OAKLAND, CA (Special to ZennieReport.com – We are pleased to announce to the Oakland community and beyond that our clients, former Oakland Police Commission Chair Dr. Tyfahra Milele, former Vice Chair David Jordan, and former Vice Chair Ginale Harris, scored a significant victory today by forcing Oakland City Council Chair Nikki Fortunato Bas to remove James Chanin from his illegally-held seat on the Oakland Police Commission Selection Panel, which decides who should be recommended for appointment to the Oakland Police Commission.
As Oakland grapples with its current rampant crime crisis, it is vital that the city’s leadership roles, such as those on the Police Commission which will recommend the next police chief, be held by individuals who prioritize the safety and well-being of the community above all else.
Lawsuit Filed Against James Chanin And City of Oakland
Our clients filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Attorney James Chanin, the City of Oakland, the Oakland Police Commission Selection Panel, and City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, demanding that Chanin be removed from the Selection Panel and not have any say in who gets appointed to the Police Commission, because of his clear financial and ethical conflicts of interest.
Chanin had been improperly sitting on the Selection Panel since May 2022, when his maximum five-year term limit under the City Charter ended, resulting in his seat becoming vacant. In addition, at least since his term ended, if not before, Chanin had also been serving in violation of the Oakland Ethics Code provision that prohibits anyone from serving on the Selection Panel if they have a pending lawsuit against the Police Department.
When Chanin’s term ended in May 2022, he had no right to continue serving, and under the City Charter, Fortunato Bas, or the Selection Panel if Fortunato Bas failed to act, was required to appoint another of the thousands of residents of District 2 to that seat. Fortunato Bas and the Selection Panel both were derelict in their duties by refusing to appoint another District 2 resident to replace Chanin in 2022. That failure resulted in Chanin’s improper participation in the selection of nominees to fill vacancies on the Police Commission in 2023.
The City of Oakland has paid Mr. Chanin more than $1.1 million in attorney’s fees while the Police Department has been under federal court oversight pursuant to the 2003 Negotiated Settlement Agreement in the Delphine Allen v. City of Oakland case. For the entirety of his time on the Selection Panel, Mr. Chanin has averaged $130,000 per year in attorney’s fees. Mr. Chanin will continue to make that average for as long as the federal oversight continues, and the City will continue to pay the federal monitor a million dollars per year for as long as oversight continues.
Throughout their years of volunteer service as police commissioners, Dr. Tyfahra Milele, David Jordan, and Ginale Harris have been committed to the safety, trust, and overall well-being of the residents of Oakland. Although they no longer serve on the Commission, they will continue to fight for an independent and effective Police Commission, as well as for a transparent and unbiased selection process for future commissioners. This is what the Oakland community deserves.