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Death Of Rent Control In Oakland
Newly Released Documents From Oaklands
Councilman (tricky) Dick
Spees Task Force Have Some Startling Revelations!
Intent Was To End Rent Control In Oakland.
Councilman (tricky) Dick
Spees Task Force Have Some Startling Revelations!
Intent Was To End Rent Control In Oakland.
Death Of Rent Control In Oakland
By Lynda Carson 8/5/01
Oakland, Ca--According to recently released documents from the members of
Councilman (tricky) Dick Spees-Task Force, the documents reveal that the intent of the Task Force was to; A) \"FIX\" the Rent Board. B) \"FIX\" the Rent Board Process. The two pronged approach of the Task Force\'s major objectives were to increase the rent\'s, and to have the rent increases go into effect as soon as possible. In a stunning revelation the released documents mention that Oaklands 3% cap on annual rent increases was viewed as Rent Control, as mentioned on the \"Brainstorm List\" of page 8 of the Agenda for April 26, 2001. One of the major decisions made by the Task Force since then, was to abolish the 3% cap on annual rent increases, resulting in millions of dollars in expected rent increases during the coming years ahead. In effect they just killed Rent Control as we knew it in Oakland, and for low-income renters this is a total disaster. This went way beyond the original intent to \"FIX\" the rent board, and it seems to have been part of the \"landlord agenda\" all along.
The documents show how this all came about in a revealing letter dated
May 2, 2001, from James Vann (oakland tenants union) to Councilmembers Nadel, and Brunner. Subject; Comments on a rent board meeting of April 16, 2001, hosted by Councilman Dick Spees. The letter mentions that members of Tenant Groups declined invitations to attend the meeting out of a distrust for Dick Spees, but that out of a long acquaintance with Spees, Vann
attended the meeting as an individual.
The letter mentions attendees as being; Spees and 2 of his aides, aide to Councilman Chang, a city attorney named Roy Schweyer, Penelope Pahl-Director of the Rent Program, 3 realtors, a lobbyist for Oakland Realtors Association,
Greg McConnel of the McConnel Group (landlord attorney-lobby group), 3 more
landlords from the Rental Housing Association including their president Rick Philips, and James Vann the individual. Whatever all of these BIG MONIED Land Barons had in mind when they convinced Spees to host the meeting, it appears that they needed some cover before promoting their agenda beyond this meeting, and the May 2 letter reveals that Spees asked Vann to bring in some tenants to the future meetings. This letter of James Vann states that; the purpose of the meeting was NOT to discuss \"just cause\" or other matters, but to \"FIX\" the rent board and the rent board process. Clearly the letter reveals that this meeting was the focus of the \"landlord agenda\" and the birth of the Task Force. Vann goes on to state in the May 2, letter, that Rick Philips of the Rental Housing Association felt that the meeting needed to dispose of \"just cause,\" and further requested that the word \"landlords\"not be used in the meetings. The ground rules for the future meetings having been set, and agreed upon, the letter reveals that James Vann accepted the responsibility for increasing tenant participation despite knowing ahead that they did not trust Dick Spees, and already declined to attend.
In another development regarding the same rent board, it was shut down during the evening of July 26, 2001. The rent board rules on complaints about
violations of the city rent ordinance, and is the place for renters to fight rent increases.
This past week near the begining of August, 2001, the Rent Board made the
news on KPFA, Sf.IMC, PoorNewsNetwork, and in the Oakland Tribune over the dismissal of Commissioner Andrew Wolff of the rent board by Mayor Jerry Brown, and how the last rent board meeting for Hearings was shut down before any more cases were heard. The released documents of the Task Force reveal that their belief (landlords) was that the rent board is not objective, but political, and the documents go on to state that the board is inconsistant and that actions of the board depends on who is there during the Hearings. The landlords intent for the existance of the Task Force was to \"FIX\" the rent board and the rent board process. The removal of certain board members or commissioners would certainly be one way to go about doing so, and Wolff was the first to go since the Task Force started to make their moves. Time after time, Commissioner Wolff angered the landlords by his decisions and tenant activism until he became a point of focus as a target. This may also serve notice to the other commissioners of what may happen to them if they do not stay in line with the \"landlord agenda.\" Mayor Jerry Brown has already appointed 2 lobbyist\'s from the landlord lobby on the rent board.
Since the Task Force came to life, the landlords ended what they viewed as rent control in Oakland by getting rid of the 3% cap on annual rent increases, and now pro-tenant Commissioner Andrew Wolff was dismissed from the rent board before his term expired without a hearing, or the needed vote by 6 Council Members to remove him as the City Charter requires.
It was not the tenant movement of Oakland that had the power to create this Task Force of Councilman (tricky) Dick Spees, and the interests of the renters of Oakland were not on the table when the Task Force first was created
during the meeting of April 16, 2001. This was clear from the list of attendees
mentioned in the May 2, 2001, letter of James Vann to Nadel/Brunner, and the mere fact that \"just cause\" and \"rent registration\" was daed on arrival.
Whatever crumbs have since been offered to the tenants sitting at the table of the Task Force it was not worth the cost, and this is just the begining.
Greg McConnel (landlord lobby) wrote a recent Opinion in the Oakland Tribune for Thursday Aug 2nd where he gloats by claiming that Just Cause will not be needed since we now have a concensus between landlords and renters of Oakland. He also goes on to claim that landlords do not evict for profit, etc...McConnel was at the first meeting to create the Task Force, and he represents landlords in the rent board hearings when renters try to defend theirselves from rent increases.
This Task Force is still working out the bugs of fixing the rent board and the rent board process so that the rent increases may occur at a faster pace.
There will be further meetings, and agendas. If you have any comments about the loss of the 3% cap on annual rent increases before it goes into effect,
then now is the time to let your voice be heard. The 3% cap on rent increases is not scheduled to end until January 1, 2001. Perhaps your participation in the process may be able to persuade them to drop that proposal from the Task Force wish list, and save rent control as we know it.
Below is a list of the participants of the Task Force, and of course in a Democratic Society such as we have, comments from the public are always
welcome to let our so-called leaders know that they are accountable for their actions. Feel free to contact them for further information, and offer them your comments.
List of Participants:
1) Penelope Pahl
Rent Arbitration Program/Director
510/238-3721
ppahl [at] oaklandnet.com
2) Richard Illigen
City Attornies Office
510/238-6517
3) Laura Lane/Tenant Rep
East Bay Community Law Center
510/548-4040
lane [at] ebclc.org
4) Eddie Ytuarte/Tenant Rep
355 Santa Clara Avenue #2 Oakland,Ca.
510/444-6089
EddieFair [at] juno.com
5) John Holmgren
Oakland Association of Realtors
510/339-2121
john [at] mortgageholmgren.com
6) James E. Vann/Tenant Rep
251 Wayne Avenue
Oakland,Ca.
510/763-0142
7) Steve Edrington (landlord lobby)
6114 LaSalle Avenue #595 Oakland Ca.
510/749-4880
sedrington [at] ccim.net
8) Rick Philips (President of Rental Housing Association-Alameda Cnty)
2015 Bywood Drive Oakland Ca
510/531-8662
rphilips9 [at] hotmail.com
9) Bielle Moore
6114 LaSalle Avenue #468 Oakland Ca
510/593-3312
biellemoore222 [at] hotmail.com
10) Megan Van Sant
Office of Councilmember Brunner
510/238-7014
mrvansant [at] oaklandnet.com
11) Justin Horner
Office of the Mayor
510/238-7257
jhorner [at] oaklandnet.com
12) Councilmember Brunner
510/238-7001
jbrunner [at] oaklandnet.com
13) Kathryn Kasch/Member of Rent Board
510/533-9169
kkasch [at] earthlink.net
14) Sharon Harrison Brown
Oakland Housing Authority
510/874-1661
shbrown [at] oakha.org
15) Pat Kernighan
Staff to Councilman Wan
510/238-7023
pkernighan [at] oaklandnet.com
16) Councilember Wan
510/238-7002
dwan [at] oaklandnet.com
By Lynda Carson 8/5/01
Oakland, Ca--According to recently released documents from the members of
Councilman (tricky) Dick Spees-Task Force, the documents reveal that the intent of the Task Force was to; A) \"FIX\" the Rent Board. B) \"FIX\" the Rent Board Process. The two pronged approach of the Task Force\'s major objectives were to increase the rent\'s, and to have the rent increases go into effect as soon as possible. In a stunning revelation the released documents mention that Oaklands 3% cap on annual rent increases was viewed as Rent Control, as mentioned on the \"Brainstorm List\" of page 8 of the Agenda for April 26, 2001. One of the major decisions made by the Task Force since then, was to abolish the 3% cap on annual rent increases, resulting in millions of dollars in expected rent increases during the coming years ahead. In effect they just killed Rent Control as we knew it in Oakland, and for low-income renters this is a total disaster. This went way beyond the original intent to \"FIX\" the rent board, and it seems to have been part of the \"landlord agenda\" all along.
The documents show how this all came about in a revealing letter dated
May 2, 2001, from James Vann (oakland tenants union) to Councilmembers Nadel, and Brunner. Subject; Comments on a rent board meeting of April 16, 2001, hosted by Councilman Dick Spees. The letter mentions that members of Tenant Groups declined invitations to attend the meeting out of a distrust for Dick Spees, but that out of a long acquaintance with Spees, Vann
attended the meeting as an individual.
The letter mentions attendees as being; Spees and 2 of his aides, aide to Councilman Chang, a city attorney named Roy Schweyer, Penelope Pahl-Director of the Rent Program, 3 realtors, a lobbyist for Oakland Realtors Association,
Greg McConnel of the McConnel Group (landlord attorney-lobby group), 3 more
landlords from the Rental Housing Association including their president Rick Philips, and James Vann the individual. Whatever all of these BIG MONIED Land Barons had in mind when they convinced Spees to host the meeting, it appears that they needed some cover before promoting their agenda beyond this meeting, and the May 2 letter reveals that Spees asked Vann to bring in some tenants to the future meetings. This letter of James Vann states that; the purpose of the meeting was NOT to discuss \"just cause\" or other matters, but to \"FIX\" the rent board and the rent board process. Clearly the letter reveals that this meeting was the focus of the \"landlord agenda\" and the birth of the Task Force. Vann goes on to state in the May 2, letter, that Rick Philips of the Rental Housing Association felt that the meeting needed to dispose of \"just cause,\" and further requested that the word \"landlords\"not be used in the meetings. The ground rules for the future meetings having been set, and agreed upon, the letter reveals that James Vann accepted the responsibility for increasing tenant participation despite knowing ahead that they did not trust Dick Spees, and already declined to attend.
In another development regarding the same rent board, it was shut down during the evening of July 26, 2001. The rent board rules on complaints about
violations of the city rent ordinance, and is the place for renters to fight rent increases.
This past week near the begining of August, 2001, the Rent Board made the
news on KPFA, Sf.IMC, PoorNewsNetwork, and in the Oakland Tribune over the dismissal of Commissioner Andrew Wolff of the rent board by Mayor Jerry Brown, and how the last rent board meeting for Hearings was shut down before any more cases were heard. The released documents of the Task Force reveal that their belief (landlords) was that the rent board is not objective, but political, and the documents go on to state that the board is inconsistant and that actions of the board depends on who is there during the Hearings. The landlords intent for the existance of the Task Force was to \"FIX\" the rent board and the rent board process. The removal of certain board members or commissioners would certainly be one way to go about doing so, and Wolff was the first to go since the Task Force started to make their moves. Time after time, Commissioner Wolff angered the landlords by his decisions and tenant activism until he became a point of focus as a target. This may also serve notice to the other commissioners of what may happen to them if they do not stay in line with the \"landlord agenda.\" Mayor Jerry Brown has already appointed 2 lobbyist\'s from the landlord lobby on the rent board.
Since the Task Force came to life, the landlords ended what they viewed as rent control in Oakland by getting rid of the 3% cap on annual rent increases, and now pro-tenant Commissioner Andrew Wolff was dismissed from the rent board before his term expired without a hearing, or the needed vote by 6 Council Members to remove him as the City Charter requires.
It was not the tenant movement of Oakland that had the power to create this Task Force of Councilman (tricky) Dick Spees, and the interests of the renters of Oakland were not on the table when the Task Force first was created
during the meeting of April 16, 2001. This was clear from the list of attendees
mentioned in the May 2, 2001, letter of James Vann to Nadel/Brunner, and the mere fact that \"just cause\" and \"rent registration\" was daed on arrival.
Whatever crumbs have since been offered to the tenants sitting at the table of the Task Force it was not worth the cost, and this is just the begining.
Greg McConnel (landlord lobby) wrote a recent Opinion in the Oakland Tribune for Thursday Aug 2nd where he gloats by claiming that Just Cause will not be needed since we now have a concensus between landlords and renters of Oakland. He also goes on to claim that landlords do not evict for profit, etc...McConnel was at the first meeting to create the Task Force, and he represents landlords in the rent board hearings when renters try to defend theirselves from rent increases.
This Task Force is still working out the bugs of fixing the rent board and the rent board process so that the rent increases may occur at a faster pace.
There will be further meetings, and agendas. If you have any comments about the loss of the 3% cap on annual rent increases before it goes into effect,
then now is the time to let your voice be heard. The 3% cap on rent increases is not scheduled to end until January 1, 2001. Perhaps your participation in the process may be able to persuade them to drop that proposal from the Task Force wish list, and save rent control as we know it.
Below is a list of the participants of the Task Force, and of course in a Democratic Society such as we have, comments from the public are always
welcome to let our so-called leaders know that they are accountable for their actions. Feel free to contact them for further information, and offer them your comments.
List of Participants:
1) Penelope Pahl
Rent Arbitration Program/Director
510/238-3721
ppahl [at] oaklandnet.com
2) Richard Illigen
City Attornies Office
510/238-6517
3) Laura Lane/Tenant Rep
East Bay Community Law Center
510/548-4040
lane [at] ebclc.org
4) Eddie Ytuarte/Tenant Rep
355 Santa Clara Avenue #2 Oakland,Ca.
510/444-6089
EddieFair [at] juno.com
5) John Holmgren
Oakland Association of Realtors
510/339-2121
john [at] mortgageholmgren.com
6) James E. Vann/Tenant Rep
251 Wayne Avenue
Oakland,Ca.
510/763-0142
7) Steve Edrington (landlord lobby)
6114 LaSalle Avenue #595 Oakland Ca.
510/749-4880
sedrington [at] ccim.net
8) Rick Philips (President of Rental Housing Association-Alameda Cnty)
2015 Bywood Drive Oakland Ca
510/531-8662
rphilips9 [at] hotmail.com
9) Bielle Moore
6114 LaSalle Avenue #468 Oakland Ca
510/593-3312
biellemoore222 [at] hotmail.com
10) Megan Van Sant
Office of Councilmember Brunner
510/238-7014
mrvansant [at] oaklandnet.com
11) Justin Horner
Office of the Mayor
510/238-7257
jhorner [at] oaklandnet.com
12) Councilmember Brunner
510/238-7001
jbrunner [at] oaklandnet.com
13) Kathryn Kasch/Member of Rent Board
510/533-9169
kkasch [at] earthlink.net
14) Sharon Harrison Brown
Oakland Housing Authority
510/874-1661
shbrown [at] oakha.org
15) Pat Kernighan
Staff to Councilman Wan
510/238-7023
pkernighan [at] oaklandnet.com
16) Councilember Wan
510/238-7002
dwan [at] oaklandnet.com
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The truth came out at least once before, in 1979, after the Jonestown Massacre in Guyana, perpetrated by the CIA, led by CIA agent, Nixon supporter, and Democratic Party election frauder, Jim Jones. Jim Jones and his People's Temple committed election fraud for the Democratic Party in the 1970s in San Francisco, in particular in the 1975 mayor's race. While George Moscone was a liberal and loved by liberals, he was a Democrat, and like all capitalist politicians, did not hesitate to commit election fraud to get elected. See http://www.brasscheck.com/jonestown/electionfraud.html
Moscone's most famous deed was the vicious attack on the workingclass Asian-Americans at the International Hotel, with the midnight eviction of the old people at that hotel, led by "liberal" Democratic Party sheriff Richard Hongisto, on August 4, 1977.
The murder of the people at Jonestown took place on November 18, 1978, and the coroner and the courts of Guyana judged this event as being a murder of over 900 people, including over 200 children. For a description of the event, see http://home.earthlink.net/~kkinsolv/
Mayor George Moscone and gay Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by an ex-cop and former supervisor Dan White, on November 27, 1978.
Jerry Brown also benefited from the People's Temple's election fraud, as described at the website http://brasscheck.com/jonestown/
People's Temple was an attempt by the CIA-US government to destroy the black liberation movement in the Bay Area, which was home to the Black Panther Party, 1966-1974, and many other black liberation organizations. Willie Brown, that good black Democrat, was also a supporter and beneficiary of the political activities of the People's Temple, as the above website describes. Willie Brown had to face Kathleen Cleaver of the Black Panther Party on the Peace & Freedom Party ticket in his re-election race for the Assembly in 1968.
"A few weeks after the massacre in Jonestown, Governor Jerry Brown ordered the Temple's records removed from San Francisco." From http://www.brasscheck.com/jonestown/pics.html
The lack of concern on the part of Jerry Brown for the children murdered at Guyana is highlighted in the transcript from the Donahue Show of 10/8/79, provided at:
http://www.brasscheck.com/jonestown/jbrown.html
Here is the text of that transcript:
From the Donahue Show. Transcript No. 10089. October 8, 1979.
AUDIENCE: (Marilyn Wood) The governor mentioned that he was concerned about the poor and millions of starving children. I wonder why he wasn't more concerned about the guardianships of the hundreds of children he signed over to Reverend Jim Jones.
GOV. BROWN: That's not true.
AUDIENCE: There was an article
GOV. BROWN: I know there was an article, but the article was false. The state of California provides money, as well as the federal government, for local welfare programs, aid to dependent children, as well as foster care, and those programs are supervised at the local county level. And our State Department of Welfare has investigated those problems and has required the counties and local governments to tighten up. But that was never done within the approval of the state government. In fact, it was done by misrepresentation at the local level and was never brought to our attention.
AUDIENCE: But there were quotes and pictures with you and Jones, commenting on how great he was, and what a responsible person he was.
GOV. BROWN: That's not true.
AUDIENCE: Are you denying, then, this article, this series of articles?
GOV. BROWN: Yes. It's totally false.
AUDIENCE: You had no involvement. You're not involved in any kind of a cover-up - and the State of California is not involved in any kind of a cover-up involving these children.
GOV. BROWN: That's right, and if you have any information to the contrary, I'd like to hear about it.
AUDIENCE: I think you should read this series of articles*
* A series of seven articles written by Kenneth Wooden for the Chicago Sun-Times (June 1979.) California officials refused to talk to a federal Investigation Unit about the children of Jonestown. Attempts by the writer to reach even Gov. Brown's press secretaries for rebuttal were also rebuffed.
Investigative reporter Gordan Lindsay claims he repeatedly warned Jerry Brown of the cruelty and misuse of public funds in People's Temple. Several former Temple members who informed the Governor's office in Sacramento of Jones' crimes were also ignored.
Brown had accepted People's Temple contributions and the help of the church's children in his electoral campaigns. He had known, too, the potential votes Jones's "troops" commanded for future campaigns for higher office.
Source: Kenneth Wooden, former reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times
"The Staff Investigative Group was informed by State Department witnesses that the U.S. Embassy in Guyana was never asked by California welfare officials to check on the welfare and whereabouts of California foster children reported living in Jonestown."
- House Foreign Affairs Committee Report: "The Assassination of Representative Leo J. Ryan and the Jonestown, Guyana, Tragedy."
McConnel is a pig that specializes in looting renters.
Owners, tenants find agreement
RENT control and just cause have been hot issues in Oakland for the past two years. As rents increased, tenants complained of economic evictions and demanded just cause, rent registration, zero annual rent adjustments and a better rent board.
Owners vigorously denied that they evicted tenants for economic reasons, both because such evictions are illegal and because with rare exception, owners only evict bad tenants. They opposed registration and countered with demands for annual rent adjustments based upon the Consumer Price Index. They railed against the rent board because decisions were slow and inconsistent.
Most council members lost patience with the bickering and just wanted the rent wars to go away. Dick Spees, however, saw that the two sides and the city actually agreed on one thing -- the rent board was ineffective.
Councilmember Spees convened a meeting of stakeholders to see if he could transition their shared displeasure with the rent board into consensus on a few significant changes. Over a two-month period, Spees, Vice Mayor Brunner, Councilmember Wan, the Oakland Association of Realtors, the Oakland Tenants Union, the Rental Housing Association and city staff ironed out various proposals.
Just cause was taken off the table. In exchange, tenants got strong penalties against owners who evict and raise the rent. Rent registration was rejected, but the parties agreed that owners must report the rent to the rent board when a new tenancy follows a 30-day termination.
Owners got an automatic annual adjustment based upon the average of the CPI less shelter and the full CPI, and a system for voluntary mediation. The rent board got a $1.5 million budget paid for by a $24 per unit fee that is split equally between owners and tenants.
More issues will be decided over the summer, including setting the rent for new tenancies that follow an eviction, and attorney fees.
Whether this is a great deal will be decided over the next few years. For now, the important thing is that stakeholders actually sat down together and listened to each other's positions. In the process, those who kept an open mind learned that people on the other side of the table had some valid points.
To be sure, owners hate the idea of expanding regulation, and there are many things that OAR would like to substitute for rent control. But given where we are, those kinds of changes could not be had at this time.
The bottom line is that we favor negotiation over street warfare. We believe that the consensus compromise creates a fair and rational way to discourage economic evictions and thereby completely eliminates any possible need for just cause evictions. It also gives owners a fair and predictable annual adjustment and a voluntary mediation process.
Whether this works depends in large part on whether owners and tenants are confident that the system is administered fairly, even handily, and with respect for the parties that appear before the agency. OAR will work in a collaborative effort with others to keep the rent board user-friendly to owners and tenants.
WE tip our hats to Spees for having the guts and patience to take the gamble that brought the parties to the table. We thank Vice Mayor Brunner for her important leadership, and acknowledge the hard work of Councilmember Wan and the other stakeholders. This has been a good start.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg McConnell is a rental housing consultant and legislative advocate. He advises the Oakland Association of Realtors on local rent control matters.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
©1999-2001 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
Friday, August 03, 2001 4:47 AM MST
Fired tenant activist says mayor erred
Brown denies political motivation
By Laura Counts
STAFF WRITER
OAKLAND -- A tenant activist is protesting Mayor Jerry
Brown's decision to remove him from the Residential
Rent and Relocation Board without a hearing because he purchased a condominium.
The spat over removal of attorney Andrew Wolff, who
had served on the board as a tenant representative,
shut down last week's rent board meeting. It has
fueled the ire of activists who contend Brown violated
the City Charter and responded to pressure from
landlord groups.
Brown denies the move was politically motivated. After
an aide brought the issue to his attention, Brown said
he was inclined to let Wolff serve out the remaining
two months in his term. But City Attorney John Russo
told him Wolff no longer meets the criteria to be a
tenant representative.
"It does tend to undermine the structure of the board
(if he is no longer a tenant)," Brown said. "It casts
a legal cloud over these hearings."
Wolff has demanded a hearing. Under the charter,
members of boards and commissions can be removed for good cause, only after a hearing of the City Council.
"I just think the way they are going about trying to
replace me is sidestepping the City Charter, because
they don't like having someone on the board who is
going to be critical of the city's position," he said.
"I don't believe the mayor has the legal authority to
do this."
The rent board, which rules on complaints about
violations of the city's rent ordinance, is comprised
of two tenant representatives, two landlords and three
"neutrals" -- people who are neither tenants nor
landlords, usually homeowners.
The uproar underlines the acrimony between Oakland
tenants and landlords, who have long been sparring
over changes to city rent laws. Tenants have been
fighting to get them strengthened, and landlords are
fighting just as hard against the tenant agenda.
Wolff was appointed in 1998 by then-Mayor Elihu
Harris, and his term would have expired in October. He
is a member of Oakland Tenants Union and a group
working to get a just-cause eviction measure on the
ballot next year.
Wolff said he made no secret about the fact he was
buying an Oakland condo.
He had even consulted Alan Beales, a landlord
representative on the board, as to whether he thought
it was a good deal. Wolff closed on the purchase in
February.
Beginning in April, Beales said he repeatedly
questioned whether Wolff could keep his seat.
"I don't think it is correct for him to stay," Beales
said. "He is doing a disservice to the tenant's cause,
and to his own profession (by fighting it)."
According to several accounts, Deputy City Attorney
Richard Illgen gave an opinion at a public meeting
that Wolff could serve out his term.
The rent ordinance only says representatives must be a
tenant when they are appointed, but gives no
instruction on what to do in the case of a change in
status.
Illgen did not return phone calls for comment.
But City Attorney Russo has since overruled Illgen. He
said Wolff is not being removed for cause, but no
longer qualifies for the seat because he is not a
tenant.
He likened it to a member of the Port Commission,
which requires Oakland residency, moving out of town.
"Based on the council's legislative history and an
attorney general's opinion in a similar case, he does
not qualify," Russo said. "The intent of the council
was clear. It has nothing to do with how he votes or
how he dresses -- he was a tenant and he is no
longer."
The mayor said he asked Russo for his opinion after
aide Justin Horner brought it to his attention.
Horner said he had several conversations with Wolff,
who told him he would step down when Brown found a
replacement for him.
"I had no advance notice he would make a big stink out
of it," Brown said.
Wolff disputes Horner's account. He said he told
Horner he might consider resigning if he knew his
replacement was "someone who I considered a positive force, someone who would be independent."
Brown has nominated Ahmad Mansur, the chief executive of NetFutures, a technology company that has worked on public projects, including the computer program at the Acorn housing project. His confirmation is scheduled for the city manager's summer recess agenda -- actions Robert Bobb is authorized to take during the council's break, but could still be rescinded by the council in September.
Wolff received a terse letter from Brown on July 24,
saying he was no longer on the board. He showed up for
the July 24 rent board meeting anyway, and his arrival
caused a stir.
After several minutes of confusion, the meeting was
canceled -- ostensibly because board members could not meet in closed session with someone who was not on the board.
But tenant groups read more into it. James Vann of the
Oakland Tenants Union said Brown had promised the
group during his campaign he would consult with them
on board appointments. Vann believes Brown only wants to appoint tenants without activist backgrounds.
"There was no reason to target (Wolff) other than the
mayor is responding to pressure from landlords," he
said. "It's just another example of Jerry running
roughshod not just over tenants, but over Oakland. We
don't think he is giving tenants a modicum of
respect."
Even Beales said he believed Wolff was entitled to a
hearing.
"There are very strict regulations about how a
commission member may be terminated, and it does take an act of the council," he said. "John (Russo) may be right, but let's wear belts and suspenders (cover our
bases) too."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1999-2001 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
___________________________________________
fixed. Looks like it's the same thing going on at the
rent arbitration program. When the screwball landlords
said they were out to FIX the rent board they were not fooling around.