The Oakland Public Ethics Commission held its regular meeting on September 16, 2026, at 6:30 PM at City Hall, Hearing Room 2. The meeting addressed enforcement actions on misuse of Measure Z funds by OPD and a Sunshine Ordinance violation by the Oakland Police Commission, case closures under the backlog strategy, and informational items on commissioner recruitment, campaign disclosure tools, and staff reports.
Approval of Minutes (July 15, 2026 & August 14, 2026): Two motions to approve the draft minutes were made and seconded. However, due to two abstentions (commissioners who were absent from those meetings), each motion received only three affirmative votes, failing to reach the required four votes. Minutes were not approved.
Case No. 24-30 – OPD Misuse of Measure Z Funds (Item 5): Enforcement Chief Tovah Ackerman presented the case. Eleven OPD officers used $12,000 in Measure Z funds for travel to a fallen-officer memorial in Washington, D.C., which is not a permissible use of Measure Z funds. The funds were later returned to the Measure Z account after the City Controller advised OPD. Staff found that the travel served a city purpose, so no GEA violation occurred, but recommended an advisory letter. Commissioners questioned whether the travel purpose justified all expenses, criticized the lack of itemized receipts, and expressed concern about OPD’s inability to produce expense reports. Commissioners also noted the citywide spending moratorium in effect at the time. A motion to continue the investigation (including obtaining expense reports and reviewing processes) was made and seconded. After public comment, the motion passed 4-0 (Upton, Tilak, Fisher, Micik; Apfeld excused, Bayeva excused).
Case No. 26-08 – Oakland Police Commission Sunshine Violation (Item 6): Staff presented evidence that four OPC commissioners (a quorum) exchanged emails and collaborated on a Google Doc regarding the BearCat armored vehicle recommendation outside a public meeting, violating Sunshine Ordinance § 2.20.030(F)(1). Staff recommended a finding of violation and an advisory letter directing OPC to agendize the matter for cure/correct. OPC had already taken corrective action (nullifying the November 20, 2025 vote). Commissioners discussed the severity of the violation and whether further interviews were needed. A motion to adopt staff recommendation was made and seconded. After public comment, the motion passed 4-0.
Complaint Backlog Case Closures (Item 7): Staff recommended closing two cases: PEC #22-26 (Trevelyon Jones) with no further action, and PEC #24-06 (former Commissioner Regina Jackson) with an advisory letter. Staff noted the complainant in #24-06 had withdrawn. Commissioners discussed the educational value of the advisory letter for other boards. A motion to approve staff recommendations passed 4-0 after public comment.
Commissioner Recruitment (Item 8): Senior Ethics Analyst Jelani Killings outlined the recruitment process for a PEC-appointed seat expiring January 2027. Deadline: October 30, 2026. Staff distributed flyers and requested commissioners to submit 30-second video testimonials.
Campaign Disclosure Tools Demo (Item 9): Ethics Analyst Niels Thorsen and volunteer Michael Ubel (OpenOakland) demonstrated the OpenDisclosure website (www.opendisclosure.io). Features include aggregated contribution and expenditure data, geographic breakdowns, independent expenditure tracking, and a searchable donor database. Commissioners suggested linking to raw data and improving presentation of independent expenditures.
Executive Director Report (Item 10): Executive Director Suzanne Doran reported that the PEC has reached full staffing for the first time in four years. A strategic planning retreat is scheduled for October 21, 2026. Work on the Democracy Dollars software platform (with MapLight) will begin in January 2027. Staff also conducted ethics training for department directors and explored new outreach methods.
Enforcement Program Report (Item 11): Enforcement Chief Ackerman reported that since July, 3 formal and 3 proactive complaints were received, bringing the total open caseload to 80. Two complaints were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. A pending administrative hearing (Case #17-09) may proceed via default as the respondent has not responded.
Subcommittee Reports (Item 12):
Okay, K-Top, can you start recording, please? Oh. Is he going or should I wait? Oh, that oh, you that we are we good? Are we on? Okay, great, thank you. Welcome everyone to this regular meeting of the Oakland Public Ethics Commission. Meeting has started at 6.35. I'm Commission Chair Francis Upton. 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 promote more inclusive, representative and accountable democracy in Oakland and to promote fairness and openness and honesty and integrity in city government. We'll begin with item one, taking the role. Commissioners, please indicate if you're present, if as I call your name. Commissioner Apfeld is out of town for work and is requested to be excused. We won't be present, and Commissioner Baeva requested to be excused due to illness. So Vice Chair Tulac. Here. Here. Commissioner Mitchik. Present. And I'm present. So we have four of us making a quorum. Also want to note that the following staff are president, exec president, executive director, Suzanne Duran, enforcement chief Tova Ackerman, Senior Ethics Analyst Gelani Killings, and Ethics Analyst Buana Chadari. Congratulations, by the way. Are there uh let's see what's the staff and commission? No, staff and commission announcements. Uh the PEC meetings are now in hybrid format and public comment is available both in person and via Zoom. Details instructions for participating are provided in the commission meetings, commission's meeting web page and at the end of this agenda. Are there other staff and commission announcements? No staff announcements. Wonderful. So now we'll move to item three, open forum. Before we start, I want to go over the public comment process so we all know what to expect. A member of the public may speak on any item appearing on the agenda. If you wish to speak during open forum or on an item that is on our agenda tonight, please stay seated until that item is called. And when I open the floor for public comment on the item, come to the podium. Tonight we will also be accepting public comments from participants joining via Zoom and by phone. When an item is called and you wish to comment on it on it, please use the raise hand feature on Zoom or press star nine if you're participating by phone. When it is your turn to speak, staff will call your name and unmute your line. Speakers are generally allotted one three-minute turn to speak per item, subject to change by the chair based on the number of speakers. So everyone gets a chance to speak and be heard. Please leave the podium promptly when your allotted time is up. Participants on Zoom may be mute will be muted when their time is up. Not because we're not interested, but because the item isn't 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.