Oakland (Special to ZennieReport.com) – Sadly not too deep behind the opposition to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group purchase of the Oakland-Alameda County is a not-at-all hidden racism. What follows is an email exchange I had with a long-time reader and viewer of Zennie62Media platforms and Zennie62 YouTube Channel that was shockingly racist. Here it is, with the name of the person removed.
It started with a comment I made in my interview with AASEG Founder Ray Bobbitt. I said that Floyd Kephart, who held an exclusive negotiating agreement with the City of Oakland to build Coliseum City, was removed from the project because he did not prove to the City that he had the money he claimed to possess. The “man who’s name will be withheld” emailed out-of-the-blue (which is fine) with this:
“Kephart gave you proof that he had the money and was ready to close. You said that Kephart couldn’t come up with the money and that is radically false. Stop spreading rumors like that.”
- Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld
My response:
Hi “Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld”,
No, you’re completely incorrect. 100 percent. Larry Gallegos, Project Manager III. Department: Economic & Workforce Development Department, said that Floyd did not have the money. Meanwhile, Floyd was asking for City money, and at the same time, expressing an interest in buying the Raiders.
For some reason, you’re mesmerized with the idea that Floyd is this massively rich guy. What you never asked him was if he had any investment partners and what his overall development pro-forma looked like. Answer: he had none.
Anyone who thinks that investment only drives the development of a sports complex has never had to work with someone actually building a sports complex, or interview NFL owners who were doing it, or forming a sports event that called for its own set of revenue generators. I’ve done all three.
Cheers.
Zennie
From the “Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld”:
Larry isn’t the right person, he works for Betsy Lake, who is in charge of the sale. Floyd presented docs from a hedge fund that proved he had the money. Lynette, from the City Council was there when Floyd got it from the HF in NY, the City knew he had the money. Bobbitt is in contact because he is Black. His sale is a contract sale with payments over 36-months. Floyd’s proposal was an all cash deal not an installment sale like Babbitt’s.
- “Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld”
From Me:
“Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld”,
Seriously, you’re really not correct here and so don’t know the City: Larry is the project manager. Betsy Lake is not and was not the lead negotiator. In fact, when Floyd was around, Betsy Lake was not even the Assistant City Administrator. She was working for Phil Tagami. She did not join the City of Oakland until 2018.
You just revealed your real problem: you’re racist Pal. You can’t stand that a black guy got something done. You admitted that. That’s a sin before God. Shame on you. You assume Floyd had the money and, again, Mark Davis also said he did not have it. You did not see the cash, just believed him.
Show me a photo. And I can’t speak on Lynette because she never talked about him with me. But Libby had final say and she booted him.
Zennie
From “Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld”:
Floyd did have a plan for the property, the Colosseum was called Colosseum city and if you were to go online, you could see it. It’s multiple high-rise buildings of office and residential. So when you say he didn’t have a plan you’re wrong.
- Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld”
From Me:
“Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld”,
I hate to break this to you, but I never said he did not have a plan; I said he did not have the money. Stick to the subject. Again, he did not have the MONEY he claimed to have.
You’re wrong.
Admit it.
Zennie
From: “Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld”,
You’re wrong, he did have the money. Babbitt deal is because he is Black.
- “Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld”
Sadly, AASEG So Upset The “Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld” He Was Reduced To Name-Calling
And then he followed up with this:
Zinnie, as many have said, you are crazy.
- “Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld”
From Me:
Hello,
When you resort to name-calling, I know I’m right. Racism is a mental illness “Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld”. Get help.
Zennie
That exchange was sad. The “Man Who’s Name Will Be Withheld” is a white Oakland Commercial Real Estate Broker. Does his view reflect those like him who aren’t talking? It basically says from a 30,000 foot level, that a black developer can only get a chance to be the lead developer on a public-private project via concessions.
But let’s think about that. What are tax abatements given to billionaire white developers but concessions? What about subsidies? Don’t they help make a project more affordable to do for the builder? Of course.
What the Oaklanders who have been opposed to this Coliseum City project – or really the AASEG land deal – forget is that Coliseum City’s plan was to have an ENA that led to a DDA and as part of that the sale of the Oakland Coliseum Land. Good long-standing economic development practice is to do what is called a “land write down”, or a reduction in the price to pay to acquire the land.
For some to complain about a land write down in the case of ASSEG is to ask if they truly want new development, or only want certain people to have it, forgetting that those same people would also ask for concessions. Why? Simple: the Coliseum Complex is not in a position to claim the once lofty sale numbers some city officials desired.
The simple reason is that the Coliseum has lost three of the most iconic sports businesses in the history of America: The Oakland Raiders, the Golden State Warriors, and the Oakland A’s. Those departing Coliseum “anchor tenants” have robbed the complex of the land values people like Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb believed it had in 2017, when the Raiders and the NFL were considering the Las Vegas move, and the Oakland City Council said others were interested in the property if they departed, so they should “hurry up and make a decision” as Dan said to me at the Raiders Rally in 2016.
Fast forward to today, and the A’s bid for the Coliseum complex gave way to the possible availability of Howard Terminal. The City of Oakland proved it didn’t have the staff to complete Oakland’s tax increment financing promise. And so the impatient Athletics established a laser-focus on Las Vegas. And got the approval of the Nevada Legislature, and a path toward the eventual construction of an innovative Las Vegas Strip Ballpark.
Meanwhile, Oakland’s economic development staff, reduced to more of a study-producing organization than one geared toward business retention and attraction, seems completely without the ability to turn our city’s fortunes around. The AASEG deal is one of our best hopes for a recovery out of this Oakland government malaise.