The Rigged LLAD Election

City officials rigged the results of a recent election that raised property taxes to finance the city's Landscape and Lighting Assessment District. This was first reported by Oakland Residents for Peaceful Neighborhoods, and it is outrageous.

The city wanted to get measure passed, because they underestimated how much the LLAD district would cost. Since property tax owners opposed it, the city changed the rules for the election. As explained by this excellent East Bay Express article, instead of counting votes, they counted how much an individual property owner would have to pay. As expected, the majority of property owners voted against the measure, but the city figured that the Port of Oakland, which owns a lot of property would pull the measure through.

But it turns out that the Port of Oakland did not own enough property to out vote the property owners. So guess what the city did?

"The city valued the port's votes at nearly three times more than they should have been worth. And without that vote manipulation, the LLAD would have lost."

City Attorney John Russo declined to comment to the East Bay Express.