Oakland Council appoints Parker City Attorney, puts $80 parcel tax on ballot

Published on Friday, July 22, 2011
Last updated on 02:29AM, Friday, July 22, 2011
City Attorney Barbara Parker

City Attorney Barbara Parker

The Oakland City Council on Tuesday appointed Barbara Parker as City Attorney, forgoing the opportunity to have a citywide election to fill the spot.

Parker won the appointment with a 5-3 vote, with the support of City Councilmembers Nancy Nadel, Rebecca Kaplan, Larry Reid, Libby Schaaf and Pat Kernighan. Desley Brooks, Ignacio De La Fuente and Jane Brunner voted against Parker.

The Council also placed an $80-a-year parcel tax on a special election mail-only ballot in November, a tactic intended to help with an expected budget shortfall, despite union concessions and the sale of the Henry Kaiser Convention Center.

The Council meeting was typically contentious (see the twitter stream at http://bit.ly/oSjgMu), with speakers and Councilmembers fuming that the Council wouldn't support an open election for the city attorney slot.



Finally, the city agreed to double the number of licensed medical marijuana dispensaries from four to eight, focusing on the fees paid as justification.

Watch an archive of the meeting at KTOP: http://bit.ly/qZU27e

About Susan Mernit
Susan Mernit is the founder of Oakland Local. She is also a circuit rider for The Community Information Challenge, a program of The John S and James L Knight Foundation, and a consultant to non-profit and community organizations. Susan lives in North Oakland, near the Santa Fe school, with her partner, her housemate, a rescue dog named Cazzie, and a yard full of ants. She is an aspiring gardener, a long-time blogger & entrepreneur, and a recovering journalist who's found home in Oakland.
livegreen commented at Wed, 20 Jul at 11:08am

There were two possible reasons to vote no, and you should not guess that the reason for each Councilmember was against Parker rather than against appointment vs. special election.  For example, I think Ignacio was for the people deciding through special election.  That does not mean he voted against Barbara Parker. Especially as he has recently supported John Russo, and Barbara is his designated choice.

 

Jane Brunner, on the other hand, probably voted against Parker since she has expressed an interest in the job.

Susan Mernit commented at Wed, 20 Jul at 5:43pm

Livegreen, your comments make perfect sense, thank you for sharing.

Deepika Jhawar commented at Wed, 16 Nov at 1:30am

In some small towns, the city attorney is usually a lawyer in private practice and handles only governmental matters.

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