A day after it was revealed that his chief of staff was released, Oakland Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins announced Monday most of the mayor’s office remaining staff will be released Friday and will be on paid administrative leave until then.
Former Chief of Staff Leigh Hanson was released Sunday, and the only remaining staff in the Mayor's Office are Deputy Mayor Burt Jones, who will assume chief of staff duties; Deputy Mayor LaNiece Jones; and the office’s executive assistant and scheduler, the mayor's office said in a news advisory Monday.
"I want to thank everyone who is leaving the office for their service," Jenkins said. "It has always been our intention to allow our next Mayor to choose their own staff after the April 15 special election. In the meantime, my team and I are laser-focused on preparing the Mayor’s draft budget for on-time release on May 1."
Hanson's departure Sunday, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, reportedly was due to a handwritten note in which she appeared to refer to Black people as "tokens." NBC Bay Area did not confirm the validity of the note.
Hanson said the note was taken out of context.
"I regret that my short-hand note-taking has been taken out of context on social media and inadvertently harmed close friends, colleagues and members of my community who have been marginalized by our political system," Hanson said in a statement.
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"This was not Thao’s political strategy, it was her observation of her opponent’s tactics. And I was taking notes," Hanson continued in her statement. "This is clear to anyone seeking the truth and is convenient political fodder for others who are using this to their political advantage. Sadly, this is the state of our democratic ecosystem right now."
The NAACP praised the staffing changes.
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"If you are an African American and someone says that you are a token, that you are a nobody, and they are just going to use you to get a vote so they can get what they want to get, they don’t care how you feel, they don’t care anything about you, but they want to use you as a token to be able to win an election," Oakland NAACP President Cynthia Adams said.
The staff shakeup comes just a week before the April 15 special election to pick the city's next mayor. Two of the leading mayoral candidates, Loren Taylor and Barbara Lee, released statements praising the interim mayor's decision.
Statement from Lee: "Barbara Lee supports interim Kevin Mayor Jenkins’ actions to ensure that city staff are fully accountable to the public they serve. Everyone in public service — whether staff or elected — must uphold a high standard of ethics and integrity. Racism and anti-Blackness are unacceptable, and have no place in Oakland politics. There is no justification for language that dehumanizes or marginalizes any group of people. Similarly, threats of violence and discrimination have no place in public discourse. Oaklanders deserve an accountable, transparent government that can make our lives better."
Statement from Taylor: "I am deeply troubled by Sheng Thao’s Chief of Staff, Leigh Hanson’s, notes documenting their anti-recall strategy of tokenizing Black people for political optics. Black Oaklanders are not props or political pawns–we are leaders and changemakers. To reduce our community to performance is not just disrespectful–it’s exploitation. I condemn this behavior and call on Barbara Lee, who publicly featured Leigh Hanson as an endorser and supporter, to condemn her supporter’s conduct and behavior as well. Silently removing Leigh Hanson from the endorsement page on her website without being transparent and vocal about Hanson’s actions sends the wrong message. This behavior reflects a broader failure in Oakland where leadership often talks about equity but engages in performative progressivism. The Black community deserves more than just photo ops and slogans–we need authentic inclusion and respect. As mayor, I will not tokenize our Black voices, or any other constituency. I will authentically center Oakland’s diverse communities in every room, every policy, and every decision. Oakland deserves leadership that leads with integrity and takes real action to eliminate this kind of behavior inside City Hall."
