Oakland City Attorney Candidate Brenda Harbin-Forte Calls Opponent Ryan Richardson “Ethically Challenged” Demands He Return Donation From Lawyer Suing the City, Disqualifies Him From Serving as Next City Attorney
Oakland (Special to ZennieReport.com) – Oakland City Attorney candidate retired Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte today called her opponent “ethically challenged” and demanded he return a donation from Jim Chanin, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys in the 24-year old and still pending Riders lawsuit against the City of Oakland, the case that is the basis for the federal monitoring of the Oakland Police Department.
“This inexplicable conduct disqualifies him from serving as the next City Attorney,” Harbin-Forte said.
“Chanin has been involved in the longest running lawsuit against the City of Oakland in modern history. Chanin makes money every day off the federal lawsuit. As long as oversight continues, Chanin makes money off Oakland, just like the Federal Monitor Robert Warshaw does.
Ryan Richardson should have known better than to have solicited an endorsement and accepted a $500 donation from Chanin, who is essentially a city contractor who has been receiving approximately $100,000 a year in attorney fees for his work on the federal monitoring case,” said Harbin-Forte, who is running against Richardson for the open city attorney seat.
“I demand that Richardson return the funds to Chanin, instead of keeping the funds and donating them to some charitable organization of his choice. Is Richardson going to claim a charitable donation for giving Chanin’s money away? This endorsement and donation are just other examples of the chummy relationship between Chanin and Richardson that has lasted for years, where they both appear to feel that the law and ethics and perceptions of impropriety don’t apply to them,” Harbin-Forte said.
“This is not just an ethical lapse on Richardson’s part; this calls into question the legitimacy of Richardson as the Chief Assistant City Attorney, and should make all Oaklanders question whether he can continue to even serve in the office. Not only must he return the funds to Chanin, he must also now recuse himself from having any role in the federal oversight case because of his acceptance of money from an active participant in a lawsuit against the City of Oakland,” Harbin-Forte said.
Harbin-Forte was an Alameda County Superior Court Judge for 27 years, handling all of the kinds of cases the City Attorney’s office handles. Prior to that, she was an equity partner at a major American law firm, Thelen, Marrin, Johnson & Bridges, where she handled complex civil litigation, including municipal law. She has won numerous awards as an attorney and jurist. She spearheaded the campaign to recall Mayor Sheng Thao.
In contrast, her opponent, Ryan Richardson, has only 11 legal cases to his name during his entire career, many of them representing a national cable company suing a small local newspaper, claiming the newspaper libeled the cable company. He lost the cases.
Among her many supporters, Harbin-Forte is endorsed by Nor Cal Carpenters; Oakland Builders Alliance; International Longshore Workers Union; Oakland Police Officers Association; Empower Oakland; Supervisor Nate Miley; Former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris; Black Women Organized for Political Action; California Association of Black Lawyers; Charles Houston Bar Association; Black Women Lawyers Association of Northern California; Bishop Robert L. Jackson; Former City Councilmember Loren Taylor; Former State Senator Holly Mitchell; Retired Justice William Murray, Jr.; Retired Judge Joan Neblett (Cartwright); Retired Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell, Retired Judge Evelio Grillo, Attorney Robert Harris, Brenda Grisham and others.