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Oakland Loses Representation on  Bay Area Air Quality Board

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Mayor Libby Schaaf declined to recommend reappointment of Rebecca Kaplan to the position

Oakland residents lost the only representative they have had in over two decades on the board the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Oakland Councilmember-at-Large Rebecca Kaplan, who has brought millions of dollars to the city for projects to clean the air of pollutants that cause cancer and respiratory diseases.

Over the past few months, Mayor Libby Schaaf has been deluged with letters in support of Kaplan from Oakland residents and leaders of other cities who serve on the regional board.
Schaaf did not recommend Kaplan or any other Oakland resident for the position.
Schaaf said she was powerless to intervene or even to recommend that Kaplan be reappointed to the board when her term expires in April.
Instead, Schaaf endorsed Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín, who has applied for the position.
The 24-members board, representing nine Bay Area counties, makes major decisions about allocation of money for air quality projects. Alameda County has two representatives on the board from the Board of Supervisors and two members appointed by the Alameda County Conference of Mayors.
Before Kaplan, the last Oakland representative on the board was Councilmember Frank Ogawa, who served over 25 years ago.
Under the bylaws of the mayors conference—to which Mayor Schaaf belongs but attends irregularly—county mayors have the first option to serve on the board. If no mayor applies, a city councilmember or other representative can be considered if that person is recommended by their mayor.
The mayors’ conference voted at its meeting Wednesday evening to appoint Emeryville Mayor John Bauters to serve on the air quality board.
In an email dated Feb. 26, Schaaf wrote, “I’m afraid the mayor of Oakland does not control any appointment to that board” and said she was backing Berkeley’s mayor.
“Mayor Arreguín has a solid environmental justice record and is committed to representing the entire county, especially the most impacted communities, so will have my support,” she said.
While refusing to endorse Kaplan, Schaaf said, “Should circumstances change and no mayor wishes to serve, Councilmember Kaplan would have my recommendation for consideration to the air board,” she said.
When contacted by the Oakland Post, Arreguín declined to answer questions about what he would represent Oakland neighborhoods’ air quality interests.
Post questions: Did he consider the ramifications on Oakland and its impacted communities when he applied? Did Mayor Schaaf urge him to apply for the position?
“The mayor is not going to be able to comment on this,” wrote Arreguin’s director of communications.
In her email to Kaplan supporters, Schaaf wrote that she is seeking a state law that would create dedicated seats for cities like Oakland that bare the brunt of poor air quality.
However, according to Councilmember Kaplan, no such bill has been submitted to the Legislature.
“The bill deadline has passed, and nobody has expressed willingness nor introduced the type of bill you describe,” Kaplan wrote in an open letter to Schaaf.
Kaplan said she is eager to build support on such a law, which would guarantee Oakland has a voice at the table.
In the little over a year that Kaplan has served on the air quality board, she has won funding for the free Broadway Transit shuttle, helped remove old pollution -causing diesel engines and is working on winning up to $50 million to reduce emissions from trucks, trains and ships that harm Oakland’s flatland communities.
One of the community activists backing Kaplan for the position is Pamela Drake.
“Oakland is the largest city (in the county),  with the most severe pollution,” she said “It needs somebody who knows these issues and is on top of them. I think that’s Rebecca. She has the track record and the knowledge base.”
Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), which recently waged an unsuccessful fight to block the building of a large crematorium in East Oakland, has been attending the monthly meeting of the Alameda Conference of Mayors to lobby for Kaplan’s reappointment to the board.
“My understanding is that all those mayors really have the choice, said Esther Goolsby, a CBE organizer. “They are choosing not to represent Oakland anymore.”
She said that CBE had a phone meeting Tuesday with Mayor Schaaf and Mayor Arreguín and asked Arreguín to withdraw his application. He refused.
“Mayor Schaaf refers to having to follow bylaws, but we are saying the community is experiencing an environmental health state of emergency,” said Goolsby.
Oakland needs a representative on the air quality board like Kaplan because the “relationship of the air quality district staff is disturbing and raises serious questions,” she said, accusing the air district’s staff of refusing to listen to community input opposed to the building of the crematorium.
Speaking for herself as an individual, Goolsby questioned Mayor Schaaf’s motives, saying she believes the mayor “is putting politics ahead of the community’s air quality needs,” because Schaaf is seeking reelection in November, and Kaplan may run against her.
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City Government

San Pablo Appoints New Economic Development and Housing Manager

Kieron Slaughter has been appointed as the economic development & housing manager for the City of San Pablo. Since 2017, Slaughter has served as chief strategic officer for economic innovation in the City of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development. Previously, he served in a 2.5-year appointment in the Pacific West Region as one of 10 Urban Fellows in the United States National Park Service.

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Kieron Slaughter. Photo courtesy of the City of San Pablo
Kieron Slaughter. Photo courtesy of the City of San Pablo

The Richmond Standard

Kieron Slaughter has been appointed as the economic development & housing manager for the City of San Pablo.

Since 2017, Slaughter has served as chief strategic officer for economic innovation in the City of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development. Previously, he served in a 2.5-year appointment in the Pacific West Region as one of 10 Urban Fellows in the United States National Park Service.

Before that he was an associate planner in the City of Richmond’s Planning and Building Services Department from 2007-2015.

San Pablo City Manager Matt Rodriguez lauded Slaughter’s extensive experience in economic development, housing and planning, saying he will add a “valuable perspective to the City Manager’s Office.”

Slaughter, a Berkeley resident, will start in his new role on Nov. 12, with a base annual salary of $164,928, according to the City of San Pablo.

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City Government

Aaron Osorio Rises Up Ranks to Become Richmond’s Fire Chief

For Aaron Osorio, it started with a ride along on a firetruck at age 10. “I thought it was the coolest job,” he said, adding, “I knew being in fire service would make a big difference in the community.” Now a 27-year fire service veteran, Osorio appears to approach his work with the same youthful exuberance. And that’s good for the city as Osorio was recently named chief of the historic Richmond Fire Department.

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Richmond Fire Department Chief Aaron Osorio. Courtesy photo.
Richmond Fire Department Chief Aaron Osorio. Courtesy photo

By Mike Kinney

The Richmond Standard

For Aaron Osorio, it started with a ride along on a firetruck at age 10.

“I thought it was the coolest job,” he said, adding, “I knew being in fire service would make a big difference in the community.”

Now a 27-year fire service veteran, Osorio appears to approach his work with the same youthful exuberance. And that’s good for the city as Osorio was recently named chief of the historic Richmond Fire Department.

Osorio is a San Francisco native who rose up the ranks in the Richmond Fire Department over the last 21 years before being elevated to chief.

He joined the department in 2002 and has served in multiple roles including firefighters, engineer, captain, battalion chief, training director and deputy fire chief. He said he truly loves working in this community.

While it isn’t common for a fire department to hire a chief that came up through its ranks, Osorio was credited by the city for serving Richmond well during uncommon times.

The city lauded him for developing internal policies and vaccination clinics during the initial COVID response, for supporting activation of the emergency operations center in response to a potential mudslide disaster in Seacliff last year, helping to draft mutual aid agreements and working to increase fire response capabilities for industrial incidents.

He’s also led departmental hiring and recruitment since 2018.

Osorio said it is an honor to be hired as chief and has big plans for the department moving forward. He said he wants to continue hiring and promoting for vacant positions, and also completing a strategic plan guiding the direction of the organization.

He also aims to replace and renovate a number of fire department facilities placed on the Capital Improvement Plan and create new ways to recruit that will enhance the diversity of the department.

Osorio said his experience within, and love for, the city of Richmond puts him in a good position to lead the department. He says he knows what is needed and also the challenges that are unique to the city.

“I look forward to utilizing that institutional knowledge to move the fire department forward in a positive direction and enhance the services we provide to the community,” the chief said.

Osorio holds a bachelor of science degree in Fire Administration and is also a California State Fire Marshal-certified chief officer, company officer, and state instructor.

He also holds numerous certifications in fire, rescue, hazardous material, and incident command.

The chief has been married to his wife, Maria, for 26 years and they have two sons, Roman and Mateo.

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Bay Area

Oakland Awarded $28 Million Grant from Governor Newsom to Sustain Long-Term Solutions Addressing Homelessness

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program. This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.

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Mayor Sheng Thao
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program.

This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the Oakland City Administrator’s Office staff held a press conference today to discuss the grant and the City’s successful implementing of the Mayor’s Executive Order on the Encampment Management Policy.

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