Campaign account of 𝗟𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗣𝗔 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝗮𝗸𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝟭 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰
Oakland, CA
Joined June 2009
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Let's clarify some facts about Chief Armstrong's firing and lawsuit.
I've heard people who should know better say the Mayor had to fire him because he publicly criticized her.
He never criticized Mayor Thao until after he was fired.
He repeatedly criticized the Federal police overseer, Robert Warshaw, calling him corrupt. I agree with that statement.
I am not a lawyer, but my understanding is that even though our police chiefs are "at will" employees who can be fired without cause, it can still be illegal to fire an "at will" employee if, for example, done in violation of their right to free speech or to silence their whistleblowing.
The prior Police Chief won part of her wrongful termination lawsuit on similar grounds.
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Some people consider the Fed Overseer to be the holy guardian protecting us from an evil occupying OPD for over 12 years.
In 2012, Mayor Quan's City Administrator, Deanna Santana, filed a complaint alleging that Overseer Robert Warshaw made "inappropriate advances" towards her in private. In consultation with the Federal judge who supervises Warshaw, the city attorney dismissed the charges. The same Federal judge sealed the records from public view.
Post Me-Too, those records would not have been sealed unless both sides agreed to it.
A couple of years ago, I contacted a former high-level city staffer who was at City Hall at that time. I asked her what she thought of the allegations. She replied that while she had no direct knowledge of the alleged conduct, she had always found Santana forthright. She believed Santana.
Anyone play around with the Sway mobil app? Not it's primary function, but it accesses public voting records for people in your contacts to show their party registration, whether theyve voted, and voting history. Who they voted for is not public. Haven't tested to see if you an address that matches Registrar's.
They say they delete contacts immediately....
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The early results for EE, showing 74% in favor, exceed the Chamber of Commerce poll from about a month ago, which I'm told showed about 70% of likely voters in favor.
What's interesting is that the Oakland "political class," both moderate and progressive, by which I mean activists, not elected officials, largely lined up against EE. Most of my Thao Recall Committee colleagues, including Senneca Scott and Judge Brenda, as well as people i know in the other progressive camp like Pam Drake and Don Macleay of the Greens. No idea how big that political "class" is, maybe 500, maybe 1'000 max. A notable exception was a majority of the Empower board, excluding Loren Taylor, who opposed EE.
Chatting w a woman in line at Safeway last night who said she thought most people would vote for EE because it seemed the sensible thing to do. And people understood it meant the mayor would get more power despite the Thao trial.
Probably helped that the 4 council members who opposed EE stayed silent. Maybe not Ken Houston :)
𝗟𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗣𝗔 retweeted
While the watchdogs were distracted, a financial review understated BART's operating expense growth by 20 percentage points.
The EE strong mayor ballot measure only marginally increases the risk of mayoral corruption.
That risk is far outweighed by the certain benefits of accountability and efficiency that the strong mayor structure provides.
The risk increase comes primarily from transferring approval of small contracts from the city administrator to the mayor. Since the city admin "serves at the pleasure of the mayor," that's not much of a risk.
Some of the increase comes from the mayor's ability to veto council decisions on large contracts if they don't approve the contractor she favors. But the council can still override her veto by a supermajority. That's a very public, transparent process. Not conducive to corruption.
EE DOES NOT CHANGE THE CONTRACT APPROVAL THRESHOLDS. Council sets those in the Code.
I've uploaded a searchable copy of EE in Word format that includes the strikeouts. Had to use ChatGPT because Acrobat and Word couldn't retain the strikeouts.
So do a spot check.
I have also uploaded the full Charter and Code. Those are exactly as downloaded from the City site.
mediafire.com/folder/nntddnm…
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Oakland EE pay raise for council members: if you're a young family in Oakland with a couple of kids and you want to serve your City as council member you shouldn't have to be dependent on the Duongs to rent you a house in Montclair.
What does it cost a family of four to live in Oakland? (MIT Living Wage Calculator)
NEEDED BEFORE TAXES ... $185,729 per year
- This is a bare-bones "basic needs" budget. It includes no retirement or college savings and no emergency fund, and it assumes renting, not owning.
- MIT doesn't calculate city-level figures. These numbers are for Alameda County, which includes Oakland.
- The household is two adults, both working full time, with two children.
- MIT says the data was last updated February 15, 2026.
- Figures are MIT's and round to within a dollar or two.
Annual costs (Alameda County, 2 working adults + 2 kids):
Child care ............ $46,566 ($3,880/mo)
Housing ............... $35,098 ($2,925/mo)
Transportation ........ $15,169 ($1,264/mo)
Food .................. $14,875 ($1,240/mo)
Medical ............... $13,522 ($1,127/mo)
Other ................. $10,804 ($900/mo)
Civic ................. $9,827 ($819/mo)
Internet & mobile ..... $2,547 ($212/mo)
Needed after taxes .... $148,407
Taxes ................. $37,321
NEEDED BEFORE TAXES ... $185,729 per year
That's $44.65/hour for EACH parent, working full time.
For comparison, MIT's figure for San Francisco County is $203,808.
Source: livingwage.mit.edu/counties/…
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Even though Sheng Thao's SEIU budds at the PEC cost me a couple of hours of my time, and cost the Recall Mayor Thao Committee of which I was a member, thousands of dollars in legal fees to quash a frivolous subpoena, I still feel a bit of sympathy for Thao.
She came from no money, single mom, no parents or stock compensation for a house down payment, knew she'd probably never get a job that would pay 300k plus benefits again, and had the opportunity to dip her hand in the 2 billion-dollar annual revenue river that runs through City Hall each year.
People shouldn't vote against EE based on the council raises.
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The Oakland teachers union (OEA) and other supporters of the disastrous incumbents Brouhard and Bachelor have stopped quoting County Supt. Castro's prior report card as if it were the educational equivalent of the USDA Prime rating when, in fact, as the Supt. explains in her op-ed, it was just USDA-inspected.
Understandably, the OEA and its minions are furious that the Supt. they backed to oust the previous excellent Supt. LK Monroe for her recommendation that OUSD consider closing some schools has now come to a similar conclusion.
And sacrilege, Castro even mentions that, per student, OUSD is one of the highest-funded CA districts.
Hilarious, they're trying to smear Castro as now under the influence of the Evil Empower Oakland.
We need to get LeAna Powell for Oakland School Board D6, Mike Hutchinson, Oakland School Board Director, District 4, and Arielle Fleisher on the board to bring the OUSD board back to fiscal reality.
eastbaytimes.com/2026/10/20/…
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For supporters of the incumbents who say OUSD numbers had changed in just the several weeks after Supt. Castro issued what I call her "FDA Inspected" letter on OUSD in Sept (as compared to USDA Prime), I say read the FCMAT report.
The report didn't find anything new about OUSD's finances after the September letter. The FCMAT high-risk rating is based on the district's own numbers, and those were public well before the report came out. The unaudited actuals the board approved on September 9 showed a $30 million unrestricted deficit for 2025-26, up from the $20.6 million projected at second interim. Salaries and benefits had climbed to over 95% of unrestricted spending. The out-year budgets still depended on tens of millions in unspecified "other adjustments" cuts. And the county had already given the 2026-27 budget only conditional approval.
For something to have changed so drastically in a couple of months of FCMAT analysis, they would have had to find a massive accounting error, such as a single huge incorrect accounting entry or a projection mistake. Very very very unusual.
FCMAT's site visit did find some internal control problems, like bank reconciliations it couldn't verify and fraud policies staff didn't know about. And still no internal auditors forl decades. Those are real issues, but they didn't change the numbers or the conclusions.
Anyone who said two months ago that the district was in good shape was contradicting the district's own reports. And that was the reason the County Supt issued her letter the other day to clear up optimistic misinterpretations of her earlier pronouncement.
DONT vote for the incumbents Brouhard and Bachelor who are in denial about OUSD fiscal disaster.
Do Vote for Hutchinson, Fleisher, Powell
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Text of the FCMAT Summary:
"Summary
The Oakland Unified School District continues to face significant fiscal challenges related to its budget development, monitoring and updating practices; ongoing structural deficit; inability to maintain the minimum reserve for economic uncertainties without broadly applied adjustments; and approval of new collective bargaining agreements before completing the planning and implementation of previously identified budget solutions. Recent changes in key leadership positions have further contributed to instability in these areas.
Over the years, the district's governing board has developed multiple fiscal recovery and stabilization plans, often introducing new plans before fully implementing existing ones. This pattern has contributed to instability in the district's budget development and monitoring processes, limited its ability to conduct meaningful analysis before making major financial decisions, and reduced transparency. As discussed below, this pattern persisted during the period under review and remains a significant concern.
Following the district's exit from receivership, the interim superintendent asked the board to provide direc-tion by October 8, 2025 to guide development of a new financial stabilization plan. On October 8, the board adopted resolution No. 2526-0177, as amended, directing district staff to develop at least three scenarios for board review in December. On November 19, the board received an update that included Scenarios 1 and 2, provided revised direction for the development of additional scenarios and extended the deadline for the detailed budget plan to January 2026. On December 10, the board approved the 2025-26 First Interim Report with a qualified certification, reviewed Scenarios 3 and 4, and ultimately adopted Scenario 3.
The district's chief business official departed in mid-December. The district subsequently engaged Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA), a fiscal consultant, to work with remaining district staff to develop the detailed budget adjustment plan and provide fiscal guidance in January 2026. The leadership transition delayed development of the details supporting Scenario 3 while prior projections were reviewed.
On January 28, the district presented a revised plan to the board, The Financial Stabilization Implementation Plan: Protecting Equity, Maintaining Local Control, and Prioritizing Students, which included proposed expenditure reductions and funding reallocations. However, rather than incorporating the detailed budget adjustments associated with the Scenario 3 or January 28 plans, the district relied on a broad adjustment category in the multiyear projection included in its 2025-26 Second Interim Report. In June 2026, the board subsequently approved the Financial Stabilization Implementation Plan Progress Update and Path Forward.
The district received an FHRA risk score of 47.7%, placing it in the high-risk category. The highest-risk areas identified by the FHRA were budget monitoring and updates; collective bargaining agreements; fund bal¬ance and reserve for economic uncertainty; budget development and adoption; general fund-current year; deficit spending (unrestricted general fund); and leadership and stability.
The FHRA identified significant concerns regarding the reliability of the district's financial management processes and the information used to support fiscal decision-making. Appendix A provides a comparison of the district's budget figures throughout 2025-26, including subsequent financial information from the end-of-year projection (commonly referred to as the Third Interim Report), estimated actuals included in the 2026-27 adopted budget, and unaudited actuals.
FISCAL HEALTH RISK ANALYSIS
During 2025-26, the district was subject to significant changes in development of its fiscal stabilization and recovery plan, experienced turnover in key leadership positions, and made a substantial shift in budget strategy. Each of these factors independently had the potential to disrupt development and implementation of a coherent fiscal stabilization and recovery plan. Collectively, these factors contributed to fluctuations in the district’s budget and financial projections throughout the fiscal year, resulting in inconsistent informa¬tion being presented to the governing board and hindering its ability to make informed financial decisions."
I uploaded full pdf to MediaFire mediafire.com/file/e8smktojl…
![OUSD FHRA final 10.29.2026[1]](https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/2118898608984473600/RMVFIP3T?format=jpg&name=386x202)
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Text of the FCMAT Summary:
"Summary
The Oakland Unified School District continues to face significant fiscal challenges related to its budget development, monitoring and updating practices; ongoing structural deficit; inability to maintain the minimum reserve for economic uncertainties without broadly applied adjustments; and approval of new collective bargaining agreements before completing the planning and implementation of previously identified budget solutions. Recent changes in key leadership positions have further contributed to instability in these areas.
Over the years, the district's governing board has developed multiple fiscal recovery and stabilization plans, often introducing new plans before fully implementing existing ones. This pattern has contributed to instability in the district's budget development and monitoring processes, limited its ability to conduct meaningful analysis before making major financial decisions, and reduced transparency. As discussed below, this pattern persisted during the period under review and remains a significant concern.
Following the district's exit from receivership, the interim superintendent asked the board to provide direc-tion by October 8, 2025 to guide development of a new financial stabilization plan. On October 8, the board adopted resolution No. 2526-0177, as amended, directing district staff to develop at least three scenarios for board review in December. On November 19, the board received an update that included Scenarios 1 and 2, provided revised direction for the development of additional scenarios and extended the deadline for the detailed budget plan to January 2026. On December 10, the board approved the 2025-26 First Interim Report with a qualified certification, reviewed Scenarios 3 and 4, and ultimately adopted Scenario 3.
The district's chief business official departed in mid-December. The district subsequently engaged Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA), a fiscal consultant, to work with remaining district staff to develop the detailed budget adjustment plan and provide fiscal guidance in January 2026. The leadership transition delayed development of the details supporting Scenario 3 while prior projections were reviewed.
On January 28, the district presented a revised plan to the board, The Financial Stabilization Implementation Plan: Protecting Equity, Maintaining Local Control, and Prioritizing Students, which included proposed expenditure reductions and funding reallocations. However, rather than incorporating the detailed budget adjustments associated with the Scenario 3 or January 28 plans, the district relied on a broad adjustment category in the multiyear projection included in its 2025-26 Second Interim Report. In June 2026, the board subsequently approved the Financial Stabilization Implementation Plan Progress Update and Path Forward.
The district received an FHRA risk score of 47.7%, placing it in the high-risk category. The highest-risk areas identified by the FHRA were budget monitoring and updates; collective bargaining agreements; fund bal¬ance and reserve for economic uncertainty; budget development and adoption; general fund-current year; deficit spending (unrestricted general fund); and leadership and stability.
The FHRA identified significant concerns regarding the reliability of the district's financial management processes and the information used to support fiscal decision-making. Appendix A provides a comparison of the district's budget figures throughout 2025-26, including subsequent financial information from the end-of-year projection (commonly referred to as the Third Interim Report), estimated actuals included in the 2026-27 adopted budget, and unaudited actuals.
FISCAL HEALTH RISK ANALYSIS
During 2025-26, the district was subject to significant changes in development of its fiscal stabilization and recovery plan, experienced turnover in key leadership positions, and made a substantial shift in budget strategy. Each of these factors independently had the potential to disrupt development and implementation of a coherent fiscal stabilization and recovery plan. Collectively, these factors contributed to fluctuations in the district’s budget and financial projections throughout the fiscal year, resulting in inconsistent informa¬tion being presented to the governing board and hindering its ability to make informed financial decisions."
I uploaded full pdf to MediaFire mediafire.com/file/e8smktojl…
14
𝗟𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗣𝗔 retweeted
From my BART Board Director archives, written for @EastBayTimes in June 2023 after voting NO on the @SFBART FY2024 budget. And I meant it.
"Before BART gets another taxpayer bailout, reforms need to be put in place to make the agency more accountable to taxpayers. It’s only fair."
eastbaytimes.com/2023/06/13/…
Hey, maybe Brouhard and Bachelor are on to something here: A way to solve OUSD's fiscal problems without closing a bunch of half empty schools 😂
They just need to get the state legislature to exempt OUSD from all the state laws governing the lease or sale of public property, so OUSD can lease sections of the half empty school buildings at high market rates to data centers.
Use the lease payments to cover the cost of those schools and even make a profit to contribute to other OUSD schools
oaklandreport.org/p/oakland-…
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SF Chron Garofoli Misinformation about Measure EE
Unless the Chron's political gossip columnist discloses a credible source for his claim that Falk was "the driving force pushing Oakland to change its charter," this is the worst kind of misinformation because it comes from a respected newspaper.
Fact: for months before the trial started, Falk has been a one-man band on social media and placing op-eds advocating for reverting to the city manager structure.
The trial started Oct 13, 2026
So just the line about how "The trial has even convinced Steven Falk... to vote against the strong-mayor plan" is blatantly incorrect.
Lawdy, the Chron's coverage of Oakland can't be trusted if they let a political gossip columnist push this crap out a few days before election day.
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𝗟𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗣𝗔 retweeted
Chief McDonnell, my friend and colleague for over 40 years, including the seven years we worked closely together at the LAPD, has been in the face of significant adversity and hostility from the Progressive Left. He has been doing an outstanding job leading the much reduced in size LAPD as it has faced continuous crises over the last several years. Replacing him before the end of his term would create additional crises of monumental proportions.
It is heavily rumored that mayoral candidate Nithya Raman’s choice to replace McDonnell would be the recently defeated progressive left LA District Attorney George Gascon.
Read it in the LA Times: enewspaper.latimes.com/infin…
𝗟𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗣𝗔 retweeted
White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia and Special Assistant to the president Natalie Harp join President Donald Trump in Marine One he arrived in Wasilla, Alaska yesterday. @POTUS @KatieZacharia
Measure RTM transit sales tax
BART pleading for approval after years of fiscal mismanagement reminds me of the Borscht Belt joke of the guy who murders his parents and begs the jury to forgive him because he’s an orphan.
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𝗟𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗣𝗔 retweeted
🦇 Gotham Oakland, The Final Season - “The Yin of the Matter: Who’s Bankrolling Sheng Thao’s Defense?”
Sources say CCP-linked Democratic mega-donor CC Yin is allegedly covering disgraced former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s legal bills in her federal corruption trial.
Yin — tied to the Swalwell spy-ring circle, a big donor to Newsom and Harris, and connected to AG Rob Bonta — is now in the mix as Thao fights bribery and fraud charges.
𝗟𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗣𝗔 retweeted
Releasing another man convicted in the assassination of NYPD Officer Eddie Byrne would be an unconscionable decision—and a profound betrayal of Officer Byrne, his family, and every law enforcement officer who puts their life on the line.
I strongly urge the New York State Parole Board to keep David McClary behind bars, where cop-killers belong. Releasing him would once again send a disgraceful message: that the lives of police officers count for less than the freedom of the people convicted of murdering them. They don’t. Eddie Byrne’s sacrifice—and the safety of those who continue his work—deserve far more respect and justice.
Send a letter to the parole board here: nycpba.org/keep-cop-killers-…
