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According to Matier and Ross in the SF Chronicle, former Oakland City Administrator Deborah Edgerly's suing the City of Oakland for unlawful termination (They used the term "unfair" but it's "unlawful"). At any rate, it was an expected action given the way she was let go and the kind of statements made about her before the action took place. I wrote then that a defamation of character lawsuit would have been appropriate, but Edgerly apparently feels she was wrongfully terminated.
Again, Edgerly's way of protecting family and favorites caught up to her, that's certain. But, and I state this again, Edgerly was put on the chopping block for actions that are common in the City of Oakland. I wrote a while back - stating that SF Chronicle Columnist Chip Johnson was right about Oakland favoritism - and will continue to assert this:
Don't think that favoritism starts with Deborah Edgerly. It's part of the organizational DNA of Oakland and has been practiced by everyone from then-Mayor Jerry Brown on down. In fact, it was widely known that Jerry didn't want Deborah Edgerly as his first choice for Chief Administrative Officer; he wanted the stiletto and ankle-bracelet-wearing Dolores Blanchard (who was White, not Black as an FYI) to be the one, but she lived in Danville, not Oakland.
In fact, if Ms. E focuses on Ron Dellums wife Cynthia in the lawsuit (where she claims Mrs. Dellums asked her to pay Dellums personal bills with taxpayer money), it could be another major credibility problem for a Mayor's Office that already suffers from the low regard the community has for its performance.
That's sad.
The whole tale is a terrible story of a period in Oakland's history where its citizens need effective, professional government, but are getting ineffective, unprofessonal government. It's not enough to point to a bright spot here in the City Attorney's Office, or anywhere else; the whole government should work well. That's not too much to ask for.
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