016, San Francisco passed a similar measure for non-citizen school board voting but was quickly met with a lawsuit by the United States Justice Foundation and the California Public Policy Foundation, that is still ongoing. Results of that case will help determine what will happen in Oakland school board elections.

Domenichi Morris, lead organizer with OKF, said they try to involve undocumented parents’ voices as often as possible through community forums because they value the care and input parents have in their child’s lives.

With the ordinance now approved, Oakland will enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the city of Berkeley, who also passed youth voting in 2016. The MOU states that the city of Oakland and Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) will take on the primary costs of youth voting.

While costs may vary depending on how many voters are registered or by type of election, standalone or special, the November election could cost Oakland $20,672 – $22,848, based on current pre-registered voters. This number is expected to fluctuate now that youth voting is beginning its implementation in the city.

The MOU also states that Oakland and BUSD would be responsible to pay any litigation costs Alameda County might incur if sued for anything related to youth voting. The county would in turn compensate both parties due to Alameda’s negligence or willful misconduct performing its duties.

A second reading of the ordinance in order to solidify teen voting in Oakland is scheduled for July 16.

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