Oakland Public Ethics Commission Special Meeting – December 10, 2025
Oakland Public Ethics Commission Special Meeting – December 10, 2025
The Oakland Public Ethics Commission (PEC) held a special meeting on December 10, 2025, beginning at 6:33 p.m., chaired by Commissioner Francis Upton. A quorum of four commissioners (Gage, Michigan, Talok, Upton) was present; Commissioners Baeva and Steele were absent. The meeting focused on proposed amendments to the Oakland Campaign Reform Act (OCRA) and an informational item on remote public participation via Zoom.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ralph Cannes spoke during open forum, alleging that the PEC has violated the Brown Act by holding un-noticed ad hoc subcommittee meetings with staff or public participation, and that the process for selecting new commissioners must be public under the city charter. He also referenced a 2017 city attorney legal opinion to argue that special city council meetings called under Charter Section 208 are limited to a single subject and that recent meetings on September 15 and November 4 should be nullified.
- During the action item, Ralph Cannes commented again, questioning the purpose of officeholder accounts and asserting they function as vote-buying slush funds. He also argued the Democracy Dollars program is prohibitively expensive, citing Seattle's 46% administrative overhead.
- Diaz Arm of Common Cause California spoke in opposition to raising annual contribution limits for officeholder accounts, stating the increase would deepen dependence on large donors and worsen inequities. He supported the amendment to prohibit officeholder-funded mailers within three months of an election and encouraged the commission to continue exploring Democracy Dollars.
Discussion Items
Action Item: Proposed Amendments to the Oakland Campaign Reform Act (OCRA) Staff Director Suzanne Doran presented three components of draft legislation requested by Council President Jenkins:
- Extension of the sunset date – The temporary increase in campaign contribution limits (to pre-Measure W levels) had been set to sunset June 30, 2029, or earlier if Democracy Dollars thresholds were met. The proposed six-month extension would align deadlines for 2028 candidates.
- Increase in officeholder account contribution limits – Raising the annual per-donor limit from the current Measure W level to $900 for individuals and $1,800 for broad-based political committees, matching temporary candidate limits. Staff noted that 21% of individual contributions (accounting for a majority of funds) were at the maximum limit, and the increase would amplify large-donor influence.
- Mailer prohibition – Barring officeholder funds from being used for mailings within three months of any election for city office. Staff supported this guardrail as consistent with FPPC guidance.
Commissioners debated each component:
- Extension of sunset: Commissioners Michigan and Talok opposed, citing the council’s disregard of the commission’s earlier recommendation for a 2026 sunset and the lack of justification. Commissioners Gage and Upton remained neutral. No consensus was reached; the commission directed staff to reflect the split in the comment letter.
- Officeholder limit increase: All four commissioners opposed. They cited the council’s failure to address prior requests for justification and guardrails, the potential for increased donor influence and inequity, and the existence of behested payments as an alternative. The commission voted unanimously to oppose.
- Mailer prohibition: All four commissioners supported the amendment as a common-sense measure to prevent campaign-related advantages.
Informational Item: Remote Public Comment via Zoom Staff outlined a proposal to allow hybrid meetings, enabling public participation and potentially commissioner participation under Brown Act just-cause provisions. The PEC already streams meetings via Zoom but does not allow public comment online. Staff noted that implementing hybrid meetings would require dedicated staffing to monitor the Zoom room and would create an expectation of continued availability. Commissioners expressed support for moving forward, with no objections. The item was informational only; no vote was taken.
Key Outcomes
- The commission voted 4-0 to send a comment letter to the City Council reflecting:
- Opposition to the increase in officeholder account contribution limits.
- Support for the mailer prohibition.
- A split view on the extension of the sunset date (two opposed, two neutral), with staff to summarize the opposing commissioners' reasons.
- Commissioners agreed to proceed with implementing hybrid meeting capabilities to allow remote public comment, with staff to finalize logistics.
- Chair Upton suggested the commission could consider proposing its own amendment to eliminate officeholder accounts at a future meeting, given the commission’s role in administering OCRA.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, can we start recording now? I guess I guess that's silence is yes. Uh welcome everyone to the special to this special meeting of the Oakland Public Ethics Commission. Uh the meeting is started at 6 33. I'm commission Chair Francis Upton, and I will be presiding at today's meeting. As a reminder to those in attendance, the Public Ethics Commission is an independent agency of the City of Oakland that works to ensure compliance with the city's government ethics, campaign finance, transparency, and lobbyist registration, as well as to administer the city's public financing programs. We'll begin with item one taking the roll. Commissioners, please indicate if you're present by calling uh when I call your name, uh Commissioner Baeva. Not here. Commissioner Gage. Present. Commissioner Michigan here. Commissioner Steele is not here. Maybe he's ill. Commissioner Talok. Present. And I'm here. So we have a just barely quorum. Um we also have uh members of the staff, executive director Duran and uh and everyone else. Yeah, we have a couple new faces. Um this is our commission assistant, Melanie Newcombe, who's assisting tonight, and um Bob Chowdhury, who is our legal um clerk right now. Awesome. And also counsel uh Luby to help us out here. Uh all right. So uh there any staff or commissioner announcements. Okay. Uh next item is open forum. Before we start, I'd like to go over the public comment process so we can all know what to expect. Member of the public may speak out on any item appearing in the agenda. If you wish to speak during open forum or on an item that is in our agenda tonight, please stay seated until the item is called, and when I open the floor for public comment on the item, come to the podium. Speakers are generally allotted a three one three-minute turn to speak per item, subject to change by the chair based on the number of speakers. So that everyone gets a chance to speak and be heard. Please leave the podium promptly when your allotted time is up. I want to clear also want to clarify how we handle public comment, both during open forum and during public comment periods later on the agenda, so that everyone is confident that they'll have a chance to be heard and knows what to expect. Open forum is a time for members of the public to comment on any matter within the jurisdiction of the PEC that is not on tonight's agenda. Commissioners cannot discuss the substance of any comments made during open forum, not because we're not interested, but because the item is not on tonight's agenda. However, we listen to what you have to say. The purpose of public comment is for us to hear from you. It is not a time for commissioners to talk, answer questions, or have dialogue. It is a time for us to listen. Again, public comment is not a time for commissioners to talk or answer questions. After the close of each public comment period, we may address questions or concerns that you raised. For example, I may ask the city attorney for information about an issue raised in public comment. A commissioner may address questions in a general manner to clarify the commission's policies. I may ask the staff to explain their procedures, or I may ask you to give the staff your contact information so that they can follow up with you to give you information you've requested. However, once each public comment period is closed, it remains closed until the public comment is reopened on the next agenda item, where you will again have a chance to speak during public comment. Lastly, while you are free to express yourself, the commission urges members of the public not to make complaints or ask the commission to investigate alleged legal violations at public meetings, since public disclosure of such complaints or requests may undermine any subsequent investigation. Please contact the staff at ethics commission at Oaklandca.gov for assistance in filing a complaint. If there's anyone who would like to be heard during public during open forum tonight, I invite you to line up with the mic. Please state your name each time you make a public comment if you wish it to be included in the meeting minutes.
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