Oakland awards $10.4M 27th St. contract; two members vote no

Oakland
City Council Meeting
January 6, 2026

TL;DR

• The council awarded a $10.4M contract to Redgwick Construction to rebuild 27th Street, a corridor with recent traffic deaths. Two members voted no, wanting a higher local bid instead.
• Voters will see a June 2 ballot measure to change Oakland's police and fire pension board, letting it meet quarterly instead of monthly and expanding who can serve.
• The council finalized new rules for officeholder fundraising and put limits on officeholder mailings within three months of an election the official is running in.
• A salary ordinance update added two new full-time city positions and raised pay for two others to comply with Oakland's minimum wage.
• The city will pay $40,000 to settle a dangerous-condition lawsuit against the Department of Transportation.

What happened

1. 27th Street safety overhaul goes to Redgwick after a 5-2 fight over local contracting
   1. The council voted 5-2 to award a $10,418,573.50 contract to Redgwick Construction to rebuild 27th Street into a "complete street." Council members Gallo and Wang voted no. Both said they wanted the work to go to the second bidder, McGuire and Hester. That firm is an Oakland-based, 100-year-old, employee-owned company. It planned to mentor an Oakland sub, Cooper Construction Engineering, on the job. Council member Brown was excused.
   2. Redgwick is also Oakland-based, with offices in Council member Houston's district. Its bid came in about $900,000 under McGuire and Hester. Department of Transportation Director Rowan told the council Measure KK funds are maxed out. Picking the second bidder would mean pulling money from another project. Rebidding could push construction back a full year, into the next rainy season.
   3. What this means for you: If contracts execute on schedule, construction starts this spring. The corridor runs near Lake Merritt, past two senior centers and an elementary school, and has seen recent fatalities. If you use 27th Street, expect work to begin in a few months. Council member Fife, whose district includes the project, said she pulled the item from an earlier agenda over one concern. She wanted to confirm the city has no liability for a December 11 gas explosion in Hayward. A Redgwick subcontractor, not Redgwick itself, was involved in that incident, which is now under federal investigation. The city attorney confirmed Redgwick's insurance covers that exposure. Several council members said Oakland's small local business contracting program needs a rebuild. The goal: local minority-owned firms should be able to grow into prime contractors, not stay subs forever. Council member Wang said that work will be one of her main projects for 2026.
2. Police and fire pension changes head to Oakland voters in June
   1. The council unanimously placed a charter amendment on the June 2, 2026 ballot. If voters approve, Oakland's Police and Fire Retirement System Board could meet quarterly instead of monthly. More people would also be eligible to serve on it. Council member Unger, who sponsored the measure, said the closed pension fund has fewer than 600 members and is almost 99% funded. The board's average age is over 80. Some members live in retirement homes and can no longer reliably attend monthly in-person meetings.
   2. What this means for you: You will see this on your June 2 ballot, and no tax increase is tied to the measure. Unger said the fund is fully funded and a portion of an associated tax rolled off about two years ago. For a home assessed at $1 million, around $1,500 in PFRS-related taxes have rolled off. That's $750 already off the bill and another $750 expected to roll off in the coming years. The council adjourned the meeting in memory of retired Assistant Chief John Speakman, a 42-year firefighter and PFRS board member who died last week.
3. New officeholder fundraising and mailing rules signed into law
   1. The council finalized changes to Oakland's Campaign Reform Act. The rules cover "officeholder funds," which sitting elected officials use to pay for the work of being in office, separate from their campaign accounts. Donors can now give more to those officeholder funds, matching the higher limits already in place for campaign donations. Those higher limits, originally set to expire, will stay in effect longer. The ordinance also blocks officeholders from using officeholder fund money to send mailings within three months of an election they are running in.
   2. What this means for you: If you donate to local campaigns, you can now give more to an elected official's officeholder fund. The mailing rule is meant to stop officeholders from using their official accounts to send campaign-style mail in the final stretch of a race.
4. New city jobs added, two salaries adjusted to meet Oakland's minimum wage
   1. The council finalized an update to Oakland's salary ordinance. It adds two new full-time classifications: Payroll Administrator and Procurement and Contracts Administrator. It also raises the pay of the full-time Park Equipment Operator and the part-time Senior Aide to comply with Oakland's minimum wage.
   2. What this means for you: Two roles tied to city payroll and contracting are now formal full-time positions. The Senior Aide and Park Equipment Operator pay bumps bring those workers up to the floor Oakland voters set.
5. City to pay $40,000 to settle a dangerous-condition lawsuit
   1. The council approved a $40,000 settlement in Arjuna Twombly v. City of Oakland. The case is tied to the Department of Transportation and involves a dangerous condition in the right-of-way.
   2. What this means for you: $40,000 in city money goes to settle the claim. A public commenter at the meeting said the case involved a bicycle hitting a fallen traffic light. The council resolution itself only describes it as a "dangerous condition."

What residents brought up

• The 27th Street contract drew the most floor time. The owner of the Oakland subcontractor lined up to work on the McGuire and Hester bid told the council that Redgwick's bid would send $2.8 million in subcontractor dollars outside Oakland. He said McGuire and Hester's bid would keep more of that work in town. A representative of the National Association of Minority Contractors urged the council to "reward good behavior" by picking the McGuire and Hester team for its mentor-protégé model. A Transport Oakland commenter on Zoom backed Redgwick, citing recent fatalities on 27th Street and the need to start construction this spring.
• A longtime Wood Street resident, speaking for an unhoused community group, told the council that the city's renewed homelessness emergency declaration is not reaching the people it is supposed to help. She said unhoused residents have no real entry point into city contracting or affordable housing decisions. They want a seat at the table.
• A representative of the East Bay Rental Housing Association laid out 2026 priorities for the council. The list includes a vacancy and habitability restoration plan and affordable housing for OPD and first responders. It also includes a "ready-to-own" program for first-time homeowners and small landlords. He flagged a forthcoming winter housing report. The report shows a decline in small rental property owners and in Black homeownership and Black rental property ownership in Oakland.

Also happened

• Renewed the local emergency declarations for HIV/AIDS, medical cannabis access, and homelessness.
• Reappointed Fatimah Aure to the Mayor's Commission on Persons with Disabilities.
• Appointed Genice Jacobs to the Commission on Homelessness.
• Appointed Rudy Gonzales and Jennifer Benford Seibert to the Civil Service Board.
• Appointed David Newton to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority Board.

For any updates or corrections, please email steven@polisdesk.com