Bay Area

City Auditor Says Mayor Schaaf Misused City Money and Resources to Fund Oakland Promise

Published

5 years ago

November 21, 2019

Mayor Libby Schaaf directed the city administration to make “inappropriate contributions” to her favored nonprofit organization, The Oakland Promise, bypassing the Oakland Municipal code and paying the director of Oakland Promise over $700,000 without authorization, according to the findings of an investigation released this week by the Oakland Office of the City Auditor.

The office of the City Auditor Courtney Ruby conducted the investigation in response to multiple “whistleblower allegations” and questions raised by the City Council in June 2019.

The Oakland Promise, a nonprofit “multi-agency partnership” that includes the Mayor’s Office, the Oakland Unified School District, the East Bay College Fund and the Oakland Public Education Fund, raises money to provide scholarships and other educational opportunities for Oakland youth. The organization began in 2014, and in 2015, the Mayor’s Office joined the partnership “and assumed a leadership role in collaborating with these organizations,” according to the auditor’s report on the investigation.

In June 2019, the East Bay College Fund changed its name to Oakland Promise, which became a registered nonprofit organization.

The auditor’s investigation concluded:

• “The Mayor’s Office directed the City Administration to provide workspace to Oakland Promise without following Municipal code requirements.” Without proper authorization, starting in 2016, the city provided three workstations, phones, computers and internet for up to five Oakland Promise employees for two years on the 11th floor of City Hall. “This arrangement … contrasts with other third-party organizations that have used city-owned real property,” the report said. “Other third-party entities using city-owned real property have formal agreements and were charged rents (and) have provided verification of insurance coverage.)”

•“For 16 months (from July 2015 – Nov. 2016), the Mayor’s office allowed an Oakland Education Fund employee to lead Oakland Promise as the “Mayor’s Director of Education” without executing an agreement to ensure the City’s interests were promoted and protected.”

•Since fiscal year 2017-2018, the city has funded the Mayor’s Director of Education, who continued to work for Oakland Promise, “without authorization from the City Council as an in-kind contribution to Oakland Promise, at a cost to the city exceeding $700,000.”

The Mayor’s Director of Education, David Silver, was not mentioned by name in the auditor’s report. “City financial records show that (David Silver) has accounted for $704,374 in direct personnel-related costs from the city’s General Purpose fund between July 1, 2017 and Nov. 7, 2019.

In August 2015, Mayor Schaaf submitted a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to the City Council to implement Oakland Promise, approving it herself while the council was on summer recess. A memo from the mayor stated that the “MOU has no cost implications to the City of Oakland.”

According to the auditor’s findings,“It wasn’t until June 2019 that a republic report summarized the city’s financial and in-kind contribution to Oakland Promise.”

In total, the city has contributed $4,372,428 to Oakland Promise, including authorized and unauthorized expenditures and excluding the cost of in-kind donation of office space and equipment, which is unknown.

Among its recommendations, the City Auditor suggested that the city administration “should comply with the Municipal Code in providing space to other others” and suggested that the City Council request a yearly report on leases and other arrangements with organizations that use city facilities. The auditor also suggested that the City Council develop a policy that requires in-kind contributions to be “formally authorized in advance.”

The Mayor’s Office agrees with all of the recommendations, said Justin Berton, the mayor’s director of communications.

“The Office of the Mayor is grateful for the City Auditor’s detailed report that concludes every contribution to the Oakland Promise is being used to send more kids to, and through college,” he said. “We regret, however, that in the eagerness to launch a generation-changing education initiative, we unintentionally failed to properly document the legal use of City Hall office space and a grant to support an employee’s salary. We wholeheartedly support all of the City Auditor’s recommendations that will bring clarity to this process in the future.”

A more complete report on this investigation will be published in next week’s Oakland Post.

By Ken Epstein

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Asm. Corey Jackson Proposes Safe Parking for Homeless College Students Sleeping in Cars

Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), is the author of AB 90, which would require community colleges and California State University campuses to create overnight parking programs where students can sleep safely in their vehicles. With one in four community college students in California experiencing homelessness in the past year, Jackson says the state must act urgently.

Published

17 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Corey Jackson. File photo.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

As California’s housing crisis continues to impact students, new legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 90, promises to allow college students without stable housing to sleep in their cars on campus, offering a stark but practical solution aimed at immediate relief.

“This just deals with the harsh realities that we find ourselves in,” he said at a recent hearing.

The bill passed its first committee vote and is gaining attention as housing affordability remains a top concern across the state. California rents are more than 30% above the national average, and long waitlists for student housing have left thousands in limbo. CSU reported more than 4,000 students on its housing waitlist last year.

Supporters stress that the bill is not a long-term solution, but a humane step toward helping students who have no other place to go. A successful pilot program at Long Beach City College has already shown that safe, supervised overnight parking can work, giving students access to restrooms, Wi-Fi, and a secure environment.

However, the CSU and community college systems oppose the bill, citing funding concerns. Critics also worry about safety and oversight. But Jackson and student advocates argue the crisis demands bold action.

“If we know students are already sleeping in their cars, why not help them do it safely?” said Ivan Hernandez, president of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

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Faces Around the Bay: Author Karen Lewis Took the ‘Detour to Straight Street’

“My life has been a roller-coaster with an unlimited ride wristband! I was raised in Berkeley during the time of Ron Dellums, the Black Panthers, and People’s Park. I was a Hippie kid, my Auntie cut off all our hair so we could wear the natural styles like her and Angela Davis.

Published

20 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Karen Lewis. Courtesy photo.

By Barbara Fluhrer

I met Karen Lewis on a park bench in Berkeley. She wrote her story on the spot.

I got married young, then ended up getting divorced, raising two boys into men. After my divorce, I had a stroke that left me blind and paralyzed. I was homeless, lost in a fog with blurred vision.

Jesus healed me! I now have two beautiful grandkids. At 61, this age and this stage, I am finally free indeed. Our Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul. I now know how to be still. I lay at his feet. I surrender and just rest. My life and every step on my path have already been ordered. So, I have learned in this life…it’s nice to be nice. No stressing, just blessings. Pray for the best and deal with the rest.

Nobody is perfect, so forgive quickly and love easily!”

Lewis’ book “Detour to Straight Street” is available on Amazon.

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Barbara Lee Accepts Victory With “Responsibility, Humility and Love”

“I accept your choice with a deep sense of responsibility, humility, and love. Oakland is a deeply divided City,” Lee said in an April 19 statement. “I answered the call to run to unite our community, so that I can represent every voter, and we can all work together as One Oakland to solve our most pressing problems.”

Published

21 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Barbara Lee. File photo.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌,
California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

As a candidate for mayor, former U.S. Representative Barbara Lee released a “10-point plan” last week to reassure residents that she will tackle Oakland’s most pressing challenges.

Now that she has edged out her competitors in the ranked-choice special election with 50% or more of the vote, the former Congresswoman, who represented parts of the Bay Area in the U.S. House of Representatives, can put her vision in motion as the city’s first Black woman mayor.

On Saturday evening, Taylor conceded to Lee. There are still about 300 Vote-by-Mail ballots left to be verified, according to county election officials. The ballots will be processed on April 21 and April 22.

“This morning, I called Congresswoman Barbara Lee to congratulate her on becoming the next Mayor of Oakland,” Taylor said in a statement.

“I pray that Mayor-Elect Lee fulfills her commitment to unify Oakland by authentically engaging the 47% of Oaklanders who voted for me and who want pragmatic, results-driven leadership.”

The influential Oakland Post endorsed Lee’s campaign, commending her leadership on the local, state, and federal levels.

Paul Cobb, The Post’s publisher, told California Black Media that Lee will bring back “respect and accountability” to the mayor’s office.

“She is going to be a collegial leader drawing on the advice of community nonprofit organizations and those who have experience in dealing with various issues,” Cobb said. “She’s going to try to do a consensus-building thing among those who know the present problems that face the city.”

Born in El Paso, Texas, Lee’s family moved to California while she was in high school. At 20 years old, Lee divorced her husband after the birth of her first child. After the split, Lee went through a tough period, becoming homeless and having to apply for public assistance to make ends meet.

But destitution did not deter the young woman.

Lee groomed herself to become an activist and advocate in Oakland and committed to standing up for the most vulnerable citizens in her community.

Lee traveled to Washington, D.C. to work for then U.S. Congressman Ron Dellums after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mills College in Oakland in 1973. Lee later won a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) fellowship to attend the School of Social Welfare, and she earned a Master of Social Work from the University of California-Berkeley in 1975.

Lee later served in the California State Assembly and State Senate before she was elected to Congress in 1998.

After serving in the U.S. Congress for more than 25 years, Lee ran unsuccessfully for California’s U.S. Senate in the 2024 primary election.

Lee joins current Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass and former San Francisco Mayor London Breed as Black women serving as chief executives of major cities in California over the last few years.