Oakland rejects same police commission picks for the second time

Oakland
City Council Meeting
January 20, 2026

TL;DR

• Council rejected the selection panel's police commission slate for the second time, 6-2. The sitting chair and an alternate were not reappointed.
• 13 new applicants had come in since the October rejection. The selection panel did not interview any of them before resubmitting the same two names.
• Mayor Lee's police commission pick Judge Evelio Grillo was confirmed. The second appointee, Doug Wong, was pulled because his background check wasn't finished.
• The council confirmed $5,583,524.10 in liens on 1,800 properties for unpaid business taxes, down from 2,918 in the original report.
• Caltrans will pay the city $375,000 to clean 29 state highway on and off ramps in Oakland. Councilmember Gallo voted no.

What happened

1. Council rejects the police commission slate, again, 6-2
   1. The selection panel sent the same two names back: sitting commission chair Ricardo Garcia-Acosta and alternate Omar Farmer. Council had already rejected them in October. A substitute motion by Councilmember Houston, seconded by Councilmember Wang, rejected them again 6-2. Fife and Gallo voted to confirm.
   2. Most of the floor debate was not about the candidates. It was about whether the selection panel had actually run a new process before re-voting on December 18. The administration confirmed that 13 new applicants had come in since October. The panel did not interview any of them before resubmitting the original slate.
   3. What this means for you: The two seats stay open for now. Garcia-Acosta and Farmer can keep serving until replacements are confirmed. The selection panel set up a working group on December 18 to fix recruitment, and the city administrator's office is now accepting applications on a rolling basis. The next slate has to come back to council to be confirmed.
2. Mayor's police commission pick Grillo confirmed, Wong pulled at the last minute
   1. Mayor Barbara Lee had sent two names for the same commission, separate from the selection panel. They were retired Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo and Doug Wong. The mayor's office asked council to pull Wong because his background check wasn't finished.
   2. Council confirmed Grillo 5-2. Fife and Gallo voted no, and Ramachandran was excused. Grillo told council he spent 21 years on the bench. He worked on public records cases, including the one that established the right to get police videos without paying for them.
   3. What this means for you: One of the mayor's two seats is now filled by a longtime local judge. Wong's name can come back to council once his background check clears.
3. Council confirms $5.58 million in liens on 1,800 properties for unpaid business taxes
   1. After a public hearing, the council voted 8-0 to record liens for unpaid business taxes plus penalties, interest, and administrative fees. The original report listed 2,918 properties.
   2. Staff said 649 had already cleared up before the report went out, and another 1,100-plus had been removed since. The total going to the county tax collector is $5,186,449.10 in unpaid taxes plus $397,075 in administrative fees, for $5,583,524.10. Delinquent property owners have until August 10, 2026 to pay before the liens roll onto their secured property tax bill.
   3. What this means for you: If you got a notice and think it's wrong, the Citywide Liens Group takes calls Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM, at 510-238-7474, and email at citywideliens@oaklandca.gov. Staff said they had a parallel hearing running in Hearing Room 2 during the meeting for owners who showed up to resolve their accounts. Public commenters connected the delinquency volume to Oakland business closures in 2025. The monthly counts cited: 99 in June, 82 in July, 54 in August, 88 in September, 48 in October, and 89 in November.
4. Caltrans will pay Oakland $375,000 to clean 29 state highway ramps
   1. The council approved a one-year deal with Caltrans to take on weed, litter, and debris removal on 29 on and off ramps in Oakland. Caltrans pays the city up to $375,000 in overtime for public works staff. The agreement has a 30-day cancellation window at the start.
   2. Councilmember Gallo voted no. He said Caltrans should be doing the work itself on state property, and that Oakland's own streets and parks need the same attention.
   3. What this means for you: 29 freeway on and off ramps that the state owns get cleaned by Oakland crews on overtime, paid for by Caltrans. The mayor's office said similar deals exist in San Francisco and San Diego.
5. Oakland police will work Super Bowl 60 and the FIFA World Cup in Santa Clara
   1. The council approved an MOU sending OPD officers to Santa Clara to help with security. The events covered are Super Bowl 60 on February 8, 2026, and the FIFA World Cup from June 11 through July 19, 2026.
   2. The Public Safety Committee added a clause to the deal. Sending officers to these events cannot drop Oakland's on-duty patrol staffing below the department's normal level. Councilmember Wong said in committee that OPD assured them the officers would work off-duty.
   3. Councilmember Gallo voted no, saying OPD is needed in Oakland. Public Safety Chair Wang said she will ask for an informational report if Oakland staffing problems emerge tied to the deployment.
   4. What this means for you: Oakland's on-duty patrol levels are supposed to stay at their normal baseline while these events run, and the officers picking up the work are doing it on their own time.

What residents brought up

• East Oakland Community Project staff said the city owes them money and payroll is bouncing. More than a dozen EOCP staff and one food vendor came to address the homelessness emergency declaration on consent. The financial controller said the city owes EOCP close to half a million dollars in outstanding bills. The finance director put the figure over $1 million across 2025.
  • The family services manager said 80 of more than 90 families EOCP housed last year had to be moved because the funding got cut off. None ended up back on the street. The payroll accountant said paychecks have been delayed five times since 2024, and that the next round of payroll that week was at risk. Council President Jenkins and Councilmember Houston said they were already coordinating with the city administrator's office that week.
• Public commenters on the police commission slate said the council never named a problem with the candidates themselves. The longest-standing police commissioner urged council to reappoint Garcia-Acosta and Farmer, calling them the hardest-working commissioners on the body. A gun violence prevention activist made the same case. Several speakers said the focus on selection panel process was a smokescreen for opposition to civilian oversight. A Zoom commenter from District 4 asked council to clarify on the record what had and had not changed in the selection process since October.
• A public commenter tied delayed homeless funding to Oakland's lack of an encampment policy. The commenter said Oakland was missing out on a $419 million round of state homelessness funding. The reason given: Oakland had not adopted an encampment policy paired with a pathway to housing. The same commenter also raised the city's prompt payment policy in light of the EOCP comments.

Also happened

• Council adopted resolution 91025 C.M.S. renewing the local emergency declaration on HIV/AIDS.
• Council adopted resolution 91026 C.M.S. renewing the medical cannabis public health emergency declaration.
• Council adopted resolution 91027 C.M.S. renewing the local emergency declaration on homelessness.
• Council confirmed Mayor Lee's reappointments of Karen Zukor, Chiye Azuma, and Alex Weinberg to the Library Commission.
• Council accepted a First 5 Alameda County Early Care and Education grant of up to $500,000. The California School Age Consortium will manage the funds (91029 C.M.S.).
• Council approved a 5-year, $1,476,000 operating agreement with the Montclair Village Association for the La Salle Garage and Scout Lot. Annual compensation is $295,200 (91031 C.M.S.).
• Council authorized a 3-year IT services agreement with Medical Priority Consultants for fire and medical dispatching software, not to exceed $150,000. A one-time payment of up to $233,030 will cover outstanding invoices from FY 2022 through 2025 (91034 C.M.S.).
• Council accepted up to $426,870 from the state and USDA for the 2026 Summer Food Service Program. Uptons, Inc. (School Foodies) and Flo's Friendly School Lunches will provide the meals (91035 C.M.S.).

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