Local News

Oakland's Mayor Speaks Out On Why He Fired Edgerly

OAKLAND (BCN) ― Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums said Wednesday that he fired City Administrator Deborah Edgerly because the controversy over her job status was "a lingering distraction."

Speaking at an impromptu news conference in his office only a few hours after City Council Ignacio De La Fuente appeared to question his leadership at a separate news conference on the steps of City Hall, Dellums said, "The last few weeks have been very difficult in the life of Oakland."

Dellums was referring to allegations that Edgerly may have interfered in a police investigation involving her nephew, a city of Oakland employee who allegedly is a member of the city's worst drug gang.

Two weeks ago, Dellums canceled a trip to the National Mayors' Conference in Miami, where presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama spoke, to deal with the controversy surrounding Edgerly.

On June 24, Dellums, who was accompanied by Edgerly and called her his "friend," said Edgerly had decided to retire effective July 31.

Dellums said he and Edgerly had jointly decided back in January that she would retire at the end of July and the controversy surrounding her had nothing to do with the announcement about her pending departure.

But on Friday, Dellums placed her on paid administrative leave, effective immediately. City Hall sources said Dellums was upset that Edgerly refused to sign a document removing her control over the city's Police Department, which is investigating her.

On Tuesday, Dellums fired Edgerly, effective immediately, after she wrote a letter to City Council members saying she wanted to postpone her retirement until she had a chance to clear her name.

At his news conference, De La Fuente, who has unsuccessfully run for mayor twice and finished a distant second to Dellums in the 2006 mayoral election, said Dellums' decision to fire Edgerly was "long overdue," and the situation "percolated too long."

De La Fuente, who was accompanied by 16 supporters, said, "I'm here because we love this great city of ours and we have seen the pain and the bleeding" in recent weeks.

De La Fuente said, "I'm here to make sure that with the recent events at City Hall that we can restore confidence in city government and stop going around the bushes and address the city's incredible problems."

Dellums has appointed Dan Lindheim, the former head of the city's Community and Economic Development Agency, as Acting City Administrator.

Dellums said today that he will soon appoint a transition team to help him conduct a national search for a permanent city administrator.

De La Fuente said he hopes that Dellums will hire a new city administrator "with a national reputation for excellence as soon as possible so that all Oaklanders can make sure that their city is being well managed."

De La Fuente said, "Oakland residents have run out of patience. Residents want to see action, they want change and they are asking for someone to lead the way."

He said, "I am ready and willing to do just that and I am calling on residents to join me."

De La Fuente, who has been on the City Council for 16 years, said he will soon introduce an ordinance that would establish an anti-nepotism policy for the city and attempt to ensure accountability to city operations by conducting an audit of the city's hiring practices in the last two years.

Asked if he plans to run for mayor again in 2010, De La Fuente didn't rule it out but said, "I'm not running for anything at this point" because he was just re-elected to another four-year term on the City Council.

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