Eviction attorney Charles Ramsey wants to be Richmond's next mayor

Eviction attorney Charles Ramsey wants to be Richmond's next mayor

By Lynda Carson - May 31, 2014

Eviction attorney Charles Tillman Ramsey is in the race to be Richmond's next mayor. Other candidates running for office to be the next Mayor in Richmond include Mike Parker of the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), and City Councilman Nat Bates. The primary election throughout California will be held on June 3rd.

At age 52, after being a board member for the past 21 years with the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD), Charles Ramsey decided that he wants to be the next Mayor of Richmond. He presently is the Board President of the WCCUSD.

In a Contra Costa Times article dated 7/9/2013, it says, "First elected to the school board in 1993, Ramsey was re-elected in 1997 despite pleading no contest to a 1995 charge that he solicited an undercover officer posing as a prostitute in Oakland. The incident was expunged from his record in 2001. He unsuccessfully sought a state Assembly seat in 2002."

In addition to his activities with the WCCUSD for the past 21 years, Ramsey has his own law firm located in Oakland at 3640 Grand Avenue, where he works out of his office to make a living by providing eviction legal services to a number of local housing authorities and numerous so-called nonprofit housing developers.

Ramsey also runs his political campaign from his office on Grand Ave., for the race to become Richmond's next mayor, and according to documents his campaign treasurer is Paula Blackewll.

For many years Ramsey has made a comfortable living for himself by threatening low-income tenants with eviction or sanctions, and evicting the poor, elderly, and disabled from their housing has become a way of life for Ramsey.

According to public records with the Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA), in recent years Ramsey has provided eviction legal services for the BHA and has evicted a number of Berkeley's low-income public housing residents as a result. His contract with the BHA began during March of 2009, and costs averaged $2,400 per month for the first two years of the contract. Records reveal that his contract with the BHA has been amended at least two times since March 2009, extending the term through June 30, 2012, for a total not to exceed $113,000. Additionally, a July 12, 2012, status report from the BHA reveals that Ramsey was awarded another contract for eviction legal services at the BHA.

The BHA has recently privatized and sold it's 75 public housing town homes to out-of-state billionaires Jorge M. Perez and Stephen M. Ross of the Related Companies, and Ramsey's eviction legal services may currently no longer be needed by the BHA. Transfer of ownership of Berkeley's public housing units to billionaires Perez and Ross of Related, occurred as recent as February, 14, 2014.

Additional public records reveal that from June 2002 to July 2005, the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA) paid $506,664 to the Law Office of Charles Ramsey for eviction legal services, and during this same period the OHA was paying Ramsey $200.00 per hour for his services. As a result of an audit by a Regional Inspector General, the OHA decided to use a competitive procurement process for the eviction legal services it sought, which led to Ramsey's hourly rate being lowered to $175.00 per hour when a new contract took effect during August of 2005.

Public records with the Berkeley Housing Authority also reveal that Ramsey has served as an eviction attorney for the housing authority in Marin County, San Francisco, San Francisco County, and Richmond.

Additionally, Ramsey has provided eviction legal services to so-called nonprofit housing developers including the John Stewart Company, Affordable Housing Associates, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, Bethel A.M.E., and numerous other so-called nonprofit housing developers in the Bay Area.

In a July 30, 2013, letter from Charles Ramsey to Mike Geller of the National Electrical Contractors Association (Contra Costa Chapter), Ramsey requests an official endorsement for his race for the Mayor of Richmond, and requests financial support for his campaign. Ramsey writes, "A contribution will make a tremendous difference when I am in the Mayor's office fighting for apprenticeships and PLA's for construction. I am seeking a $2,500 contribution for the race. I can tell you that I will never forget the generosity if you can meet that goal."

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com

See a few links below...

HUD/OIG Audit Report

Click below...

http://archives.hud.gov/offices/oig/reports/files/ig0791005.pdf

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Charles Ramsey / Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA) amended contract

November 10, 2010

Click below...

http://tinyurl.com/n5unjug

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Renewed/amended contract: Charles Ramsey / BHA

June 28, 2011

Click below...

http://tinyurl.com/otzdp32

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July 12, 2012 BHA status report / Ramsey was awarded another contract

Click below...

http://tinyurl.com/mplakpn

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Link to letter from Charles Ramsey to Mike Geller

Click below...

http://www.ccneca.org/Solicitation.pdf