CITY OF OAKLAND
ONE FRANK H. OGAWA PLAZA x 6 TH FLOOR x OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 94612 Office of the City Attorney
Ryan Richardson
City Attorney
FAX:
TDD:
(510) 238-3601
(510) 238-6500
(510) 839-6451
May 6, 2025
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
Oakland, California
Subject: Alameda County Taxpayers’ Association and Marleen L. Sacks v.
City of Oakland, Oakland City Council, Krystal Sams, Sheng Thao and Does 1-5
Case No. 23CV027685
City Attorney File No. X05477
(City Administrator/Clerk’s Office/Public Works – Writ of Mandate)
President Pro Tempore Gallo and Members of the City Council:
Pursuant to Section 401 of the Charter, the Ci ty Attorney has prepared and requests your approval of a resolution authorizing compromise a nd settlement of the above-entitled lawsuit for injunctive relief and the payment of attorney ’s fees and costs in the sum of Two Hundred and Seven Thousand Eight Hundred and Twelve Dollars and Thirty-Nine Cents ($207,812.39), payable to the Law Office of Marleen L. Sacks.
In addition to the monetary settlement to reimburse Petitioner’s attorney’s fees and costs, the settlement of this lawsuit commits the City to the following terms:
x Retaining camera footage at Frank Ogawa Plaza for a year; x Requesting that under certain circumstan ces the Alameda Registrar of Voters offer more than five ranked-choice options for City elections; x Enacting a policy that will govern how the City enters into cooperative purchase agreements;
x Making best efforts to ensure that there are functioning time stamp machines in the Clerk’s office;
x Making best efforts to ensure that candidates for City office get accurate information about timelines for filing paperwork;
x Forwarding election integrity complaints to City Administration and the City Attorney; and
x Not accepting late nomination paperwork for City office.
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
May 6, 2025
Subject: Alameda County Taxpayers’ Association and Marleen L. Sacks v. City of Oakland, Oakland City Council, Krystal Sams, Sheng Thao and Does 1-5a
The City determined settlement as described above, without admitting liability and to avoid further litigation, is in the best interest of the City.
The City Council authorized settlement of this ca se in Closed Session on Thursday, April 17, 2025 (moved by Councilmember Carroll Fife and seconded by Councilmember Zac Unger -6 Ayes, 2 Absent – Councilmember Janani Ramachandran and Council President Kevin Jenkins (serving as Mayor pursuant to Charter Section 303)).
Respectfully submitted,
RYAN RICHARDSON
City Attorney
Assigned Attorney:
Luke Edwards
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