THE HONORABLE SHENG THAO • MAYOR OF OAKLAND CITY HALL • 1 FRANK H. OGAWA PLAZA • OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 94612 • (510) 238-3141 January 25, 2023 Dear President Bas and Members of the Oakland City Council: I respectfully request your approval of the attached appointments of Harold Duffey and Steven Falk as the Interim City Administrators. I am proposing Mr. Duffey’s service as Interim from January 31 through March 12, and Mr. Falk’s service from March 13 until June 30 or upon appointment of the permanent City Administrator, whichever comes first. My administration and I are working hard to select a top-notch permanent City Administrator; however, that process will take some time to complete, and Ed Reiskin’s employment agreement ends on January 30. Mr. Duffey has more than 30 years of administrative and managerial experience in municipal government, including his current service as Oakland’s Director of Public Works (since 2021). Prior to joining the City of Oakland, he served as City Manager of the City of Grand Terrace (2015-2021), as City Manager of the City of Compton (2012-2014), as City Administrator of the City of Oroville (2010-2012), as Chief Assistant Director of the Yolo County Planning, Community Development and Public Works Department (2006-2010), as General Manager of the Integrated Waste Management Division of the City of Sacramento’s Department of Utilities (2000-2006), and in positions with the City of Riverside (1992-2000) and San Bernadino County (1988-1992). Mr. Falk also has more than 30 years of administrative and managerial experience in municipal government. He served as the Interim City Administrator for the City of Oakland for two critical months in 2020, just as the pandemic began. Previously, he served as Interim City Manager for the City of Richmond (2019-2020), where he led the reorganization of city departments and hired the City’s first-ever African-American female police chief. Prior to that, Mr. Falk served for 23 years as City Manager for the City of Lafayette (1996-2019). Mr. Falk also serves as a Lecturer at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California Berkeley
I am confident that Mr. Duffey and Mr. Falk will carry out the functions and duties as Interim City Administrator with the highest ethical standards and in a manner consistent with the Charter and municipal code of the City of Oakland, while we conduct our search. Sincerely, Sincerely, Mayor Sheng Thao City of Oakland