Oakland Public Ethics Commission Meeting: April 5, 2021
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Oakland Public Ethics Commission Meeting: April 5, 2021
The Oakland Public Ethics Commission (PEC) held a regular meeting on April 5, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. via teleconference. The meeting covered the selection of a new commissioner, enforcement actions on three cases, and informational reports on disclosure, enforcement, and executive activities. Key outcomes included approval of a diversion agreement for one case, a failed motion for a second diversion, a scheduled hearing for a bribery case, and reopening of the commissioner recruitment process.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of March 1, 2021, Meeting Minutes: Approved unanimously (5-0) with no public comment.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Everett Cleveland Jr. Case (20-03(a)): Two members of the public spoke in support of Mr. Cleveland. Christina Katz Mulvey, a former supervisor, attested to his integrity and noted systemic training failures in the Housing Department. Mary Ann Leshin, a colleague, echoed these sentiments and highlighted confusion about Form 700 requirements.
- Norma Thompson Case (20-03(b)): No public comments were offered.
- Manuel Altamirano Sr. Case (20-04(a)): No public comments were offered.
Discussion Items
- New Commissioner Selection: The Commission interviewed five applicants (Samantha Columbus, Christopher Johnson, Linda Morton, Nicholas Sheehan, Derrick Wright). Due to issues regarding meeting attendance requirements and potential incompatible office questions, the Commission voted to reopen the application period for 30 days (motion passed 4-0-1).
- Subcommittee Reports: Commissioner MacDonald proposed a Recruitment Subcommittee consisting of himself, Vice Chair Yan, and Commissioner Perteet, which was accepted. The Sunshine Review Subcommittee update was deferred to the next meeting.
- Information Items: Staff presented reports on Disclosure and Engagement (including campaign finance and lobbyist compliance statistics), the Enforcement Program (52 open cases), and the Executive Director’s Report (including budget requests, mediation summaries, and collections).
Key Outcomes
- Everett Cleveland Jr. (Case 20-03(a)): The Commission voted 4-0 to approve staff’s recommendation to offer a Diversion Agreement, which would require Cleveland to admit to violations (misuse of position, nepotism, failure to file Form 700), pay a $150 fee, and complete ethics training. The final agreement will return for approval.
- Norma Thompson (Case 20-03(b)): A motion to approve a similar Diversion Agreement failed (2-2, with one commissioner absent). The Commission did not grant staff authority to offer diversion, but staff may return with revised recommendations.
- Manuel Altamirano Sr. (Case 20-04(a)): The Commission unanimously (4-0) found probable cause for bribery and misuse of position violations and scheduled the matter for an administrative hearing. The respondent could not be located.
- Commissioner Recruitment: The application period was reopened through approximately April 30, 2021, to allow new applicants and to permit current applicants to attend a PEC meeting before final selection in June 2021.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. We're just going to wait a couple of minutes before we get started, and we'll be getting started here shortly. Thank you so much. My name is Michael McDonald. I'm the chair of the Oakland Public Ethics Commission. And I would like to call our meeting of April fifth, twenty two thousand twenty-one to order, and we will start with a roll call. We do have a quorum present. And Commissioner Tuman. Uh Chief Kelly Johnson. Here. Anna Laura Franco. Here. Okay, and I see we have Simon Russell with us as well. Here. Okay, excellent. So we will go ahead and proceed with our uh agenda. Are there any commissioner or staff announcements at this time? None from staff. Okay, great. Seeing none, we will go ahead and proceed to our third item on the agenda, which is open forum. An open forum is a time for a member of the public to comment on any matter within the jurisdiction of the public ethics commission that is not otherwise included in tonight's agenda. Under the Sunshine Ordinance, the commission cannot discuss the substance of any public comment made that does not pertain to an item listed on the agenda tonight. Are there any public comments for open forum at this time? And you can use the raise hand function if you're in Zoom. Any public comments? Okay. Seeing none, we'll go ahead and move to our uh action items for tonight's agenda. The first action item tonight is the approval of our commission meeting draft minutes for our March 1st, 2021 meeting. Any commissioner comments? Questions. Okay, is there any public comment on the minutes tonight? Any public comment? Okay, seeing none, commissioners, I'm seeking a motion to approve the minutes. Motion to approve the minutes of the March 1st, 2021 meeting. Motion to approve made by Commissioner Tuman. Is there a second? Second on the minutes. I'll go ahead and second. Seconded by myself. Okay, we'll proceed with a roll call vote. I see we do have Commissioner Velchair Yann with us as well. Commissioner Tooman, how do you vote on the approval of the minutes? I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said. The how do you vote on the approval of the minutes? Aye. Yes. Okay, Commissioner Purteat. Aye. Commissioner Klein. Aye.
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