Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Noon Rally Today at Oakland City Hall Against Racist, Classist Parking Enforcement
Three Oakland parking enforcement whistleblowers have come forward to reveal that the city has been issuing "courtesy notices" to some of its wealthiest residents in the Montclair and Broadway Terrace neighborhoods while everyone else has been getting actual parking tickets with fines up to $100. This is the result of a July 24th, 2009, directive by Ronald Abernathy, a senior parking enforcement supervisor. The cash-strapped city has been targeting its lower income neighborhoods to make up for budget shortfalls while sparing those who could most afford it. The whistleblowers' union, SEIU Local 1021, is holding a rally at City Hall today at noon.
From the Chron:
Oakland parking officers were ordered to avoid enforcing neighborhood parking violations in two of the city's wealthier neighborhoods but told to continue enforcing the same violations in the rest of the city, according to a city memo obtained by The Chronicle.
The July order is corroborated by interviews with three parking officers, who said they and their colleagues had complained about what they deemed a discriminatory practice since it began last summer - to no avail.
"It's not fair," said Shirnell Smith, 44, a parking officer for 22 years who has lived in Oakland for 24 years. Smith and the union representing parking officers said the policy has resulted in tickets being issued disproportionately to poor, black and Latino people.
The accusations cast a new light on one of Oakland's most contentious issues during the past year. Desperate for new revenue in a faltering economy, the City Council in June increased parking fines, meter rates, hours of enforcement and enforcement in neighborhoods.
read more:
Oakland parking officers were ordered to avoid enforcing neighborhood parking violations in two of the city's wealthier neighborhoods but told to continue enforcing the same violations in the rest of the city, according to a city memo obtained by The Chronicle.
The July order is corroborated by interviews with three parking officers, who said they and their colleagues had complained about what they deemed a discriminatory practice since it began last summer - to no avail.
"It's not fair," said Shirnell Smith, 44, a parking officer for 22 years who has lived in Oakland for 24 years. Smith and the union representing parking officers said the policy has resulted in tickets being issued disproportionately to poor, black and Latino people.
The accusations cast a new light on one of Oakland's most contentious issues during the past year. Desperate for new revenue in a faltering economy, the City Council in June increased parking fines, meter rates, hours of enforcement and enforcement in neighborhoods.
read more:
For more information:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...
Add Your Comments
Latest Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
What Can We Expect From Corrupt Oakland Government
Fri, Feb 26, 2010 12:19PM
Please bring up 'mafia' style car towing
Thu, Feb 25, 2010 11:22AM
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$195.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network