October 2016
The Oakland Public Ethics Commission has filed a lawsuit against council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney.
OAKLAND — The city’s political watchdog commission has filed a lawsuit against Oakland council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney, alleging she withheld public documents and ignored investigators looking into whether she used public resources to block a housing development next door to her home.
The Oakland Public Ethics Commission’s lawsuit, filed Oct. 5, claims Gibson McElhaney ignored subpoenas, and the commission is asking the court to compel her to comply. Gibson McElhaney is scheduled to appear in Alameda County Superior Court Nov. 7, the day before the election.
This comes amid calls from residents and Councilwoman Desley Brooks to censure Gibson McElhaney and investigate her for apparent violations, saying the ethics commission has not been able to complete its probe. They claim she is stalling because of her reelection campaign this Nov. 8 to represent a district that includes downtown, Adams Point and West Oakland.
The commission sought Gibson McElhaney’s correspondence related to a development on 32nd Street, next door to her West Oakland home, in order to determine if she violated the law by working to block the project.
The East Bay Express, which broke the story in February 2015, obtained emails that showed one of the councilwoman’s staff members used city equipment to help her draft an appeal to the Oakland Planning Commission opposing the housing project.
A council committee earlier this month voted to have City Administrator Sabrina Landreth hire an outside firm or instruct the ethics commission to complete its investigation.
Gibson McElhaney did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Court records show the ethics commission issued a subpoena on July 22 asking her to produce public documents. Simon Russell, a commission investigator, sent the council president an email on July 25 asking if she preferred to receive the subpoena via mail. The next day, she replied that email was OK.
Gibson McElhaney missed the deadline of Aug. 10 and later said she never received the email. The commission tried again but she did not respond, even after investigators extended the deadline, according to a sworn declaration by Milad Dalju, chief of enforcement.
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/10/28/oakland-ethics-commission-sues-council-president-for-withholding-public-documents/
November 2016
Judge orders Oakland councilwoman to turn over documents in ethics probe
At the center of the commission’s probe is Gibson McElhaney’s opposition to a townhouse project next to her home on 32nd Street in West Oakland.
In its annual report released in June, the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury found that Gibson McElhaney used her political resources to block the development, violating government ethics and conflict of interest rules.
That included contacting Rachel Flynn, then director of planning and building, who suggested revisions to the housing plan to reduce its size and remove views facing Gibson McElhaney’s home, according to the grand jury
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/11/07/judge-orders-oakland-councilwoman-to-turn-over-documents-in-ethics-probe/
