Iran War: Council Violates Its Own Sanction Against International Proclamations

City Council Breaks Pledge Against Passing Resolutions Addressing International Problems

Council’s Record: 

Ukraine War is Not Acceptable

Gaza Genocide is Acceptable 

Iran War is Not Acceptable

Breaking News

Tonight, the City Council attended to business they have in the Middle East by a condemnation of President Trump’s war in Iran in the form of an official City of Emeryville resolution.  The unanimous decision tonight was a remarkable and newsworthy event after the same council majority said in December 2023 that international proclamations such as this are outside the scope of the Emeryville City Council's work.  Now these same council members, without explanation, have voted for a City of Emeryville international proclamation.

As remarkable as it is, tonight’s 180 degree council turn around is even more confounding; before their refusal to vote on the Israel/Gaza war (because the proposal was an “international proclamation”) the Council voted unanimously for an earlier international proclamation, the Russia/Ukraine war.  Got that? 

Here’s a step by step synopsis of the wild pendulum swing:

1)   May 16, 2023: The Emeryville City Council unanimously said YES to a resolution condemning the Russian war against Ukraine, an international proclamation.

2)   December 5, 2023: The Council Majority said NO to a single council member’s proposal for Council support for a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel war against Gaza.  The council majority said NO because it would be an out-of-bounds “international proclamation”.

3)   May 19, 2026 (tonight): The council unanimously said YES to a resolution condemning the US war against Iran, another international proclamation.

Emeryville citizens would be forgiven their confusion given the council majority’s ambiguous lack of cogency on this score.  These three points, taken up by the same politicians, beg explanation.  But they’re not talking, except for the council member that supported all three resolutions, Kalimah Priforce, who stated simply, “Human lives matter and any time we have an opportunity to recognize the sanctity of human life we should take it.”  

Former Emeryville Mayor John Bauters brought the Russia/Ukraine war proclamation to the council while council member Priforce brought both the Israel/Gaza war ceasefire proclamation and tonight’s US/Iran war proclamation to the council.  The vote for the Russia/Ukraine proclamation was 5-0 in favor, the Israel/Gaza ceasefire proclamation proposal failed 1-4 (Mourra, Kaur and Welch dissenting) and the US/Iran war proclamation passed 5-0.

Council members who voted against the US/Gaza ceasefire proposal publicly explained they could not vote for it because it was “international” and therefore not in the scope of work to be performed by the Emeryville City Council.  Council member David Mourra was especially forceful in his explanation as to why he appeared to be a hypocrite for his reversal.  He told the Tattler it was a “mistake” in retrospect for the Emeryville City Council to meddle in the Russia/Ukraine war and that he would not make that mistake again.  That is why he said he voted against council member Priforce’s proposal to have a proclamation in favor of an Israel/Gaza ceasefire. 

To be precise and so readers understand, we state again: council members Sukhdeep Kaur, Courtney Welch, John Bauters and David Mourra, with their own public statements and actions, have all made it clear they are against the council taking a stand in international politics with international proclamations but they are also in favor of doing exactly that.

The Tattler will attempt to get the four council members who’s voting record has been in direct contradiction with their earlier votes and we will report what they say.

Emeryville's City Council cares about the welfare
of this Ukrainian child.

....but not this child from Gaza.

The City Council wants everyone to know they 
care about this Iranian child.

500 Drawn to ICE protest at Huchiun Park, Target & Home Depot

Breaking News

Despite a drenching rainstorm, almost 500 people gathered in Emeryville’s Huchiun Park and marched to Emeryville’s Target store and Home Depot to protest corporate connection to ICE and Donald Trump tonight.  The event lasted about three hours and was peaceful.  

The City of Emeryville received two days warning about the event hosted by EBASE and other local social justice organizations and they were told more than 100 people would likely be in the park but the City refused to provide toilet paper for the park bathroom which stays open until 8:00 PM.  The police were called when the crowd swelled and people started getting desperate, could an officer bring some toilet paper?  But EPD said NO and they added that is the job of the Public Works Department. 

Several shoppers at the stores put down their merchandise and joined the protest.  The crowd loudly marched through the Target store and the Home Depot and dispersed peacefully by about 9:00 PM.

ICE Protest in Emeryville Today

Scenes from a peaceful Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest at Frontage Road and Powell Street today.  About 200 protesters assembled and presented a petition to the Emeryville Hilton Hotel asking that the hotel not accept ICE personnel as guests.  The Manager of the hotel accepted the petition and the throng ultimately dispersed.  EPD observed from afar and did not interact.

Protesters signed the petition for the Hilton Hotel

The protesters made their thoughts known by 
sidewalk communication.

City Manager & City Attorney Remove Grassroots Community Free Food Table Pantry

 Mean Spirited City:

Food Insecure Community Members Left Out 

in the Cold by City

Popular Free Food Table Taken Down Because of 'Code Violation'

Breaking News

Emeryville's food insecure lost another resource today, as city public works crews removed a table that has been offering free, non-perishable food to the community, on orders of Emeryville City Attorney John Kennedy and City Manager LaTanya Bellow. 

The Tattler Free Food Table on its first day.

According to a written notice signed by Mr Kennedy, the table was in violation of  municipal code section 7-2.02 (a).

The table was set out in November, as a community response both to the federal government 'shutdown' crisis, which threatened SNAP, formerly USDA food stamps, and the extended relocation of E.C.A.P., a critical local food bank distribution point, to West Oakland.

Conceived, constructed and initiated by the Tattler's Editor,  Brian Donahue, the table quickly became a node of community activity. Local neighbors continuously replenished what was made available and those in need could take what they wished with dignity.  

The table was located at the Horton and Sherwin street intersection near the Emeryville Artists' Cooperative driveway.

The Food Table on Monday.

The food table has helped dozens since its inception, with food being delivered and taken daily. Not meant to supply every need, it served as an important supplement or emergency source of sustenance. The local community's generosity and provision of nutritionally dense food was impressive.

It is unclear how disruptive the table's removal will prove to those who have come to rely on it. 

While ECAP recently returned to its longtime home on San Pablo Avenue, long lines and limited hours make it inconvenient to access for some, such as those in low-paid jobs with inflexible hours. 

Renewed assault on programs at the federal level such as SNAP and Medicaid could drive more people into food insecurity.  Some users of the food table expressed to the Tattler their dismay at the prospect of its closing.  

The Tattler will continue following this story and will provide an update as more facts become known.

City Manager LaTanya Bellow has so far declined to respond by press time, to multiple attempts to reach her via telephone and email.

The initial story on the table is HERE.

The Department of Public Works removed the table today at 8:30 AM.
It is unknown what will become of the table or the food that was on it when it was taken.

Breaking: Council Member Priforce Hospitalized, Struck By a Car

 Council Member Priforce, On Bike, Hit By Car

Breaking News

Emeryville City Council member Kalimah Priforce was struck by an automobile and injured at the site of the Emeryville Citizens Assistance Program (ECAP) at 2628 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland this afternoon.  The extent of Mr Priforce’s injuries are unknown but are not life threatening it is being reported.  

Reportedly, Council member Priforce was traveling to ECAP to help with the volunteer food drive initiated last week as a result of the curtailment of the federal food assistance SNAP program.  It is reported the driver did not attempt to flee the scene.   Mr Priforce is currently being attended to at Highland Hospital’s emergency department.

The Tattler will report when more info is obtained.

'Revitalize East Bay' PAC Selects John Bauters as their Executive Director

Former Emeryville Politician Now Working for the Private Sector; Bauters Will Serve Billionaires' Interests, Helping Bend Public Policy to Their Liking

Long Time Local Politician John Bauters
He's made the move to the private sector for
an undisclosed salary.

Breaking News

Former long time Emeryville City Council member John Bauters has accepted a job managing a crypto billionaire backed political action committee that seeks to recall insufficiently conservative politicians and pull down local regulation in order to assist real estate developers and corporate landlords.  ‘Revitalize the East Bay’ PAC recently hired the former councilman as their executive director despite Bauters’ loss in his November election for district five Alameda County Supervisor, a race the shadowy group spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on but failed to win.

Revitalize East Bay, flush with dark money from tech billionaires and Real Estate Investment Trusts, is seeking to “professionalize” their conservative agenda in anticipation of the 2026 elections and the Bauters hire indicates a high level of  confidence in the former council member’s political acumen. 

 

What Happened To Bauters?

Many in Emeryville and the surrounding community have wondered what happened to John Bauters who went quiet after his ignominious loss in the election he was believed to have a lock on, especially among his most conservative backers.  Mr Bauters had the backing of the corporate sector who went all in with him, including Revitalize the East Bay.  His Emeryville Council colleagues (save the lone progressive Council member Priforce) as well as several former anti-labor Council members also backed the seemingly unstoppable Bauters campaign, leaving some surprised and puzzled, especially at the post election silence.    

During the Supervisor campaign, Mr Bauters ran as a loud and proud ‘progressive’, keeping his conservative, pro-developer views largely hidden from the electorate.  It was a strategy Revitalize East Bay saw as a potentially effective path to power for the secretive right wing PAC in the famously left wing northern Alameda County.  Mr Bauters probably was hoping his talk of his progressive values could win the day in the November election but he lost his race to his labor backed opponent, Nikki Fortunato Bas, who revealed Bauters' anti-labor record in Emeryville to Alameda County voters, quoting Tattler stories in a controversial mailer and website.

Hedge Fund Manager 
Capitalist Philip Dreyfuss
One of the primary backers of
Revitalize East Bay and John Bauters.

Revitalize East Bay has faced criticism for not properly disclosing its donors, raising concerns about the potential influence of hidden money on local elections. The group has not shied away from using subterfuge in their efforts;  creating a new committee with a similar name, which allowed them to delay disclosing their donors.  

Donors include Philip Dreyfuss: a Piedmont-based hedge fund executive, who contributed significantly as well as YIMBY California backed real estate developers and corporate landlords as well as the energy utility giant PG&E that’s headquartered in Oakland.

Leading up to the November election, Bauters received more than $1.29 million from tech venture capitalists, real estate billionaires including Mr Dreyfuss as well as other corporate special interest groups according to the Phoenix Project, a local collective of citizen activists who shine a light on dark money flooding Bay Area elections forwarding conservative interests.  The Phoenix Project produced its near legendary and viral 'Astroturf Network Map' that chronicled the 2024 effect of dark special interest money in the East Bay election.  The influential map shone a light where the dark money was and did not spare the Bauters campaign.

Three time mayor Mr Bauters was an extremely influential Emeryville Council member during his years in power here having served as the chair of the powerful Budget and Governance Committee for all eight years, during which time he quietly shepherded a $11.8 million budget deficit, the worst in the little city’s history.  Mr Bauters audaciously blamed the Planning Commission for the red ink, a fact that likely impressed Revitalized East Bay and factored in as they moved the former City Council member into his new pricey digs as executive director for a PAC with budget of millions of hedge fund dollars and an appreciation of subterfuge looking after private interests operating in the public realm.

We reached out to John Bauters for this story but he did not respond.

 

The Phoenix Project's Astroturf  Network Map famously laid Revitalize East Bay bare.

Mayor Mourra Violates FPPC Rules & Emeryville Code of Ethics

Mayor Mourra Violates FPPC Filing Rules

City Council Majority Recently Censured and Sanctioned Their Colleague Kalimah Priforce for the Same Violation

Planning Commission Chair Also Violated FPPC Filing Rules

Breaking News

Emeryville’s Mayor, David Mourra, has not filed required FPPC political disclosure forms, a violation of state law, the Tattler has learned.  The FPPC (Fair Political Practices Commission), a state agency tasked with ensuring government transparency, acknowledged in a January 24th letter to the Tattler that Emeryville’s mayor is under investigation for failure to disclose as is required by law.  Mr Mourra is very late in his filing as it turns out, having not filed required campaign disclosure forms since his election victory in 2022.  The FPPC investigation comes as a result of a Tattler complaint.  

The California Reform Act of 2024 mandates that all elected officials must continue to file FPPC disclosure forms even in the event that they have been elected and regardless of any subsequent donor contributions or lack of contributions.

The Tattler investigation also revealed Jordan Wax, the chair of Emeryville’s Planning Commission, failed to file a required FPPC 'Statement of Economic Interest' form on time, itself a violation of state law.

Some elected officials have presupposed that an inactive election campaign lets them off the hook for FPPC filings but state law is very clear that filing is still required.  Violations of proper and timely FPPC filing rules have been very common among Emeryville politicians over the years.  So much so that late filings would not normally be considered newsworthy except for the fact that Mayor Mourra and his colleagues on the City Council majority made much ballyhoo of recent late filings by Council member Kalimah Priforce to such an extent that they invoked Emeryville's new Code of Ethics to censure and sanction him for it.  Now Mr Mourra, who seems to have unclean hands, finds himself in the same pickle. 

The Tattler has an open Public Records Request filed with the City Clerk for details that will inform future editions of this ongoing story.

Mr Mourra was contacted for this story but he refused to comment. 

Emeryville Mayor David Mourra
Unclean Hands
He sanctimoniously wagged his finger at
his colleague Council member Priforce for
violating the exact same state law as he did.

Anti-Palestinian Connection Found in Emeryville Democratic Party Delegate Race

Specter of Anti-Palestinian Politics in Emeryville ADEM Race

Breaking News

The Tattler has found an anti-Palestinian, Gaza genocide denying funding and influence connection in the local ‘ADEM’ Democratic Party delegate race reported this week.  Four Emeryville residents are running in two posing slates as the Tattler reported.  One of the two slates, called the ‘Housing and Climate Progressive Democratic Slate’, is paid by ‘California Jobs and Justice’, a Sacramento lobbying entity that itself is funded by the ‘Democratic Majority for Israel’ a Washington based lobbying organization that is Gaza genocide denying and anti-Palestinian.  Emeryville residents Sam Gould and Regina Chagolla are both part of that slate.

The other slate in the ADEM race is the ‘People’s Slate’ and is the more progressive slate of the two, despite the word ‘progressive’ in the Housing and Climate Slate title.  Emeryville residents Kalimah Priforce and Sarah Perez are among the People’s Slate members.  Mr Priforce is an Emeryville City Council member and a current ADEM delegate for the 18th District.  Regina Chagolla is an Emeryville school board member.

The 18th Assembly District Democratic Party delegates are charged with setting the Alameda County Democratic Party agenda and so it has been considered a powerful position and one that reflects East Bay Democratic Party values.  The anti-Palestinian connection has not been reported openly by the Housing and Climate Slate, probably because that is not a popular position for East Bay Democrats.  

Democrats are urged to vote online by January 31st at ademelections.com   

Paid for by.....
That tells you what you need to know.

The top contributors are anti-Palestinian and Gaza genocide deniers.

Breaking News Priforce Censored/Sanctioned

 Breaking News

In a room full of Council member Priforce supporters tonight the Emeryville City Council voted 4-1 (Priforce dissenting)  to censure and sanction Council member Priforce. Story to follow.

Breaking: Mayor Welch Releases Charges Against Council Member Priforce

Breaking News

Mayor Courtney Welch has finally released the charges she has been leveling at her colleague Council member Kalimah Priforce, for breaches of Emeryville’s Code of Ethics and Conduct to be voted on at a December 3rd City Council ‘special meeting’ at 6:30 pm.  Ms Welch, part of what’s being called the ‘Gang of Four’ Council members, is hoping Mr Priforce will be censured and even sanctioned for the charges.  For his part, Council member Priforce denies the charges.

Mayor Welch violated the Code of Ethics and Conduct herself when she went on a name calling rampage on her social media accounts against the editor of the Tattler, but the Gang of Four have steadfastly refused to bring the charges up for a vote.  Name calling on social media by Council members is expressly forbidden according to the City Attorney John Kennedy as it constitutes a violation of the Code.  The Code of Ethics and Conduct was written by Mr Kennedy and certified by a vote of the Council in September. 

The Gang of Four City Council members are Courtney Welch, David Mourra, John Bauters and Sukhdeep Kaur.  They are refusing to be held to account for their own violations of the Code of Ethics as they press charges of violations of the Code against Council member Priforce.

The Tattler will report the whole spectacle as it unfolds.

The City Council Resolution against Mr Priforce can be seen HERE.

https://www.scribd.com/document/795685615/The-Political-Lynching-of-Emeryville-Councilmember-Kalimah-Priforce-Dec-3-2024

Nikki Bas Declares Victory in the County Supervisor Race Over John Bauters

Breaking News

Tonight Oakland City Council member Nikki Bas has declared victory in the race for Alameda County Board of Supervisors district 5 against Emeryville City Council member John Bauters.  The pro-labor Bas made the announcement after the Alameda County Registrar of voters released the latest tranche of votes in the hotly contested race that placed her against the anti-labor Bauters.  The County has said there are a few straggling votes that still needs to be counted.  However it is extremely unlikely Mr Bauters will make up the 415 votes to overtake Ms Bas.  Mr Bauters has not conceded the vote as of 6:40 pm tonight. 

The tally after the 5 pm release is: 

Bas 50.15 % at 71,135 votes

Bauters 49.85% at 70,721votes

Ms Bas mounted an extraordinary comeback from election night when at 1:00AM the County released the “unofficial final results” of the race showing Bauters ahead 53.4% (26,005 votes) over Bas at 46.6% (22,676 votes).  Ms Bas performed well in the poorer areas of the district while Mr Bauters, appealing to conservatives, did well in the affluent hills and Emeryville. The race spells the end of John Bauters' political career, barring some future comeback as he bet it all on this race, giving up his City Council seat as a consequence.

Ms Bas released the following statement:

One year ago, I answered the call from community-based advocates and Labor leaders to advance a vision of an equitable, prosperous and healthy future for every Alameda County family. Today, it appears that District 5 voters have selected me as their next representative to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. I will bring an unflagging commitment and engage the community to serve every resident by expanding affordable housing and effective solutions to homelessness, accessible healthcare, good jobs, and safe communities. During this consequential moment, I am thrilled and humbled to join what will be our County’s first majority-female Board. Let’s get to work!

Breaking: City Council Majority Votes to Agendize Censure of Council Member Priforce

Breaking News:

Tonight at a special Emeryville City Council meeting, Mayor Courtney Welch moved to censure her colleague Kalimah Priforce for “numerous violations” of Emeryville’s new Code of Ethics to be voted on at a future City Council meeting.  The vote was 4-1 to agendize the item (Priforce dissenting).  

This is the first use of the Code of Ethics since it was certified by the City Council last year.

The Mayor did not describe what ethics violations she thinks Mr Priforce violated but even without any general description, her three colleagues voted to place the item on a future agenda.  None of the three Council members who voted with Ms Welch to agendize a censure, not David Mourra, John Bauters or Sukhdeep Kaur, publicly asked the Mayor what violations they were being asked to vote on, raising the specter of a possible private pre-discussion by Council members.  If such a discussion happened behind closed doors, that could constitute a Brown Act violation.  

The City Attorney, John Kennedy, gave a presentation to the City Council some months ago wherein he described that Council members or even City committee members are proscribed by the Code of Ethics; among the violations he listed is “calling people names” on social media.  Because the Mayor Courtney Welch (and Planning Commissioner Dianne Martinez) both violated this mandate, the Tattler submitted a complaint to the Council in October but they refused to hear it.  This fact plus tonight’s opaque misadventure shows how the new Code of Ethics has already been politicized by this Council majority.  The Tattler will report on how the Code of Ethics is being abused by the City Council in a future story.

Council member Priforce responded to the Council's action tonight, telling the Tattler, "None of this is a surprise to me or should be a surprise to anyone who has been following the hostility of this council towards me since before I took office with their collegiality pledge, the attacks I received on the evening I took office, and on multiple occasions they've attempted to silence or trivialize my presence on the council. They are afraid of my voice. They are afraid of the people's voice. It's not about me, it's about what I represent. So rather than laugh at their theatrics, I focused on the task at hand, support Calvin and Mia in their campaign to be our future council members and return city hall back into the hands of the people."

Cryptocurrency Titan's Last Minute Money Dump to Mayor Welch for Her Re-Election Bid

Breaking News:

Cryptocurrancy Bro
Jesse Pollak
He sees a good investment 
in Courtney Welch.

Emeryville City Council member (mayor) Courtney Welch’s re-election campaign received $5000 from right wing cryptocurrency entrepreneur Jesse Pollak in the last FPPC cycle before the election.  Ms Welch, who has long denied any connection to corporations and taken on a campaign slogan of “Working for the People”, seems to have waited until the very end to accept the money, upping her chances at election without having to explain the corporate money. Council member John Bauters has also taken money from the tech bro gazillionaire (and others) even as he denied it to various groups he sought endorsement from. 

Councilwoman Welch has flat out denied allegations of being a corporate Democrat from many progressives in the East Bay and she has publicly punched back against any making the allegation.  

Mr Pollak is part of a group of very wealthy right wing campaign donors who are funding the anti-labor candidacy of John Bauters for County Board of Supervisors and to swing the recall campaigns against the Alameda County DA and the Mayor of Oakland.

After the election, Ms Welch will presumably have a harder time denying she is a corporate Democrat (unless she goes with a Trump style double down).

Bauters Comes in 2nd, Will Face Nikki Fortunado Bas in November

 Breaking News

Bauters to Face Run Off Election in November

Tonight, with 74 of 74 precincts reporting, Emeryville City Council member John Bauters will be heading to a November run off in his Alameda County Board of Supervisor’s race, having failed to secure enough votes to win the election outright.  Mr Bauters needed to win more than 50% of the vote in northern Alameda County to become the next District 5 Supervisor but he only was able to garner about 20% according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters office.  Oakland City Council member Nikki Fortunato Bas will also be in the run off election with Mr Bauters, having secured approximately 27% of the vote today.

The November run off election will now become a do or die for Mr Bauters’ political career as a loss today to secure a greater than 50% victory means he will not be allowed to run for re-election to the Emeryville City Council in November , a race he had announced he planned on making back before Keith Carson, the current District 5 Supervisor suddenly announced last December he would retire upon completion of his current term in November 2024.

The failure to win tonight highlights a real gamble Mr Bauters took when he threw his hat into the ring last December.   If he loses in November, he loses everything and he will go back to just being citizen John Bauters, stripped of all his official political power.  At least until the next election.

Breaking News: Council Member John Bauters Announces He Will Seek Alameda County Supe Seat

 Breaking

Four days after announcing his re-election campaign for Emeryville City Council, Council member John Bauters now says he will run for Alameda County District Five Board of Supervisors, a seat currently taken by Keith Carson who announced December 8th, he will vacate.  District Five encompasses Emeryville, Berkeley, Piedmont, as well as part of Albany and a large part of Oakland.  Mr Bauters did not say if he will suspend his campaign for Emeryville City Council to seek the bigger prize of Alameda County Supe.  He could not be reached for comment. 

Breaking News: Vice Mayor Vote Shocker - Priforce Skipped

Council Member Priforce Skipped Over in Favor of Mourra

Council Majority Disregards Priforce Despite Status as the People's Clear Favorite

BREAKING

Tonight, in a four to one vote (Priforce abstaining), the City Council elevated David Mourra to Vice Mayor, skipping the people's choice Kalimah Priforce, presaging a move to deny Mr Priforce his turn at the mayoralty.  Former Vice Mayor Courtney Welch, a favorite of vacating mayor John Bauters, was selected to be Emeryville’s newest mayor, a move not surprising to anyone.  

New Vice Mayor David Mourra
The people's second choice but 
the Council majority's first choice.

Mr Priforce, a progressive who has been repeatedly attacked by Mayor Bauters at the Council meetings, separated himself from the Bauters led conservative majority.  This has been evident especially over the issue of housing, Mr Priforce taking the side of anti-gentrification and placing the interests of the people of Emeryville over that of real estate developers.  Mr Bauters, a stanch YIMBY supporter who effectively runs the City Council, has sought to reel in the independent voice of Council member Priforce.  

YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) is a corporate real estate developer lobbying group based in Sacramento.  They have targeted many Bay Area cities, overturning their formerly independent planning commissions to hand over decision making powers to out-of-state development corporations.  The other four Emeryville City Council members have shown their loyalty to YIMBY in action and words over the last two years.

Emeryville’s mayor is selected by a vote of the City Council and each council member is supposed to get a turn at being mayor.  The idea is that the people’s choice for council comes with an expectation they will be mayor. The Vice Mayor almost always ascends to the mayoralty after one year.  There is no force of law to this however. It has generally worked over the years with some exceptions but the skipping of some members has been happening with greater frequently recently.

Over the years, lone progressives on the Council have been forbidden to be mayor by conservative majorities controlled by former Councilwoman Nora Davis (and now John Bauters).  In this way Council members Greg Harper, John Fricke were skipped over.  More recently, Council member Ken Bukowski was skipped over for mayor after he told the New York Times he was a methamphetamine user and Scott Donahue was skipped after Mr Bauters called his competence into question.  Bauters used that vote to personally take another year being mayor.  

Vice Mayor David Mourra, Emeryville voters’ second choice, having received only 1223 votes, or 21%  will become mayor next year while Council member Kalimah Priforce, the overwhelming choice of the people, who won with 1583 votes or 28%, will likely never be allowed to be our mayor (with this conservative Council majority in power).  

We reached out to Council member Mourra over the last week concerning the impending vice mayor vote but he didn't return our calls.

Sukhdeep Kaur Ascends To City Council by Appointment

 City Council Appoints Sukhdeep Kaur Emeryville's Newest Council Member

Breaking News

Tonight, at the first Emeryville City Council meeting open to the public to attend in person since the pandemic closed City Hall in 2020, the City Council voted 4-0 to elect Sukhdeep Kaur to the City Council on their first ballot.  Ms Kaur who lives in the Watergate neighborhood and who ran a nearly successful bid for Council in November replaces Ally Medina who quit her Council post in January.  Nine candidates applied but two dropped out before the 5:30 meeting.  Council member Kaur immediately assumed her position on the dais, as is the tradition for newly sworn in City Council members 

Sukhdeep Kaur takes the oath of office in the City Council chambers in a sparsely attended 
first open meeting since the beginning of the pandemic.

Council Says NO to Democracy For Council Replacement: Appointment Offered Instead

Breaking News:

City Council to Appoint New Council Member

Tonight the Emeryville City Council chose to decide for themselves who should replace former City Councilwoman Ally Medina instead of letting the people decide.  Councilwoman Medina resigned early, effective last Friday and on the agenda at tonight's Council meeting was a choice; who should decide about a replacement.... the people or the Council?  

Some council members balked at the estimated cost of holding a special election, up to $152,000 according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters but in the end it was decided the cost is less important than the idea of having only four Council members until next November, the earliest date date a special election could be held.   The Council will have up to 60 days from today, March 16th, to come up with a replacement. 

An appointee would only need to secure three Council votes to become the next City Council member, it was announced.

Mayor John Bauters expressed strong views that an appointment is the best choice while Council member Kalimah Priforce expressed reservations but he ultimately agreed an appointment is the best way for Emeryville citizens to get their next representative. 

Names thrown out for appointment included two who ran for Council last election, Brooke Westling and Sukhdeep Kaur and also School Board member Brynnda Collins.  Other names were hinted at but not revealed tonight.

Breaking: Ally Medina Resigns

 Breaking:

Councilwoman Ally Medina Resigns

Tonight, Emeryville City Council member Ally Medina resigned from office effective immediately.  Citing financial reasons and her desire to move out of town, Ms Medina made the announcement at the council comment section of tonight's regularly scheduled meeting.  Her colleagues expressed surprise at the announcement but an agendidized item on council travel authorization tonight notably left her name out, which would indicate she had notified the City Clerk of her impending departure at least three days ago. 

Ms Medina made news at a special City Council meeting the Monday night before last when she attacked her new colleague Kalimah Priforce, overturning a general culture of collegiality that has marked the City Council for years.

 

It was not revealed how a replacement would be selected but it is presumed a taxpayer funded special election would need to be done or an appointment directed by the Mayor and decided by the City Council majority.  

Breaking: Councilman Bauters to Be Mayor a Second Term

 BREAKING Back to Back Mayor Term:

Two New Council Members Sworn In, Mayor John Bauters is Forwarded to Be Mayor For a Second Term

Tonight mayor John Bauters was elected mayor by his colleagues, skipping Ally Medina who had been Vice Mayor and in line to become mayor.  The action makes Mr Bauters mayor two years running, an unprecedented thing in Emeryville history.  The Council elected Cortney Welch as Vice Mayor. 

The move was not without drama, Vice Mayor Medina invoked newly elected Council member Kalimah Priforce’s privilege as a “man” after he raised objections to the prospect of re-upping of Mr Bauters for a second term.  Ms Medina called Mr Priforce “offensive” as he raised his objection, saying it didn’t “feel right” having the mayor go for a second round.

The name-calling came moments after departing Council member Dianne Martinez stated the most important thing the new Council needs to do moving forward is to maintain collegiality.