Oakland (Special to ZennieReport.com) – The City of Oakland’s Oakland City Attorney’s Office has filed a last minute hail-mary pass attempt to stop the to-date successful march of Gene Hazzard’s Oakland Measure X Complaint that was filed in the Alameda County Superior Court against the Oakland City Council’s Measure X Resolution of 2022. Yes, the same Oakland Measure X that passed on November 8th election day with 94,497 “yes” versus 23319 “no” votes. Now, the City is asking to appear in Court, today December 14thth, 2023 at 3 PM.
This is what Oakland Deputy City Attorney Allison Ehlert wrote yesterday afternoon:
Dear Judge Lee,
The City of Oakland intends to make a special appearance, through counsel, at the December 14, 2023 CMC for purposes of objecting to this Court’s jurisdiction. (See e.g., Dial 800 v. Fesbinder (2004) 118 Cal.App.4th 32, 52-53.) We understand from the Court’s tentative that it intends to enter an order of default. We object on the grounds that neither the City, nor any of the City-affiliated defendants (current or former), have been properly served and therefore this Court lacks jurisdiction over them. The proof of service filed with the Court shows that Mr. Hazzard served only the City Attorney’s Office by certified mail. Certified mail is not a statutorily authorized method of service. Furthermore, there is no indication on the proof of service that Mr. Hazzard has attempted to serve any of the individual City-affiliated defendants. Mr. Hazzard may personally serve the defendants or serve them through the mail and include a notice and acknowledgment of receipt. The proof of service reflects that he has not done so. Any entry of default would therefore be void. (See e.g., Civ. Proc. Code § 473, subd. (d); Kremerman v. White (2021) 71 Cal.App.5th 358, 369-373; Calvert v. Al Binali (2018) 29 Cal.App.5th 954, 960-962.)
Best,
Allison Ehlert
City of Oakland email to Mr. Hazzard shared with Zennie62Media, Inc.
On Wednesday, December 13th, 2023, ZennieReport.com announced the following:
Gene Hazzard, the Oakland Photographer and Activist, scored big with his legal challenge against The City Council’s Oakland Measure X Resolution of 2022; Gene got the court to rule that it was what he claimed: illegal. The twist is that the Court Clerk did not enter the default immediately, but sent it to the Judge.
If you’re reading this and follow Oakland Government, you know who Gene Hazzard is. Gene is the man who took up the mantle of the late Sanjiv Handa, who would routinely go to Oakland City Council Meetings and bring up what the City of Oakland was not doing correctly. Gene has taken on a number of initiatives he found to be problematic, like The Oakland Promise. But this time, in the case of the Oakland Measure X, Gene won.
All Of This Started With Gene’s July 28th 2022 Oakland Measure X Complaint Filing To Alameda Superior Court
Gene Hazzard’s issue, expressed in emails and his July 28th 2022 complaint filing with the Alameda County Superior Court is that Oakland Measure X is an “illegal” ballot measure because it violated something called “The Single Subject Rule” in the California Constitution.
According to Chris Micheli in the McGeorge School Of Law Blog Network’s Cap.Impact.com publication “Per Article II, Section 8(d) of the California Constitution, “An initiative measure embracing more than one subject may not be submitted to the electors or have any effect.” Essentially, if an initiative embraces more than one subject, it can neither be submitted to, nor enacted by, the voters.”
Oakland Measure X had far more than one subject: it had 10 subjects. Because of that fact, and the longer form post here at ZennieReport.com explains, the Court was swayed to side with Gene Hazzard.
Allison Ehlert’s Argument Attacks Gene Hazzard From A Civil Procedure View
Oakland Deputy City Attorney Allison Ehlert’s attacking Gene on the notion that because he’s serving as his own lawyer, he had to have made a mistake in civil procedure. The trouble is, her approach forgets that one can’t enter Oakland City Hall and easily serve papers to City Attorney’s Office employees on the sixth floor. Moreover, Gene did serve the City Lawyers by certified mail, as one can see.
California Law’s On Gene Hazzard’s Side
California Code, Code of Civil Procedure – CCP § 415.20 reads as follows:
Current as of January 01, 2023 | Updated by FindLaw Staff
(a) In lieu of personal delivery of a copy of the summons and complaint to the person to be served as specified in Section 416.10, 416.20, 416.30, 416.40, or 416.50, a summons may be served by leaving a copy of the summons and complaint during usual office hours in his or her office or, if no physical address is known, at his or her usual mailing address, other than a United States Postal Service post office box, with the person who is apparently in charge thereof, and by thereafter mailing a copy of the summons and complaint by first-class mail, postage prepaid to the person to be served at the place where a copy of the summons and complaint were left. When service is effected by leaving a copy of the summons and complaint at a mailing address, it shall be left with a person at least 18 years of age, who shall be informed of the contents thereof. Service of a summons in this manner is deemed complete on the 10th day after the mailing.
(b) If a copy of the summons and complaint cannot with reasonable diligence be personally delivered to the person to be served, as specified in Section 416.60, 416.70, 416.80, or 416.90, a summons may be served by leaving a copy of the summons and complaint at the person’s dwelling house, usual place of abode, usual place of business, or usual mailing address other than a United States Postal Service post office box, in the presence of a competent member of the household or a person apparently in charge of his or her office, place of business, or usual mailing address other than a United States Postal Service post office box, at least 18 years of age, who shall be informed of the contents thereof, and by thereafter mailing a copy of the summons and of the complaint by first-class mail, postage prepaid to the person to be served at the place where a copy of the summons and complaint were left. Service of a summons in this manner is deemed complete on the 10th day after the mailing.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), if the only address reasonably known for the person to be served is a private mailbox obtained through a commercial mail receiving agency, service of process may be effected on the first delivery attempt by leaving a copy of the summons and complaint with the commercial mail receiving agency in the manner described in subdivision (d) of Section 17538.5 of the Business and Professions Code.
Gene Hazzard May Beat The City of Oakland, Again, Today
The point is, Gene may win again this afternoon. But the overall episode shows more of a simple unwarranted arrogance that the City of Oakland has toward its residents, particularly those who issue sound complaints. The question is are black Oaklanders who make complaints are treated with lesser respect than their white counterparts, even if the City of Oakland employee happens to be black? Some, including this author, would say yes.
It’s a very sad bunker mentality that stops Oakland from making measurable improvements in service delivery, economic development, and legal strategy and policy formation.
It may also explain why Oakland’s in such terrible shape: reduced to putting out fake news statistics to make it seem like there’s nothing wrong.
Stay tuned. More on this, later today.
Update: Gene Hazzard’s Hearing Was Comically Not Supposed To Be Thursday But…
According to Mr. Hazzard, (who’s serving as his own lawyer) the hearing that was scheduled for 3 PM Thursday, was not one that was to be held. “I went over there early, and discovered it was on ZOOM,” Gene said. “Then, when I got on ZOOM, the Judge and the City’s lawyer could not hear me. Then, the Judge said ‘I’m not supposed to be here’. The actual date was and is April 30th, 2024.
Gene Hazzard ads this:
Judge Jo-Lynne Lee , While I was IN PERSON in the Courtroom, Judge Lee basically had an EX PARTE hearingwhile unknown(?) parties were un ZOOM. Judge Lee failed to make ANY acknowledgement of introductions of these parties while it appeared Judge Lee and the Court Clerk was in conversation with them with HEADPHONES on while I looked on with no AUDIO and she further BARRED me from commenting. She further indicated she was unfamiliar with this matter, and needed to review , despite the fact as noted below she issued the request approving the entry of default.
So, the Oakland Measure X Ballot Initiative is in a limbo state declared in default, but not officially approved by the Judge, and with a City of Oakland legal challenge facing Mr. Hazzard April 30th, 2024. He believes he will win, but will continue to strengthen his argument in the interim.