OpenPublica

Accountability starts with access.

© 2026 · Filed for the public record

Use casesAboutAPIPrivacyTermsLinkedIn
Home/Oakland, California/Public Ethics Commission
OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Public Ethics Commission Regular Meeting – May 4, 2020

Public Ethics Commission — Monday, May 4, 2020
BodyOakland, California
SessionPublic Ethics Commission
DateMonday, May 4, 2020
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:59:02

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:52

Good evening.

0:54

My name is James Jackson, and I'm the chair of the City of Oakland Public Ethics Commission.

1:00

And I'm prepared to call the meeting to order.

1:03

I'd like to welcome everybody to our May meeting.

1:06

So I'm going to start by taking the attendance.

1:10

And so I will be asking each commissioner to verbally acknowledge that they're present.

1:16

I will start with Commissioner Maxon Velazquez.

1:20

Are you present?

1:23

I am.

1:24

Hello.

1:30

I could not hear you.

1:32

Would you say that again, please?

1:34

Sure.

1:34

I'm I am here.

1:35

Are you able to hear me?

1:37

Yes, thank you very much.

1:38

Thanks.

1:40

Commissioner Butler, are you present?

1:43

I believe the Commissioner Butler was not going to be present, and so we'll move on.

1:47

Commissioner McDonald, are you present?

1:50

Present.

1:51

Thank you.

1:53

Commissioner Ramachandran, are you present?

1:57

Yes.

1:57

Present.

2:00

Thank you.

2:01

Commissioner Yan, are you present?

2:03

Present.

2:04

Great.

2:06

Commissioner Tooman, are you present?

2:08

I am in the House.

2:10

Awesome.

2:11

Thank you.

2:14

I also am going to take a quick roll of the staff who are present.

2:18

And so Director Barrizotta, are you present?

2:22

Yes, I'm here.

2:24

Thank you.

2:25

Suzanne Doran, are you present?

2:28

Yes, I'm here.

2:30

Thank you.

2:32

Chief Johnson, Kelly Johnson, are you present?

2:34

Yes.

2:36

Wonderful.

2:37

Simon Russell, are you present?

2:42

Okay.

2:43

Attorney Shafi, are you present?

2:47

Yes, President.

2:48

Good evening.

2:49

Good evening.

2:50

Thank you very much.

2:51

We have a quorum, and so we will start the meeting.

2:55

I will turn to our executive director.

2:58

Um Director Barrizotto, are there any announcements or can um staff announcements?

3:05

I don't have any staff announcements, but I thought I might walk through the options for people to participate tonight.

3:12

Yes, please.

3:14

Great.

3:15

So for this teleconference, we have uh the option of attendees who are joining us to be able to raise their hand.

3:24

And I think that probably they're familiar with how to do this, but I'll go ahead and just um remind folks that there is a raise your hand button that you can request to speak when public comment is being taken on an item.

3:36

Um we'll plan to take public comment for each item on the agenda.

3:40

So it's fine.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████15%
Campaign Finance███████████████15%
Public Records█████████████13%
Ethics and Campaign Finance████████████12%
Public Records Management██████████10%
Pending Litigation███████7%
Public Ethics██████6%
Public Engagement██████6%
Public Comment███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Public Ethics Commission Regular Meeting – May 4, 2020

The Oakland Public Ethics Commission held its regular meeting via teleconference on Monday, May 4, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. due to the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order. Commissioners present were James E.T. Jackson (Chair), Nayeli Maxson Velázquez (Vice-Chair), Michael MacDonald, Janani Ramachandran, Joseph Tuman, and Jerett Yan. Commissioner Jill Butler was absent. The commission considered approval of meeting minutes, the 2019 Annual Report, the 2020 Limited Public Financing Program Guide, two mediation cases, and received reports on disclosure, enforcement, and executive activities.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Brooke Levin (open forum) addressed the dismissal of her complaints (PEC 20-07 and 20-08) regarding campaign literature FPPC numbers, questioning why the matter was listed as dismissed after she had withdrawn the complaints. She requested clarification on the process.
  • Alexis Schroeder (on mediation case M2019-17) described her prolonged effort to obtain radio frequency emissions reports from the Building and Planning Department. She expressed concern that the city has not collected post-installation emissions data as required by ordinance, and she urged the commission to pursue enforcement to ensure compliance, citing community worries about cumulative 4G and upcoming 5G exposure.

Discussion Items

  • Approval of March 2, 2020 Regular Meeting Minutes: Executive Director Whitney Barazoto noted two typos (page 2 “Public” and page 3 vote tally). Commissioner MacDonald moved, Ramachandran seconded, and the minutes were approved 5-0 (Maxson Velázquez abstained; Butler absent).
  • 2019 Public Ethics Commission Annual Report: Barazoto presented the report with several proposed edits, including replacing the committee-type breakdown with total campaign contributions (~$600,000 raised, ~$580,000 spent in 2019), fixing typographical issues, and clarifying enforcement language. Commissioners discussed the value of including training demographic data and the challenges of ensuring Form 700 compliance. After a motion by Maxson Velázquez and second by Tuman, the report was approved unanimously (6-0) with authority for staff to incorporate the edits.
  • 2020 Limited Public Financing (LPF) Program Guide for City Council District Candidates: Barazoto outlined edits, including moving the eligibility checklist forward, clarifying that candidates must have an opponent, specifying that citywide and at-large candidates are ineligible, and adding a footnote explaining differing expenditure ceilings per district. Commissioners discussed in-kind contributions (not allowed), permissible reimbursement categories (no staff or consultant costs), and the two-phase disbursement timeline. The guide was approved 6-0 on a motion by Tuman, seconded by Maxson Velázquez.
  • Mediation Case M2019-17 – Department of Building and Planning: Enforcement Chief Kellie Johnson recommended closing the mediation, stating that the planning department had provided all available emissions reports but the building department confirmed it never collected the required post-installation reports. Commissioners McDonald, Ramachandran, and others expressed strong concern about the department’s noncompliance and the requester’s runaround. Public comment from Alexis Schroeder emphasized the need for accountability. After debate on options (subpoena, city administrator involvement, keeping mediation open), the commission voted 6-0 to keep the mediation open and directed staff to explore enforcement tools, including a possible subpoena or letter to the City Administrator, with a subcommittee to refine the approach.
  • Mediation Case M2020-05 – Economic and Workforce Development Department: Johnson reported that after a three-month delay, the department released documents on March 3, 2020, and confirmed all responsive records were provided. The requester initially believed more existed but the department and a private seller confirmed no further documents. The commission voted 6-0 to close the mediation (motion by MacDonald, second by Maxson Velázquez).
  • Subcommittee Reports: Vice Chair Maxson Velázquez updated the Limited Public Finance Policy Development Subcommittee, noting ongoing collaboration with the Bay Area Political Equality Collaborative (BayPEC) and the appointment of former PEC Chair Jonathan Stein as new executive director of California Common Cause.
  • Disclosure and Engagement Report (Lead Analyst Suzanne Doran): Highlights included the April 30 lobbyist quarterly deadline (49 in compliance as of May 4), a pilot online Form 803 for behested payments (received seven filings from the Mayor’s Office totaling $2,724,000 for the Oakland COVID-19 Relief Fund), progress on the lobbyist e-filing app (final testing phase), and the rescheduled candidate/treasurer training for May 28 (10 a.m.–12 p.m.) as a webinar. Staff also noted 57% of advice requests came from campaign filers and 65% were on campaign finance.
  • Enforcement Program Report (Chief Kellie Johnson): Since March 2, three new complaints were received, bringing the total caseload to 64 matters: 16 in intake, 17 under investigation, 9 in post-investigation analysis, 11 in settlement/hearing, and 10 ongoing public records mediation. She also noted that the unit is developing a process to share a list of open cases with the commission while protecting privacy.
  • Executive Director’s Report (Whitney Barazoto): Barazoto reported that staff are working remotely with IT support, and the team has pivoted to address ethics issues arising from COVID-19, including an upcoming advisory on solicitation of charitable contributions by city staff. She commended the staff for continued productivity.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes approved with corrections (5-0, 1 abstention).
  • 2019 Annual Report approved with staff-directed edits (6-0).
  • 2020 Limited Public Financing Program Guide approved with edits (6-0).
  • Mediation M2019-17 kept open for further exploration of enforcement options (6-0). Staff directed to develop a proposal for potential subpoenas and/or a letter to the City Administrator; a subcommittee may be formed.
  • Mediation M2020-05 closed (6-0).
  • Candidate/treasurer training rescheduled to May 28, 2020, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. via Zoom.
  • Staff to issue an advisory on charitable solicitation rules for city employees.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. My name is James Jackson, and I'm the chair of the City of Oakland Public Ethics Commission. And I'm prepared to call the meeting to order. I'd like to welcome everybody to our May meeting. So I'm going to start by taking the attendance. And so I will be asking each commissioner to verbally acknowledge that they're present. I will start with Commissioner Maxon Velazquez. Are you present? I am. Hello. I could not hear you. Would you say that again, please? Sure. I'm I am here. Are you able to hear me? Yes, thank you very much. Thanks. Commissioner Butler, are you present? I believe the Commissioner Butler was not going to be present, and so we'll move on. Commissioner McDonald, are you present? Present. Thank you. Commissioner Ramachandran, are you present? Yes. Present. Thank you. Commissioner Yan, are you present? Present. Great. Commissioner Tooman, are you present? I am in the House. Awesome. Thank you. I also am going to take a quick roll of the staff who are present. And so Director Barrizotta, are you present? Yes, I'm here. Thank you. Suzanne Doran, are you present? Yes, I'm here. Thank you. Chief Johnson, Kelly Johnson, are you present? Yes. Wonderful. Simon Russell, are you present? Okay. Attorney Shafi, are you present? Yes, President. Good evening. Good evening. Thank you very much.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com