Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com Robert Bobb, the former Oakland City Manager, possible candidate for Oakland mayor, and currently Emergency Financial Manager for The Detroit Public School system is on CNN now regarding the identification and arrest of employees in the Detroit Public School system (DPSS). Bobb already made headlines when he had the DPSS file for bankruptcy; now there's more news and while it's not good for the system , it's good for Bobb. Bobb said got a tip regarding embezzlement of funds from the system's new hot line installed to identify such problems, but what is being done to monitor employees in the future? "We have already implemented a very strong monitoring system," Bobb said. "Individuals who would be cheating the system will be caught." CNN's Kyra Phillips is hailing Bobb with what is a "great job" salute. It's still not cle

A Robert Bobb reminder post from the recent past: More at EBX : “Robert Bobb should have been Oakland's new city administrator. He was easily the most qualified candidate, and was Mayor Ron Dellums' first choice. Last month, the two men were talking salary and benefits, as they closed in on a deal to bring Bobb back to the East Bay. But then Oakland's respected former city manager changed his mind, and decided to take over the financially troubled Detroit public school system. What happened? According to knowledgeable sources, there were several reasons for why Bobb decided to turn down Dellums, and one of them had to do with Oakland's other "mayor" — Cynthia Dellums.” ...Because Bobb may be back.  More soon.  

More at EBX : “Robert Bobb should have been Oakland's new city administrator. He was easily the most qualified candidate, and was Mayor Ron Dellums' first choice. Last month, the two men were talking salary and benefits, as they closed in on a deal to bring Bobb back to the East Bay. But then Oakland's respected former city manager changed his mind, and decided to take over the financially troubled Detroit public school system. What happened? According to knowledgeable sources, there were several reasons for why Bobb decided to turn down Dellums, and one of them had to do with Oakland's other "mayor" — Cynthia Dellums.” -- Look, this source is none other than Oakland's leading City Hall Gossip Authority Sanjiv Handa. I know this because Gammon doesn't normally pop-out with articles like this, and the only person who has the level of detail Gammon presents is Sanjiv. Period. As to the story itself, it's true. The way the Mayor's Office is r

More at FREEP : “Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed Robert C. Bobb, a Washington consultant with ties to Michigan, to become the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools on Monday. "This will challenge me in ways in which I don't believe I've been challenged before," Bobb, 63, said. As the DPS financial manager, Bobb will have all authority over DPS's $1.1-billion budget. The financial takeover came after the state superintendent declared DPS in a financial emergency because of its $129-million deficit and struggles to pay bills. Bobb has served as Washington's city administrator, deputy mayor and as homeland security adviser. He has managed a workforce of approximately 20,000 and an annual budget of $8 billion, according to Granholm's office. He also served as the city manager of Oakland, Calif.; Richmond, Va.; Santa Ana, Calif., and Kalamazoo.” -- So the search for a Chief Adminstrative Officer continues.

Report on Oakland seeks accountability, cuts : “Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums laid out a 60-day plan today for restructuring city government with an emphasis on greater accountability, cost cutting and greater civic engagement. Dellums released a report by Public Financial Management Group, a Philadelphia firm owned by former Oakland City Manager Robert Bobb, which Dellums described as a "call to action" for his vision for making Oakland a model city - a place with a robust economy, safe streets and healthy residents who are engaged in their community.” -- I've only skimmed over the report thus far, but you can take a look at it right now. Just download it here: Oakland Consultant's Report

I just read the East Bay Express' Chris Thompson's blog about the fact that Mayor Ron Dellums still has not named a City Administrator.  That's because the one person Dellums wants -- former City Manager Robert Bobb -- reportedly asked for $350,000  !  That's too much for the cash-strapped City of Oakland to stomach.  

I have received information from a very good source that former Oakland City Manager, Robert Bobb, who's currently serving as a consultant to the City of Oakland on administration matters in the wake of the firing of City Administrator Deborah Edgerly, wants $350,000 to come back to Oakland as City Administrator. The trouble is, the City of Oakland does not want to spend that kind of money in the face of a reported $40 million deficit and a record-setting recession. Bobb will have to substantially reduce his "ask" if he wants the job.   Apparently, that salary matter is the big delay in Mayor Ron Dellums ability to secure the popular public official as the next city administrator.  

On the heels of my blog post on why I think Don Perata would lose if he ran for Mayor of Oakland, I had a great conversation with friends who disagreed with me and believed that Perata would win.  I introduced my logic, which is just that because it's not tied to any personal feelings about Perata -- I like him and always have going back to 1993 -- but a pure, cold look at the Oakland electorate.   I wrote that a "dark horse" candidate may emerge to beat Perata, and we talked about that person: Robert Bobb.    If the former and now some say "De Facto" Oakland City Manager threw his hat into the ring to run for Mayor, he would clobber Perata, and that's even if Perata got the endorsement of California Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, and most of the other members of the Ron Dellums / Sandre Swanson / Barbara Lee endorsement machine.  Bobb could beat that machine.  Bet on it.   Why? Well, let's take a hard look at this.  California Senator Perata would

This is listed under the file heading of "What was he thinking?"  I've learned using Huffington Post's "Fundrace" system that our own Robert Bobb, who's listed as a "consultant" with the adress P.O. Box 77556, Washington, D.C.,  gave $1,000 to Hillary Clinton's run for president, but nothing -- zip -- to Barack Obama! That's disappointing to learn for this Obama backer and volunteer. I got after Mayor Dellums for not backing now President-Elect Obama because doing so would send a message to young Black men in Oakland that he supports the future, but I would have guessed Mr. Bobb would have certainly backed Obama.   Now, that colors a lot of thoughts I had about Bobb and makes me reconsider past his actions when we were involved with The Super Bowl. I crossed-checked the Robert Bobb listed in Chicago and who did give to Barack's campaign and he's a lawyer in the windy city. But it says something not so good when older Af

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Chip Johnson has had a field day -- or year -- going after Mayor Ron Dellums and pointing to his shortcomings, and today's no exception  : As he nears the halfway point in his four-year term, Dellums must decide whether to hire former City Manager Robert Bobb to his old position or continue with Dan Lindheim, a political appointment with little experience in city government. The national search to replace former City Administrator Deborah Edgerly, fired in July amidst a corruption scandal, has fizzled, leaving Lindheim to run day-to-day operations while Bobb, hired in July as a consultant, shows up twice a month and acts as the de-facto city administrator, City Hall sources say. The arrangement leaves Lindheim feeling undermined and Bobb in limbo, the sources say, while city residents are without leadership or clear direction. It's an uncomfortable situation that must be resolved. Well, Robert Bobb's certainly in limbo but fortunatel

I've not yet confirmed this with Robert Bobb himself, but two sources have explained to me today that former Oakland City Manager Robert Bobb has resigned from his position as a consultant with  Public Financial Management Inc.  -- the assertion from one source is that he did so to become Oakland's next City Administrator, replacing former City Adminstrator Debra Edgerly, who was fired in July of this year.   Bobb has been going back and forth, in and out of Oakland as part of a consulting engagement that saw the public service veteran analyze various aspects of Oakland management and operations in an effort to determine why the government's not working as it should and why service delivery has been so poor.   The possibility of Bobb's return was a focus on a recent debate between the two At Large City Council candidates Rebecca Kaplan and Kerry Hamill.  Both were rather lukewarm to the idea of his possible return, with Hamill more along the commentary of "I

It's not often I read that Chip Johnson's happy about something Mayor Ron Dellums has done -- come to think of it, that is true for me -- but in this case, he is. Former Oakland City Manager Robert Bobb is returning to Oakland in the form of consultant to fix the managerial system he knows so well: Oakland's. He comes representing The PFM Group , which is a company based around an existing set of public management consultancies in America. His title is "Senior Managing Consultant" and the website has this bio: Robert Bobb is a Director with PFM in the Strategic Consulting practice. He has over 30 years of professional management experience in the private and public sectors at the chief executive level. He is nationally recognized for innovative leadership, with special achievements in public safety, finance, community development, employee development, and community empowerment programs. Mr. Bobb is the former City Administrator and Deputy Mayor for Washington

I want to be the first Oakland blogger to affirm Chip Johnson's article today charging favoritism in the City of Oakland. My response is that it doesn't start or stop at the CAO's office or with Deborah Edgerly herself, and a really complete look should go back 10 years, not just 2004. Look, I was treated so terribly by the City of Oakland when I was trying to bring the Super Bowl here , that my own mother -- who's still cancer-free by the way -- observed that "Between Blacks who are jealous of you and Whites who think someone White should be doing what you're doing, you're going through a terrible place." She was right. Oakland's government has a long history of hating well-educated Black men who don't follow the normal ethnic stereotypes. I remember 1998, when all of us from Elihu Harris' office -- I was economic advisor -- were being placed in various departments of the City of Oakland after Jerry Brown won a landslide victory to