City Government

Mayor London Breed Announces Leadership Transition at the Office of Housing and Community Development

Published

6 years ago

July 27, 2019

Mayor London N. Breed and the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) Director Kate Hartley Monday announced that Hartley will leave her role on Friday, July 26, 2019. Current MOHCD Deputy Director of Housing, Dan Adams, will serve as Acting Director while a comprehensive search for the MOHCD Director position is undertaken.

“Kate Hartley has been an incredible and passionate leader in our City’s efforts to build more affordable housing,” said Mayor Breed. “From helping to spearhead the largest affordable housing bond in our City’s history to working to rehabilitate our public housing properties through our Rental Assistance Demonstration and HOPE SF programs, Kate has always fought for the people who need housing so badly in this City. She is a true public servant and we are sorry to see her go, but I wish her luck as she takes her next step.”

“The last five years I have spent at MOHCD, first serving as Deputy Director and now as Director, have been the most rewarding years of my professional career,” said Hartley. “I am proud to have led our department’s growth since 2014 by providing affordable housing for individuals experiencing homelessness, seniors, working families and special needs populations in San Francisco. I am also extremely gratified that we implemented an online housing lottery system to make affordable housing opportunities easier to access for all. Although I am stepping down, I remain fully committed to the work of MOHCD and to Mayor Breed’s housing goals, and I have the utmost confidence in Dan Adams to lead the way forward.”

Kate Hartley was appointed Director by the late Mayor Ed Lee in 2017. During Director Hartley’s tenure, she oversaw the revitalization of thousands of units of public housing through the Rental Assistance Demonstration and HOPE SF programs, as well as the implementation of the 2015 Affordable Housing Bond funds and placement of the 2019 Affordable Housing Bond on this year’s ballot. MOHCD also spearheaded an effort to create its first Racial Equity Action Plan under Hartley’s leadership.

Hartley has 25 years of housing experience, including time spent in nonprofit and for-profit development, as well as in public service for the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. She started her career in the field as a nonprofit developer, building affordable homes in the Bayview and Western Addition Neighborhoods. In August 2019, Hartley will begin new work in affordable housing finance for the benefit of San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area.

Dan Adams has over 20 years of affordable housing and community development experience and is a licensed architect. He has been with MOHCD for eight years, most recently as the Deputy Director of Housing overseeing the agency’s new construction pipeline, acquisition and preservation initiatives, and affordable housing policy-making and legislative affairs. In addition, he has served as a Director of Housing Development at both BRIDGE Housing and MidPen Housing.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

5 days ago

May 25, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: Nate Holden, State Senator and Longtime Los Angeles Councilmember, Dies at 95

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.” Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Former Los Angeles Councilmember and California State Sen. Nate Holden. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Nathaniel “Nate” Holden, a prominent figure in the city’s politics, passed away at the age of 95, his family confirmed on May 7.

Holden, who represented South Los Angeles for 16 years on the City Council and served one term in the California State Senate, was widely regarded as a forceful advocate for his community.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.”

Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Holden’s journey to political prominence began in the segregated South, where he was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1929. He often recalled the childhood moment when he first heard the governor of Georgia vowing to continue suppressing Black people.

“Doing the best you can for the people. Law and order. Make sure that people’s communities are safe. I did it all,” said Holden, reflecting on his legacy.

Holden is survived by his sons, including former California Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represented a district in Southern California that includes Pasadena and Altadena in Los Angeles County and cities in San Bernardino County.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.