Oakland Public Ethics Commission Regular Meeting – June 7, 2021
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Oakland Public Ethics Commission Regular Meeting – June 7, 2021
The Oakland Public Ethics Commission (PEC) held a regular teleconference meeting on Monday, June 7, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting included approval of prior minutes, selection of a new commissioner, and extensive discussion of a high-profile enforcement case against former building inspector Thomas Espinosa. The commission also received information reports on disclosure, enforcement, and executive activities.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of May 3, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes – Adopted unanimously (5-0) with no public comment.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Terrell Picot (case dismissed earlier) spoke during public comment on the enforcement report, expressing distress over his termination from the Planning and Building Department after an investigation found no violation. He requested help regaining his job.
Discussion Items
- New Commissioner Selection – Three finalists (Joseph Forderer, Christopher Johnson, Ryan Micik) interviewed. After discussion, the commission used ranked-choice email voting. Ryan Micik received three first-choice votes and was selected. He will be sworn in before the next meeting to fill the vacant seat through January 21, 2023.
- In the Matter of Thomas Espinosa (Case No. 16-14) – The commission considered the hearing officer’s post-hearing recommendation finding 43 violations of the Government Ethics Act (bribery, conflicts, misuse of authority, failure to disclose, misuse of city resources) and a recommended penalty of $215,000. Staff recommended $210,000. The commission deliberated penalties for each count, reaching partial agreement on some (e.g., $5,000 per violation for misuse of city resources; $24,600 for count 29 failure to report income from Vivian Tang; $5,000 each for counts 30-33 and $5,750 each for counts 34-37 after linking payments to inspections). However, due to the complexity and lateness, the commission voted to continue the item to the August 2021 regular meeting, with staff to provide a refined penalty proposal reflecting commissioner goals of recouping ill-gotten gains and imposing a deterrent.
- Subcommittees – The Recruitment Subcommittee was dissolved following the new commissioner appointment. No other subcommittees active.
Information Items
- Disclosure and Engagement Report – Staff reported progress on the Sunshine Report Card project, including automating data extraction from NextRequest to improve public records transparency. Also noted new lobbyist and behested payment datasets on Oakland’s open data portal.
- Enforcement Program Report – Enforcement Chief Kellie Johnson summarized current caseload (46 open cases) and noted two case closures: (1) Complaint against Mark Sawicki was withdrawn after review; (2) Complaint against Terrell Picot was dismissed because no violation of the Government Ethics Act was found.
- Executive Director’s Report – Director Whitney Barazoto reported that the Mayor’s proposed budget did not include new positions for the PEC. Commissioners met with several City Council offices to advocate for staffing. The July 5 meeting was cancelled; next regular meeting set for August. Also noted that an audit of the 2020 Limited Public Financing Program had begun.
Key Outcomes
- Ryan Micik appointed as commissioner, effective upon swearing-in.
- The Thomas Espinosa enforcement matter was continued to the August meeting for further penalty deliberation.
- Recruitment subcommittee dissolved.
- Staff directed to prepare a detailed penalty analysis for the Espinosa case, including options for doubling or tripling fines where appropriate.
- The commission will explore a strategic planning retreat in the coming months.
Meeting Transcript
I would like to call this meeting to order our regular meeting of June seventh, twenty twenty-one of the Oakland Public Ethics Commission. And on the roll call. Excuse me. Just give me one second here. So on the roll call, Commissioner Tooman. Commissioner Tooman is absent. Commissioner Pertit. Commissioner Klein. Present. And I too am present. We'll move on to the second item of our agenda tonight, staff and commission announcements. Are there any announcements at this time? I do have an announcement, Chair McDonald. Uh, what you guys are Whitney Barrizotto, executive director. Uh we are pulling item seven from tonight's agenda. That's the item in the matter of City of Oakland planning and building department, uh, case number eighteen forty-eight and sixteen twenty-two meet um. Uh and the reason is that the complainant has asked that this be uh put over to the next meeting. Um, they're unable to make it, and this is something that that particular complainant has been speaking to our commission frequently about, and so I'd like to pull it in order to allow that to occur for him to be able to be present for that item when it's heard. Okay, excellent. Thank you, Director Barrizotto. So, item number seven then will be continued until will it be our July regular meeting. Yes, unless anything changes with that meeting. Okay, perfect. So thank you so much. Item seven then is removed from our consideration this evening. Um more housekeeping. We have staff present with us tonight. You just heard from Director Whitney Barrizotto, um Suzanne Doran. Present. And Chief Kelly Johnson. Here, thank you. And Anna Lara Franco. Here. All right, excellent. Thank you all for being here with us tonight. We will go ahead and move on to the third item on our agenda tonight, which is open forum. And uh open forum is a time for a member of the public to comment on any matter within the jurisdiction of the PEC 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. Uh is there any public comment at this time? If you're using the Zoom platform, you can raise hand function, or if you're calling in, you can press star nine to participate uh in the meeting. Is there any public comment at this time? Okay, seeing none, uh we will move on to our action calendar for this evening, starting with item number four, approval of commission draft meetings. Is there any discussion on the item? Okay, seeing none, do we have any public comment on the approval of the May 3rd, 2021 regular meeting minutes? Is there any public comment? Okay, seeing no public comment, I'll bring it back to the commission. Uh colleagues, I'm seeking uh a motion for approval. Is there a motion for approval? I move to approve the minutes. Okay, Commissioner Klein move to approve the minutes.
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