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.

Message from Nancy Nadel

Councilwoman Nancy Nadel recently sent out this e-mail to constituents:

Dear Oakland Resident,



We are in the midst of troubled times in Oakland. I have been receiving many calls and emails about the issues surrounding the City Administrator and the Mayor’s response. As a scientist by training, I am intent on getting all the facts before rushing to judgment as I determine the best course for the city and continue my work to empower our residents to be active, productive and proud of their city. As I become aware of the need for deeper investigation, I will approach the appropriate level of government to provide it.



I want to assure my constituents and all the residents of Oakland, that I will work diligently to expose and eliminate any corruption and just plain sloppy practices that diminish our city and devalue the hard work of the many city employees who are principled and reliable.



Whenever there is a crisis, there is a dance of opportunism of which we should all be wary. I encourage you as Oakland residents to listen and evaluate carefully all that you hear and see going on whether in the press or in the realm of politics. Leadership is not the same as opportunistic power grabbing. The kind of leadership Oakland needs is leadership that will inspire honest and ethical behavior, and empower Oakland’s residents and workers to be all that they can be.



Sincerely,


Nancy Nadel

APAC Meeting, July 8

Adams Point Action Council Meeting
Tuesday, July 8, 7:00-8:00 PM at
The Bellevue Club, 525 Bellevue Ave, Oakland, CA - (510) 451-1000ý

1. Welcome / Agenda Review Matt Info 7:00-7:05 pm
2. Report from 14X Problem Solving Officer, Q&A Menandro
Madlansacay Info and Discussion 7:05-7:20pm
3. Measure DD – Updates on Implementation Joel Peter, Measure
DD Program Manager Presentation and Discussion 7:20-7:50pm
4. National Night Out 2008 planning and coordinating Group
Discussion 7:50 - 8:00pm
5. Committee Updates, Community announcements Group Info and
discussion 8:05-8:20 pm

This is your council. We need you to make it work! You deserve safe,
quiet, and clean streets. This is the time to get involved or re-
involved.

Dellums Fires City Administrator

Late on Tuesday, Mayor Dellums finally fired Deborah Edgerly, the city administrator who ran Oakland like her private fiefdom, hiring friends and family members. Edgerly is threatening to sue to clear her name. In this case, a lawsuit would be a good thing, as all the dirty laundry that has been building up for well over a decade would finally get washed. The incident that sparked Edgerly's dismissal is that she allegedly tipped off her nephew -- a city employee and a suspected member of a violent street gang -- to a police crackdown on the gang. Edgerly, of course, oversaw the police department. She later showed up on the scene when police began towing her nephew's car as part of the operation and confronted the officers. (The operation led to the arrest of 56 suspected members of the Acorn gang.) According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "The nephew, 27-year-old William Lovan - who works for the city as a parking meter repairman - had left the car running and locked the keys inside, along with a gun" outside a West Oakland liquor store.

According to KTVU Channel 2:
KTVU Channel 2 learned that Edgerly may be the focus of federal investigation over information she divulged regarding wiretaps being used to track members of the notorious Acorn gang. The sources say that police listened in on a phone call between Lovan and Acorn gang leader Marc Anthony Candler a day or two after Edgerly's alleged confrontation with the police. During the call, Lovan reportedly told Candler twice "Get rid of all your mitts. I got this straight from the head." According to sources, the call was a warning that the "mitts" – a code word for phones – were tapped and that the information regarding the wiretaps had come "from the head," who sources believe to be Edgerly.

This isn't the first time one of Edgerly's relatives who are employed by the City of Oakland has been in trouble. According to a post on A Better Oakland,
"Another on of Edgerly’s nephews was at the center of controversy 2 years ago- he was the animal control officer who killed animals without putting them to sleep first and tossed half-alive animals on top on dead animal carcasses in the freezer. He was pulled off duty — then a new animal control director from Florida was hired in response the the demoralizing crisis. He quit without notice when Edgerly unilaterally re-instated her nephew back into contact with animals. Suffice it to say, we have a new Shelter Director and it is my understanding that Rashon McLarty, the nephew in question, is no longer in contact with animals. But that whole mess was in early indicator of Edgerly’s protecting and promoting relatives."


The always excellent SF Chronicle columnist Chip Johnson provides a telling anecdote about how race was used to cover-up for incompetence and nepotism inthe City of Oakland. Oakland blogger and entrepreneur Zennie Abraham provides more examples. He writes: "Oakland's government has a long history of hating well-educated Black men who don't follow the normal ethnic stereotypes."