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State Reveals How City Lost $600,000 to Help Workers

Published

13 years ago

February 7, 2013

Oakland Post

Vice Mayor Larry Reid

John Bailey

La Tronda Lumpkins

Bryan Parker

Pat Kernighan

By Ken A. Epstein
Part 2

City of Oakland officials are explaining how they lost $600,000 in federal job training money to provide training for laid off-workers, after the loss was made public by Vice Mayor Larry Reid at last week’s meeting of the City’s Council Community and Economic Development Committee.
The city had received the federal National Emergency Grant funds, administered by the state Employment Development Department (EDD), in 2010 during the last months of Mayor Ron Dellums´ administration. The grant was originally supposed to be spent by June 30, 2012.
The purpose of the funds was to provide on-the-job training to people who were suffering “prolonged unemployment” as a result of the last recession, according to Dan Stephens, of the Communications Office, EDD Public Affairs Branch.
The City of Oakland was one of 20 agencies awarded this funding based on unemployment rate, poverty levels, and other labor market data, Stephens told the Post in an email response to questions.
The city’s ability to utilize the grant was initially slowed down because the two agencies that were supposed to spend the money had not received their awards through an open bidding process. Nor did the two agencies, Youth Employment Partnership and Volunteers of America, have experience running on-the-job training programs.
To use the money, the state required the city to remedy two issues: it had to conduct a public process to find agencies, and the agencies chosen had to be able to properly run the job training programs.
“During the initial phase of this project, the state hosted periodic conference calls with all 20 of this grant’s project operators (grantees). Many of them were challenged to get their projects operational due to their limited expertise running this type of training program,” said Stephens.
(Oakland) also struggled with some provider procurement issues (public recruitment of agencies), which further delayed implementation of their project. As a result, their contract for this project wasn’t even finalized until August 2011,” Stephens said. “The city was periodically reminded of the need to develop a corrective action plan that would get their project implemented quickly.”
“Warnings were issued periodically primarily through the conference calls … with all the grantees. There was particular emphasis put on having the better performing grantees share best practices with the others,” said Stephens.
“The city’s current Workforce Investment Act (WIA) administrator John Bailey and his staff were first notified in late October 2011, that the City needed to deobligate (send back) funding from this project or present a written justification substantiating why they should be allowed to retain this funding as the availability of this funding to the state was scheduled to end on June 30, 2012,” he said.
“In early November 2011, the state communicated a specific request to Mr. Bailey to deobligate $300,000 of the original award of $725,462. This request was subsequently modified in mid-December 2011 to increase the amount to $400,000,” he said
According to Stephens, the state provided assistance to the city through a variety of means including the periodic conference calls, including advice and support in trying to address the issues of seeking new agencies that could provide on-the-job training services.
Initially, $400,000 was sent back on Dec. 27, 2011. An additional $125,462 was sent back on May 7, 2012, Stephens said.
Left in the grant was $200,000, for which the Oakland Private Industry Council (PIC) received a contract from the city three weeks before the originally scheduled sunset date. PIC was able to spend $80,849 by Sept. 30, after the state granted an extension.
An additional $119,150.72 was returned on Nov. 2, 2012 as part of the city’s “closeout,” Stephens said.
WIB Executive Director John Bailey, who took his city position the beginning of 2011, was previously CEO of Volunteers of America, which was one of the agencies that had been originally selected by city to implement the grant.
“This was a grant from the federal government,” Bailey said. “The funds were pretty restrictive in terms of use.”
“What we discovered, once looked at this,” he said, was the way the city had designed the programs “was out of line with federal requirements on how the money should be spent.”
In addition, the city had not gone through the correct process “in picking the agencies,” he said. “We were much more interested in staying within the federal guidelines than spending the money.”
“Those two things together created quite a challenge in being able to spend the money within the timeline,” he said.
“When we talked to them (the state), they said they would not waive the (agency selection) process,” he said. “There was a concern that (it) would be a very lengthy time process,” he said. “A decision was made that we needed to act on this right away.”
“To save some of the money,” he said, a contract was awarded to PIC a few months before the September 2012 cutoff date.
“It’s a real shame when Oakland can’t take advantage of that much money for such a critical need. We need to make sure that never happens again,” said City Council President Pat Kernighan, who is also a WIB member.
Bryan Parker, who is WIB chair and a member of the Oakland Port Commission, said he was aware of the issue, which goes back to before his tenure.
The city took over more of local workforce development functions in 2010. “There could have been better planning at the end of the Dellums administration, “when the city took back” some of the administrative functions, he said.
But now those administrative issues have been resolved, he said.
“There are other funds that are out there,” that the city can obtain, Parker said. “You can look at where we were, or you can look at where we are and where we are going.”
According to one WIB member, it was the Dellums administration that brought the jobs funding to Oakland. And it was the Quan administration that managed to lose it.
“What we need is competent leadership,” said La Tronda Lumpkins, executive director of Pivotal Points Services, a West Oakland nonprofit that serves foster youth.
“We have concerns about dollars going back to the state,” she said, speaking at this week’s WIB meeting. “This is a conversation not just about Pivotal Point but the entire community. We should stop wasting dollars that should be given to the community.
“We are so beyond wasting dollars – we are wasting lives.”

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Not Just a Southern Issue: Advocates Say SCOTUS Voting Rights Decision Has Already Started to Reshape Black Political Power

OAKLAND POST — Following the Civil War and Reconstruction, constitutional amendments expanded Black citizenship and voting rights across the South, leading to dramatic increases in Black political representation. But those gains were quickly met with violent backlash and the rise of Jim Crow laws designed to suppress Black voting through poll taxes, literacy tests, and other “race-neutral” restrictions.

Published

2 days ago

June 17, 2026

bpusa-syndication

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) whose district spans parts of Los Angeles County, joined fellow CBC member U.S. Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA-2) for a May 21 briefing with Black media outlets in California.

The lawmakers highlighted what they describe as a mounting threat to Black political representation resulting from an April 29 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened key protections under the federal Voting Rights Act.

Kamlager-Dove and Carter warned that the decision, which narrowed the role of race in redistricting, is already reshaping congressional districts across the South and undermining Black voters’ ability to elect candidates of their choice.

“While we are a super blue state, we have far to go when it comes to Black representation; we tend to take that for granted,” Kamlager-Dove said of California, noting that the Golden State has the fifth largest Black population in the country and only has three Black members of Congress.

“While I support building coalitions, we have to make sure that as a Black community we are not yielding our power,” she added.

Calling the fight “not unique to the South,” Carter urged Black communities nationwide to recognize the broader implications of the legal and political battles unfolding in Southern legislatures and courtrooms.

The Supreme Court ruling centers on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the portion of the law that prohibits voting systems or district maps that dilute the voting strength of racial minorities. For decades, Section 2 allowed civil rights groups to challenge district maps that weakened Black political representation even when lawmakers did not openly state discriminatory intent.

Now, advocates fear that standard has fundamentally changed.

“You have to have smoking gun evidence,” said Mitchell Brown, senior voting rights counsel at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, during a recent media briefing hosted by American Community Media on May 15. “Legislators are not going to say the quiet part out loud.”

The implications could stretch far beyond congressional elections, Brown said.

Section 2 protections have historically applied not only to U.S. House districts, but also to state legislatures, school boards, county commissions, judgeships, and local governing bodies. Voting rights advocates warn that weakening those protections could reshape political representation throughout the South, particularly in states with large Black populations.

“This is not just a Southern issue,” said Amir Badat, manager of Black Voters on the Rise and voting special counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Badat described the current moment as part of a much longer historical pattern.

Following the Civil War and Reconstruction, constitutional amendments expanded Black citizenship and voting rights across the South, leading to dramatic increases in Black political representation. But those gains were quickly met with violent backlash and the rise of Jim Crow laws designed to suppress Black voting through poll taxes, literacy tests, and other “race-neutral” restrictions.

“This is the same move,” Badat said.

Advocates also emphasized that the consequences of weakened voting protections extend into everyday life.

Local elected offices such as school boards, city councils, county commissions, and judgeships often determine funding priorities, public safety policy, education standards, and infrastructure investments.

“These are not abstract numbers,” Badat said. “These have real political consequences and policy consequences on people’s day-to-day lives.”

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Rest in Peace: A.M.E. Pastor and L.A Civil Rights Icon Cecil “Chip” Murray Passes

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94. “Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Published

5 months ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94.

“Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Murray oversaw the growth of FAME’s congregation from 250 members to 18,000.

“My heart is with the First AME congregation and community today as we reflect on a legacy that changed this city forever,” Bass continued.

Murray served as Senior Minister at FAME, the oldest Black congregation in the city, for 27 years. During that time, various dignitaries visited and he built strong relationships with political and civic leaders in the city and across the state, as well as a number of Hollywood figures. Several national political leaders also visited with Murray and his congregation at FAME, including Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Murray, a Florida native and U.S. Air Force vet, attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in history, worked on the school newspaper and pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He later attended Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles County, where he earned his doctorate in Divinity.

Murray is survived by his son Drew. His wife Bernadine, who was a committed member of the A.M.E. church and the daughter of his childhood pastor, died in 2013.

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Court Throws Out Law That Allowed Californians to Build Duplexes, Triplexes and RDUs on Their Properties

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional. Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

Published

5 months ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional.

Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the cities, pointing out that SB 9 discredited charter cities that were granted jurisdiction to create new governance systems and enact policy reforms. The court ruling affects 121 charter cities that have local constitutions.

Attorney Pam Lee represented five Southern California cities in the lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“This is a monumental victory for all charter cities in California,” Lee said.

However, general law cities are excluded from the court ruling as state housing laws still apply in residential areas.

Attorney General Bonta and his team are working to review the decision and consider all options that will protect SB 9 as a state law. Bonta said the law has helped provide affordable housing for residents in California.

“Our statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis requires collaboration, innovation, and a good faith effort by local governments to increase the housing supply,” Bonta said.

“SB9 is an important tool in this effort, and we’re going to make sure homeowners have the opportunity to utilize it,” he said.

Charter cities remain adamant that the state should refrain from making land-use decisions on their behalf. In the lawsuit, city representatives argued that SB 9 eliminates local authority to create single-family zoning districts and approve housing developments.