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To provide another example of the non-systemic, biased, and arbitrary nature of the establishment and application of laws in Oakland, I present our own Oakland City Charter . The Charter reads: Section 1212. Gender References. All gender references in this Charter shall be considered neutral in form and context. (Amended by: Stats. November 1988.) Right? Well, look at this: Section 504. Duties. The City Administrator shall have the power and it shall be his duty: (a) To execute and enforce all laws and ordinances and policies of the Council and to administer the affairs of the City. (b) To attend all meetings of the Council, and its committees, unless excused, and such meetings of boards and commissions as he chooses or which he is directed to attend by the Council, and to participate in discussions at such meetings. (c) To recommend to the Council such measures and ordinances as he may deem necessary or expedient and to make such other recommendations to the Council concerning ...

The call for a City of Oakland "hiring audit", given by both Council President Ignacio De La Fuente and Mayor Ron Dellums in the wake of the firing of Chief Administrative Officer Deborah Edgerly on Tuesday (and the focus of a July 15th City Council meeting), is a terrible, emotional, knee-jerk idea adopted by two elected officials who need to take three steps back and rethink their entire approach to this matter. They've already made a ton of errors. Dellums mistake is in appearing as if he has all of the managerial stability of a switch-hitter, changing from one way of dealing with Deborah Edgerly, then opting for a nuclear approach. Ignacio does, what he does all too well, pounce in to take advantage of a perceived weakness in his opponent. But his mistake is in his execution of this action. Remember that Dellums beat De La Fuente in the last Oakland Mayor's race, and now public perception of Dellums has reached rock-bottom, so low that Ignacio's playing...

Ok. Here's another reason why Mayor Ron Dellums and other Oakland Officials should think twice before firing or forcing out Oakland City Administrator Deborah Edgerly regarding her alledged interference with a police investigation is this: she's protected by the Oakland City Charter and such an action is blocked and considered a crime itself -- Section 1208. Violation. The violation of any provision of the Charter shall be deemed a misdemeanor and be punishable upon conviction in the manner provided by State Law, unless otherwise expressly provided for in this Charter. (Amended by: Stats. November 1988 and Stats. November 2000.) One thing I learned from working for Mayor Elihu Harris was to ask what the Oakland City Charter says. So I did. This is the section of the Charter that governs "Miss E": ARTICLE V THE CITY MANAGER Section 500. Appointment. The Mayor shall appoint a City Administrator, subject to the confirmation by the City Council, who shall be the c...