Lawyer based in Oakland. Passionate about government transparency and accountability; public safety advocate
Joined January 2023
- Tweets344
- Following202
- Followers199
- Likes417
Marleen retweeted
It’s the Oakland way 💰💰
Oakland approved $61 million in contracts with no council vote or prior public review
📰 Oakland delayed the required public reports on these contracts for three years. The report was finally issued this week — and it shows hundreds of contracts awarded without a public bid in Oakland.
oaklandreport.org/p/oakland-…
One thing I definitely am still curious about is this: was CWS aware of the competitive bidding requirements? How did they think they were going to get around them? Was it just generally accepted that they were a joke and never followed?
1
2
183
So many lessons coming out of the Sheng Thao trial. One: the city needs a clear, transparent competitive bidding process to award contracts to the most qualified bidder. Stop awards based on “local,” race or other irrelevant criteria.
Former Oakland councilmembers reacted with disbelief to witness’ claim the had been paying city officials off for years: “It is laughable on its face.” eastbaytimes.com/2026/10/31/…
Marleen retweeted
Once you realize that California High-Speed Rail won't be connecting LA to SF in the foreseeable future, the solution becomes obvious: defund HSR and reallocate the $ to BART and other transit.
Vote NO on RTM and call your state legislator.
Marleen retweeted
Who are the two unnamed council members who received gym bags with $50k and $300k in cash?????
Sheng Thao wanted to be a millionaire through bribes, according to prosecution‘s key witness. Here’s my story from Federal Court: abc7news.com/19996929/
Marleen retweeted
"It’s more smoke and mirrors meant to dupe voters into paying more taxes."
The authors of Measure RTM knew that with public trust in transit agencies badly eroded, voters would want something in return: accountability.
The polls said it. So the authors promised it — repeatedly. "
But they didn't deliver it. 🧵1/
sfstandard.com/opinion/2026/…
Marleen retweeted
Breaking News!!!
NO on RTM! says the Merc and EBT @mercnews @EastBayTimes
mercurynews.com/2026/10/09/e…
Marleen retweeted
Flashback: Oaklandside ran a story on Sheng Thao's "fight" against recall — but didn't say why people sought to recall her. (2024)
📰 Its subtitle said in part: "Much of the money" for the recall came "from one wealthy person."
📰 It didn't mention the FBI raids on Thao's and her partner Andre Jones' homes, and the home and office of David Duong of California Waste Solutions a few months prior.
📰(All four were later indicted for corruption and bribery. All four have pleaded not guilty.)
oaklandreport.news/x/h-flash…
Here’s a non paywall version. yahoo.com/news/us/articles/j…
Judge orders Oakland Unified to remedy antisemitism. For years, OUSD has been enabling and endorsing discrimination against Jews. sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti…
3
3
170
Judge orders Oakland Unified to remedy antisemitism. For years, OUSD has been enabling and endorsing discrimination against Jews. sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti…
Marleen retweeted
Number of Jews in Egypt: 10 (total population: 100 million)
Jordan: 0 (10M)
Saudi Arabia: 0 (34M)
Lebanon: 100 (7M)
Syria: 0 (17M)
Iraq: 4 (39M)
Iran: 8,300 (83M)
Number of Arabs in Israel: 1.9M (9M), with full civil rights.
But sure, Israel is the apartheid state.
Marleen retweeted
The Oakland school district’s finances are so dire and its risk of running out of money are of such concern that fiscal experts have lowered its credit rating to BBB with a “negative” outlook. sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti…
Marleen retweeted
BREAKING: Residents of all five counties affected by the November transit tax have filed a complaint in Santa Clara Superior Court alleging that the summary of Ballot Measure RTM is Untrue and/or Argumentative, and/or Prejudicial thereby violating California election law.
Marleen retweeted
Oakland Coliseum deal: An open letter to council member Janani Ramachandran asks how she squares her vote with the 'culture of enforcement' she has championed.
"Why was preserving this particular purchaser considered preferable to reopening the process and inviting competitive bids?" 👇
oaklandreport.org/p/open-let…
I want to thank all the groups and individuals who worked hard to get this insulting tax measure rejected. Ding dong Measure E is dead. eastbaytimes.com/2026/06/05/…
