City Hall

Progressives in San Leandro Should Vote for Jeromey Shafer for Mayor and Eva Arce and Victor Aguilar for City Council

Progressives in San Leandro Should Vote for Jeromey Shafer for Mayor and Eva Arce and Victor Aguilar for City Council City Hall, Politics No Responses »

Oct 092018

San Leandro, like many cities in the Bay Area, is in crisis. About half of our community members are renters and skyrocketing rents are pushing them out of their homes, either displacing them out of the Bay Area or putting them on the streets. This lack of community stability is affecting neighborhoods and schools, as the challenges of facing an ever-changing student population are significant. Yet the City Council has done nothing to address this situation. This is not surprising because the Rental Owners Association and landlords have poured money into the incumbents’ campaigns. Lack of ethics and integrity is, [Continue Reading]

San Leandro Should Wait Before Licensing a Third Marijuana Dispensary

San Leandro Should Wait Before Licensing a Third Marijuana Dispensary City Hall, Legal No Responses »

Sep 182016

Update: On Sept. 20th, the City Council voted 6-0 (with Benny Lee abstaining) to approve a third marijuana dispensary in San Leandro. Short months after approving licensing a second marijuana dispensary in San Leandro, the City Council is considering adding a third license: one that would be granted directly to Blüm, a dispensary chain that already has three locations. Blüm scored highest in the last application process, but the dispensary license was granted to Davis Street, likely because of the close relationship between City Council members and the would-be operators of such facility. Faced with the prospect of a lawsuit [Continue Reading]

San Leandro Mayor Considers Anti-Tank Protesters to be a Threat

San Leandro Mayor Considers Anti-Tank Protesters to be a Threat City Hall, Civil Liberties, Police, Transparency No Responses »

Feb 022015

Fear is a stone throw away from political repression, literally. Update: The closed session meeting was finally cancelled on the day of the vote, but the City Council chambers were filled with police officers in uniform, in order to intimidate public speakers. Two dozen citizens still spoke out against the tank. Only one San Leandro citizen without business ties to the police department spoke in favor of it. Mayor Pauline Cutter has called for a special closed session meeting of the San Leandro City Council tonight, to take place before the Council votes to acquire a BearCat (Ballistic Engineered Armored [Continue Reading]

Proposed Policy Places No Restrictions on BearCat Use

Proposed Policy Places No Restrictions on BearCat Use City Hall, Police No Responses »

Feb 012015

If the San Leandro Police Department gets their way, not only will they get a brand new Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck (Bearcat), but they will be able to use it in whichever way they want. The proposed policy allows use of the vehicle for “purposes including, but not limited to, calls for service involving potentially armed subjects, Tactical Team callouts, search warrants, officer or citizen rescues, or authorized training” (emphasis added). The policy, furthermore, allows the use of the BearCat “during non-violent demonstrations” when “there are objective facts demonstrating a risk of injury or death to police [Continue Reading]

City Manager Prioritizes Police Over Innovation

City Manager Prioritizes Police Over Innovation City Hall No Responses »

Jan 312015

Police Chief Now to Report to City Manager, CIO to Report to Community Development Director Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli, whose latest accomplishment includes the SLPD’s shooting of fleeing black and Latino suspects in three separate occasions, is now reporting directly to City Manager Chris Zapata. She was previously reporting to Assistant City Manager Lianne Marshall. Zapata has been explicit on his unwavering confidence on the police chief and has long taken the attitude that she can do no wrong, he has even excused the multitudes of falsehoods Spagnoli has conveyed to the City Council and the community as unintentional “misstatements”. [Continue Reading]

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