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Michael Kilian, candidate for Oakland City Auditor, submits Conflict of Interest Complaint to Oakland Public Ethics Commission On October 10, 2010, Michael Kilian, who is opposing Courtney Ruby in the campaign for Oakland City Auditor, submitted a compl aint to the Oakland Public Ethics Commission alleging that Inspection Services Manager Antoinette Renwick failed to report a familial relationship with her department's primary blight abatement/cleanup contractor, Arthur Young Debris Removal Service, which constitutes a conflict of interest. Kilian states this one example of nepotism appears to have cost the City more than $1 million each year in cleanup contracts. Renwick, who became Inspection Services Manager in 2002, appears to have retired October 15, five days after Kilian's complaint was filed with PEC Executive Director Dan Purnell. Courtney Ruby's nepotism audit does not appear to have detected or corrected this example of nepotism. A 2007 audit of Public Wo

Sierra Club thinks Joe Tuman isn't "viable" Oakland At-Large Councilmember and Oakland Mayor's Race candidate called this blogger regarding the blog post entitled " Oakland Mayor's Race: Rebecca Kaplan Fears Joe Tuman ," where it was reported that Kaplan recommended that Joe Tuman not be the second choice for those voting for her. That information came from the Bay Area Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club's email forum, where long time Oakland local business supporter, political activist, and friend Pamela Drake wrote this: Rebecca Kaplan contacted me and said that she is NOT recommending Tuman and that she refers voters to the East Bay Express article to make their own decisions. I apologize for repeating an incorrect report, Pamela So Rebecca's phone call was puzzling, but as they say on the street, it is what it is. What Kaplan said to this blogger is that she encourages voters to make the selection they think is best. Also, Kaplan note

Greg Harland One big problem that's plagued the Oakland Mayor's Race and that apparently still exists is how some Bay Area media organizations ignore some of the candidates running for the office of Mayor of Oakland. That practice has angered Oakland Mayoral Candidate Greg Harland because he wan't contacted by either the Oakland Tribune / Bay Area News Group or The San Francisco Chronicle . Harland was upset to the point where he referred to one post as saying "that says it all," and it was a column by Mercury News / Oakland Tribune columnist Tammerlin Drummond which reads: "We began by whittling down the list of 10 candidates to the four who actually merited voter consideration: Kaplan, Perata, Councilwoman Jean Quan and political analyst/university professor Joe Tuman."  Ok, let's let loose here. That statement is a freaking joke. The only reason Joe Tuman was placed in the Tribune's "merited voter consideration" hoppe

The Oakland Mayor's Race is heating up, and with Joe Tuman in the spotlight, yet again. All of this because Tuman has become a serious threat to Mayoral Candidates Don Perata, and Councilmembers Rebecca Kaplan and Jean Quan, the elected officials considered front runners in the Oakland Mayor's Race. Yesterday in this space it was reported that Tuman so frustrated San Francisco Chronicle Reporter Matthai Kuruvali that he placed his head in his hands and on the table in a photo that, until closer inspection, looked like Kuruvali was banging his head. While the full report on the "heated discussion" is coming soon, knowing Tuman and the overall landscape, as well as what information's come in, the tone of the conversation between Tuman and Kuruvali was undoubtedly shaped by Kuruvali's desire to prove that when it comes to Oakland politics and policy, he thinks Tuman's a novice. Knowing Joe, he never relented to Kuruvali's dogged attempt to trip hi

If you think the Oakland Mayor's Race can't get under the skin of some people who say they're not "getting involved," try looking at this photo of San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer Matthai Kuruvali, who placed his head on the table of the board room at the San Francisco Chronicle as if he'd had enough of something.  In the background is Oakland Mayoral Candidate Joe Tuman, who seems just calm and collected. What's interesting is that Matthai Kuruvali tweeted on Twitter. . matthai matthai kuruvila - Just to be clear, I'm not on the ed board and I'm not involved in the decision, but I'll be there for the interview and will ask questions. Yeah. Right. According to SFGate.com intern Ali Thanawalla, Matthai Kuruvali got into what Ali calls "a heated discussion" and a "funny moment" and Ai reports on both Flickr and on Twitter : After a heated discussion with Oakland mayoral candidate Joe Tuman, writer Matth

The Oakland Mayor's Race becomes even more fun. Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan (At-Large) got the endorsement of The Oakland Tribune , much to the surprise of some, not here, but how much help it will do is questionable. The Trib's not the power it was in the past, but hey, we're talking about it, right? Indeed, that, combined with the giant Grand Lake Theater sign ads for Joe Tuman, may have boosted him to near-front runner status. Why? Because Tuman was the Tribune's second choice (and The East Bay Express as well), and the same pub trashed Former Senator Don Perata, saying his lack of knowledge of key Oakland issues was "appalling." Not sure the Tribune, and that would be it's editor Martin Reynolds, is correct when he bashes the field of Oakland mayoral candidates as "weak" because when compared to past years, it's actually rather strong. Now, if Marty has some kind of wish list of candidates for this round, he has yet to present

Oakland Children's Hospital is being plagued by a nurses strike as this is written. As a fan of Children's Hospital and its staff, the current situation does not reflect how hard they've worked to keep the establishment a going concern in a tough economy. This blogger is not anti-union, but some unions need to be called out when they're not playing to work with administration, but against it. Such is the California Nurses Association. Someone's paying attention. Namely, Nancy Shibata, RN, MSN, Chief Nursing Officer, Children’s Hospital Oakland, who sent this opinion piece to be ran in this space: CNA Nurses Union Out of Touch With Current Economic Realities At Children's Hospital Oakland By Nancy Shibata, RN, MSN Chief Nursing Officer, Children’s Hospital Oakland Ironically, the high cost of health insurance is a difficult problem for hospitals today. Over the past 5 years, health insurance benefit costs have risen for Children's by 80 perce