Libby Schaaf, Mayor Of Oakland’s Measure AA Defeated In Court
This effort on the part of the Mayor of Oakland was unpopular from the start. A number of Oaklanders expressed joy in emails. Congratulations to Greg McConnell, the CEO of the Jobs and Housing Coalition, which filed the lawsuit.
This one was from Oakland Tax Preparer Nancy Sidebotham, who twice ran for Mayor of Oakland against Libby Schaaf:
Breaking news. Today, an Alameda County Superior Court handed a victory to the plaintiffs in their lawsuit against the City of Oakland regarding Measure AA. As you may recall, Measure AA was a $200/parcel parcel tax that was supposed to fund the very vague “Oakland Promise.” It needed 2/3 to pass. It only got 62%. So it failed. Except then then the City tried to certify the measure as having passed. Which is basically like changing the rules after the game is over, so that they could declare a win. Even by City of Oakland corruption standards, this was unprecedented. So a group of taxpayers sued, and today they won outright, without even the need for a trial. That’s how clear the law was, and how outlandish the City’s legal position was. The Court basically said that the City was trying to commit a “fraud on the voters.” Today’s ruling is a victory for the rule of law, for democracy, and for taxpayers who care about ethics and accountability.
For her part, the Mayor Of Oakland told me when I talked to her about this issue and asked what she would do if she lost at the hands of the court, she said she would try another approach.