Sutter Hospital Continues to Say NO to a CBA - Community Leaders Push Back

 Impolitic Corporate Hubris:

Pushed to Commit to Negotiate With the Community, Sutter Demurs

Community Leaders are Unimpressed

News Analysis

Executives at Sutter Health Corporation redoubled their insistence recently, that they would not partake in any Community Benefits Agreement proposed by the Emeryville community associated with their proposed $1 billion hospital campus at 53rd and Hollis streets.  The surprising Sutter recalcitrance has prompted government officials, community leaders and city council candidates to publicly weigh in on the corporation's lack of faith in the same community it wants to locate within.  

Sutter is aware their participation is voluntary and there is no law constraining them with regard to such a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) made with the community.  They are however constrained by law with regard to negotiating and entering into an agreement with the City of Emeryville if they wish to locate their hospital campus here.  Such an agreement is called a Development Agreement (DA).

Sutter's Media Relations Manger
Monique Binkley Smith
She took issue with the Tattler's story on
Sutter's refusal to participate in a CBA.
But she refuses to commit to Sutter 
participating in a CBA.  Gaslighting?

Sutter’s latest dustup with the community and their CBA proposal came in response to a Tattler inquiry made after our September 8th story, where we broke the news of Sutter’s intension to waive off a CBA.  That story hit the streets with quite a fury causing Monique Binkley Smith, Sutter’s Media Relations Manager, to write a September 9th email to the Tattler expressing disfavor over what she saw as inaccuracies in the story.  Ms Smith asserted, “Statements [in the Tattler story], including the headline that 'Sutter Hospital Says NO Community Benefits Agreement', as well as assertions that Sutter 'will not participate' in a CBA or 'will not negotiate directly with the community', do not accurately reflect what we communicated”.  

The Tattler responded to Ms Smith and the management at Sutter, the email trail informs that they had in fact asserted they would not participate in a CBA for their Emeryville project but if Sutter wants to change their refusal (as hinted to by the denials in the September 9th email from Ms Smith), the Tattler would gladly commit to a story on Sutter’s new found community spirit and commitment to participating in a CBA.  We said in the email response we would give them ample time to mull it over.  That was September 9th.   We conclude now that Sutter continues to refuse to participate in a CBA associated with their Emeryville project and their refusal to clearly say they are willing to participate is what drives our conclusion.

Simply put, Sutter can inform the community at any time they want that they are willing to participate in a CBA and the community will oblige and the Tattler will report.  Gaslighting the press or the community directly will not help in Sutter’s quest to make the friends they will need in Emeryville as they attempt to move the project forward.  This obstinacy will make the city council’s job more difficult when they consider whether to grant approvals for the project and it is not a stretch to imagine this kind of impolitic corporate behavior by this want-to-be corporate neighbor, will harm Sutter’s prospects.

A CBA is a legally binding agreement between the community and a developer.  Municipalities are not part of a CBA.  Negotiations during the CBA process brings community benefits provided by the developer and signed off promises from the community to not further block a developer's project proposal.

The Community Speaks

The whole imbroglio has brought the community into conversation:  

North Oakland's Cathy Leonard
She has much experience with CBAs
in her community activism and she
indicates it is critical Sutter act in good 
faith to mollify community impacts.

North Oakland resident and Golden Gate Community Association (GGCA)  Board Chair, Cathy Leonard, stated, “The (GGCA) supports a formal Community Benefits Agreement negotiated with Sutter Health by a unified local coalition of residents and other stakeholders from project-impacted neighborhoods across all three cities, i.e. Oakland, Emeryville, and Berkeley.  As part of this coalition, GGCA would work to ensure that affected neighborhoods and taxpayers do not bear the hazards and cost burdens associated with Sutter Health's increased traffic, noise, pollution, and other probable impacts clearly identified through the EIR scoping process by more than 60 residents, public agencies, the City of Oakland, Emeryville City Council members and Emeryville Planning Commissioners.” 

United States Congresswoman Lateefah Simon said she expects “robust community engagement” with Sutter in Emeryville.  She added, “Sutter needs to listen to the people in the community”, while California  Assembly Member Mia Bonta told the Tattler simply, “CBAs are good things in the community”.

Emeryville City council candidates were eager to weigh in: 

Brandon Soublet said, “I’m glad to see local elected and appointed officials uniting around a resident-first approach. We all agree this development has to work for Emeryville—and with a non-profit partner like Sutter, that means securing binding agreements for real community benefits.  This project has to make sense for Emeryville residents, and because Sutter is a non-profit, that means legally binding agreements to bring tangible benefits to our community.”

Corry Frydlewicz told us, “I think developing a CBA can be a great idea. The ideas shared that get the community on the same page can be helpful for organizing and educating our representatives. Sutter has been asking for our feedback, so hopefully they'd welcome it too. There's really no downside for openly collaborating on a plan, even if it doesn't get accepted.”

Current City Councilman and candidate for re-election Kalimah Priforce had the shortest answer of any of them.  When we told him Sutter so far is refusing to commit to a Community Benefits Agreement, the Councilman simply said, “We’ll see about that”.

David Mourra, also current Councilman and candidate for re-election was asked directly about the Sutter refusal but he also refused….to comment.

Rounding out the City Hall response, the following were contacted but refused to comment on the failure of a Sutter CBA:

-Mayor Sukhdeep Kaur

-Vice Mayor Mathew Solomon

-City Councilwoman Courtney Welch

-City Manager LaTanya Bellow

-Emery Schools Superintendent Quiauna Scott

The initial September 8th Tattler story on the Sutter CBA refusal is HERE.

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon
California’s 12th Congressional District
U.S. House of Representatives
"Sutter needs to listen to the
people in the community".
"Nothing for us without us".

Undemocratically Minded School Board Member Seeks Position in Local Democratic Party

Emery School Board Member Chagolla Running For Delegate to Democratic Party Committee

Accountability and Transparency Should be First & Foremost

Chagolla Doesn't Deliver on Either

Opinion

By March 5th, Democratic Party members in Emeryville, Oakland and Alameda have a chance to weigh in on Emeryville resident / Emery School Board member Regina Chagolla's bid to be an assembly district 18 voting member of the local Democratic party known as the Democratic Central Committee.   One of a slate of eight candidates for the Central Committee, Ms Chagolla has been endorsed by Assemblywoman Mia Bonta and Emeryville Mayor Courtney Welch.  

But despite the high level endorsements, believers in good government would be wise to not vote for Ms Chagolla. 

Emery School Board member Regina Chagolla
Anti-Democratic
Not accountable to parents with
children enrolled at Emery, she has
a patrician's view of democracy.

The Democratic Central Committee delegates represent their specific district serving the people and their State Assembly member.  As such, the Central Committee (DCC) delegates help promote the Democratic Party agenda, endorse candidates for statewide, legislative and congressional office, and vote to endorse resolutions and ballot measures among other things.  The last election in 2023, saw Council member Kalimah Priforce elected to the District 18 DCC delegation over objections from Assemblywoman Bonta who had selected a slate of candidates that included Ms Welch.  

Ms Bonta, recognized by many East Bay progressives as a 'corporate Democrat' owing to her campaign donor list of gazillionaires and mega-corporations, had the misfortune of having her entire slate, save one, defeated by the voters last time.  Now Ms Chagolla has joined a new slate of DCC Bonta candidates for another bite at the apple.  

Looking at Regina Chagolla’s impressive resume, one might be tempted to vote for her, regardless of her being part of the corporatist United Voices For Democracy slate as they call themselves.  Besides sitting on the Emery School Board, Ms Chagolla has been a 3rd grade teacher at Berkeley Unified School District for the last six years and she’s lived in Emeryville for 10 years.  But Democratic voters should be advised, Ms Chagolla’s tenure on the Emery School Board has been marked by a wholesale failure to govern from even the most basic of democratic norms.

Ms Chagolla is not available to the public.  Following in the footsteps of Council member John Bauters, School Board member Chagolla has adopted a hyper-partisan philosophy on governing to such an extent, certain members of the Emeryville public, the press and even parents with children enrolled at Emery, are not afforded the courtesy of having a single question answered.  Ms Chagolla will not entertain constituent’s questions at School Board meetings nor will she set up times for answering questions off campus, not in person, via email, text or not via the phone.  This is an extremely undemocratic vision of governance from a public servant who calls herself a Democrat.  

While running for re-election to the Emery School Board in 2022, Board member Chagolla joined with her two colleagues also seeking re-election, telling voters about what a great job they had done for the children at Emery.  "Keep Emery on track” is what they said, presumably because they were doing such a fantastic job.  What Ms Chagolla and her slate mates didn’t tell voters is that, academically, Emery slid to last place among all school districts in Alameda County on her watch.  This kind of incompetence and lack of transparency should not be rewarded with a Democrat’s vote.

You know a politician is pulling a scam when they transform themselves from lovers of democracy and accountability before they’re elected into haters as soon as they are elected.  Such is the case with Regina Chagolla.  Before she was elected to the Emery School Board, she told the community she loved the Emeryville Tattler.  In 2015, then an Emery teacher, she even wrote a letter to the editor praising how informative and democratic the Tattler is.  In her letter, Ms Chagolla thanked the Tattler, “for informing the public about the big discussions that are being made in this small city” and for informing her specifically as a teacher about what is going on at the school district.  She said the Tattler inspired her enough to start her attending School Board meetings. 

Assemblywoman Mia Bonta's Delegate Slate
The 'United Voices for Democracy' Slate
The corporate business community and their
sycophants wants you to vote for these people.

That was then.  Now as an elected official in power and under the critical eye of the Emeryville Tattler, now Board member Chagolla wants nothing to do whatsoever with the Tattler, the same news site that inspired her as a mere teacher.  Now the disdain for accountability from Board member Chagolla is so pervasive, she steadfastly refuses to answer our questions and she even joined with her Board colleagues running for re-election to freeze out the the public from accountability by refusing the Tattler’s election questionnaire (given to all Emeryville candidates for public office).  As elected officials in Emeryville, Ms Chagolla and her Board colleagues boycotted public accountability for the first time in the Tattler’s 14 year history.  Her reason?  She does not believe the public has a right to know about her governing philosophy.  She still wants their votes however.  

For these reasons, Democrats, even the corporate ones, should not use their votes to reward a person who cavalierly subverts the Party’s values with such aplomb.  We don’t know what kinds of political calculations Assembly member Mia Bonta has made endorsing Regina Chagolla as delegate for the Democratic Central Committee but we don’t think it’s in the interest of the people of the 18th District.

Kalimah Priforce Wins Democratic Party Delegate Race for Emeryville

 Mayor's Losing Fight Against Councilman Priforce 

Priforce Victory Called 'Huge Upset'

Money & Power Backed Council Member Courtney Welch Loses

Council member Kalimah Priforce
Big winner in Friday's delegate race and rising 
regional political star representing Emeryville.

Emeryville City Councilman Kalimah Priforce was part of a slate of 12 progressive candidates, all of whom won a landslide victory in a contentious Democratic delegate race to the California 18th Assembly District, announced by the party Friday. Council member Priforce handily defeated Councilwoman Courtney Welch who ran as part of a corporate backed slate of candidates, but that slate of 14 candidates were all defeated excepting for one.  The rank and file Democratic Party delegate election represents a defeat for the corporate backed 18th Assembly District representative, Mia Bonta, who leveraged her power to try to get her slate of candidates elected.  The election results, what many are calling a ‘huge upset’, were unexpected owing to the power and money representing Ms Bonta’s slate.  The newly elected delegates will serve under a now weakened Assemblywoman Bonta.

Mayor John Bauters
He endorsed the loser,
Councilwoman Courtney Welch.

The election of Mr Priforce as Democratic delegate means Emeryville’s interests will serve an oversized role in the delegation with our little town representing one of the 14 in a district that encompasses all of Alameda and most of Oakland.  Had Ms Welch also been elected, Emeryville’s power in the California Democratic Party would have been hugely increased.  However, Emeryville’s Mayor John Bauters used his position to lead a drive to steer votes away from Council member Priforce being elected in favor of Ms Welch.  As such, the regional election for the 18th District, conducted over the last couple of months, has come to be seen by East Bay politicos as part of a proxy battle for who is to control Emeryville City Hall, Mr Bauters or Mr Priforce.

The loss for Ms Welch is a blow for Mayor Bauters who has used his position to push against Council member Priforce in the Council chambers and in the delegate race securing the endorsement of Ms Welch by Council colleagues Ally Medina, and David Mourra.  Despite his Council colleagues working against him and with the delegate race won, Mr Priforce is now seen as a rising political star in regional politics, and a challenge to Mr Bauters. The two councilmen can be seen as representing two different visions for Emeryville with Mr Bauters’ side represented by a deference to housing developers versus a deference to a more democratic policy vision shown by Mr Priforce.  

Assemblywoman Mia Bonta
Her slate of corporate backed
candidates, including Courtney Welch
 lost.

The ‘battle for the 18th ‘ delegate race was represented by the two opposing slates, Mr Priforce’s grassroots progressive “People’s Slate” and the Mia Bonta corporate backed and ironically named “Progressive Unity and Labor Slate” that Ms Welch ran with.  The People’s Slate for the 18th District was endorsed by Our Revolution, a national grassroots political organization started by Senator Bernie Sanders and a critic of Councilwoman Courtney Welch, whom they called a “corporate backed Democrat”.

During the campaign, Councilman Priforce signed a pledge to not take donations from corporations including from corporate real estate organizations such as YIMBY, an action that the YIMBY backed Councilwoman Courtney Welch mocked on the campaign trail.

Speaking to the Tattler, Allyssa Victory, the top vote getter in the Democratic delegate race and an Oakland mayor challenger in the election last November said,  “The People’s Slate was truly independent and all 12 candidates were successfully elected due to a strong grassroots campaign that included a people-centered platform, direct outreach, voter registration, and education to overcome the many hurdles in the election process. All members of the Slate, whether re-elected or elected for the first time, ran to change the status quo by addressing the crises in our democracy and increasing accountability to the people we are elected to represent."

Council member Priforce came in 6th place in the delegate race with 286 votes while Council member Welch came in 16th place with 192 votes.

Councilwoman Courtney Welch
She has the support of corporations but she
does not have the support the of the people.

The People's Slate
Swept the Corporate Backed Slate
Non corporate and victorious.  All signed pledges not to take corporate money.
Every candidate won their race.

Mayor Bauters Leads Drive Against Council Colleague, Kalimah Priforce

Round Two in War Against City Council member Priforce

His Colleagues Refuse to Endorse Him For Assembly Delegate While They Endorse Council Member Welch

Mr Priforce Asked to Sign 'Collegiality Agreement' 

An emerging discord among Emeryville City Council members has manifest in another unprecedented event Friday when the Mayor and two colleagues endorsed Councilwoman Courtney Welch for a delegate to the Democratic Party Assembly District 18, conspicuously leaving aside Councilman Kalimah Priforce, who is also running for delegate in the same election.  Notably, the Emeryville City Council has never endorsed a candidate for the State Assembly, let alone snub a fellow Council member running as they did on Friday.  The negation of Mr Priforce adds muscle to the new polity of hostility against him by the Council majority after the wholesale attack on Mr Priforce at his swearing in meeting. 

City Council member Kalimah Priforce
Since entering the City Council, his colleagues
have been hostile to him.
The Council refuses to say why.

 

Propping up Ms Welch at the expense of Mr Priforce for Emeryville representation in Assembly District 18, Mayor Bauters was joined by Ms Medina and even newly sworn in City Council member David Mourra.  In a show of force, the existing District 18 Assembly member Mia Bonta has also endorsed Courtney Welch and other corporate backed Democrats, revealing the political reach of Mayor Bauters who plays by the Democratic Party mainstream rules and gets favors like this returned.  

Mr Priforce and Ms Welch are running for delegate on different slates with different guiding philosophies.   Ms Welch’s slate of 14 candidates is noteworthy for its attachment to YIMBY, a developer lobbying backed organization that seeks to remove local regulation in housing policy.  A central figure supporting Courtney Welch is her slate mate Zac Bowling, a software CEO and YIMBY backed candidate.  Ms Welch too is backed by YIMBY, having received $1000 from the 'YIMBY Victory Fund'.  Mayor Bauters has also received YIMBY money from YIMBY supporters it should be noted.  

The YIMBY organization (Yes In My Back Yard) is backed by rightwing groups including the far right Koch Brothers.  The organization has quietly reached tentacles into cities across the Bay Area in recent years as they get municipalities to reverse their rules constraining developers that would deliver livability for existing residents.     

Councilwoman Welch was called out as a “corporate backed Democrat” by several local election watching politicos including the well known progressive Alameda resident, Democrat Dan Wood.  Ms Welch has forcefully pushed back on the accusations on her Twitter account stating "From here on out, if you want to say I'm connect w/, to, involved in, etc something, cite your sources or shut the fuck up & that's on everything."

Courtney "Shut The Fuck Up" Welch
Council member Welch is supported by the YIMBY
backed network East Bay for Everyone.  Their agenda is
to overturn local municipal power and give it to housing developers.
Council member Priforce has been critical of YIMBY.

The snubbing of Council member Priforce by his colleagues is added to the recently released pre-City Council election collegiality agreement they required him to sign.  The agreement stipulated that Mr Priforce is to behave in a collegial manner at City Council meetings (never mind the fact that the Council majority themselves violated the collegiality they sought at Mr Priforce’s swearing in meeting).  

For his part, Council member Priforce has taken the attacks and snubbing from his colleagues on the Council in stride.  He told the Tattler, "As a Black man, a Buddhist Haitian Afro-Latine son of foster care, I'm used to being judged and non-engaged with out of fear and biased assumptions.”  He said of his fellow Council members, “I have no power over darkness, only my own light.”

The City Council members did not respond to Tattler questions about the snubbing of Mr Priforce as he seeks to represent Emeryville in the Democratic Party except David Mourra who said he didn’t receive an ‘ask for endorsement’ from Mr Priforce. 

California Democratic Party Assembly District 18 includes Emeryville, Oakland, Alameda.   Emeryville voters registered as Democrats were asked to vote last Friday for 14 candidates although they can still vote by appearing at polling places outside Emeryville up until January 22nd.  Winners will be announced in March.

UPDATE TO STORY:  We received emails asking for us to include the full quote Council member Priforce supplied us with.  We left part of the quote out initially to keep the story on track and to the point.  Because Tattler readers have requested it, here's one better, a revised full quote from Councilman Priforce:

As a Black man, a Buddhist Haitian Afro-Latine son of the foster care system, I'm used to being judged and non-engaged with out of fear and biased assumptions. Today, an elderly White woman pulled me aside after church and told me, 'it's so good to have a Godly Black man on the city council.'  That is what centers me throughout all this drama that looks more like student government than a real government led by mature, mindful adults.

But it's folk like her that remind me to pray for my colleagues and focus less on them and more on the mandate granted to me by the voters to make Emeryville a better village to work, live, and play in. I don't agree with many of the views expressed in this body, but any semblance of special interest influence that warps the destiny of our city, its residents, homeowners, and workers is something I will always fight against and address. Silence is complicity. I also suggest readers focus less on the sensationalism or the back and forth and more on the solid points being made.

Matthew 5:16 says 'Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works..." so I'm focused on my own good works and to continue to be a light that shines in darkness - like I've done all my life. I have no power over darkness, only my own light. What my colleagues say and do is up to them and I want no part in anything that doesn't serve the best interests of Emeryville."

SECOND UPDATE & CORRECTION:  We erroneously reported that Councilman David Mourra was not asked to sign a collegiality agreement.  We apologize for the error.  At 8:31 tonight (1/10) Councilman David Mourra confirmed he in fact also signed a ‘Candidates Pledge’ (AKA collegiality agreement) given to him by his colleagues.  Before we posted the story, we reached out to Council members Bauters and Medina to ask if Mr Mourra was given the Pledge to sign after we got tips from two independent sources that they did not ask Mr Mourra to sign it or even present it to him.  The two Council members refused to confirm or deny.  

The collegiality agreement cooked up for this election is unprecedented in Emeryville City Council history and this election with Kalimah Priforce (and David Mourra) running, was the first time there has ever been such an agreement presented to any Council candidates.  No other Emeryville City Council members or Council candidates have ever been asked to sign such a document.