APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
___________________________
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. ______________ C.M.S.
RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE POLICE COMMISSION SELECTION
PANEL’S SLATE OF TWO COMMISSIONERS, JEAN QUAN AND
NICHOLAS O’BRIEN- KOVARI, TO SERVE ON THE OAKLAND
POLICE COMMISSION
WHEREAS, Oakland voters approved Measure LL – establishing a Police Commission on November 8, 2016, with 83.19% in favor of the measure; and WHEREAS, Measure LL established City Charter Section 604 which created a sevenmember Police Commission to oversee the Oakland Police Department’s policies, practices, and procedures and ensure constitutional policing standards; and WHEREAS, City Charter Section 604(c)(2) requires the Mayor to appoint three Oakland residents as regular members to the Police Commission and one Oakland resident as an alternate member; and
WHEREAS, City Charter Section 604(c)(3) established a nine-member Selection Panel to select candidates for the remaining five positions on the Police Commission (four regular commissioners and one alternate); and
WHEREAS, under City Charter Section 604(c)(3), the Selection Panel is responsible for reviewing applications, interviewing candidates, selecting nominees for its designated regular commissioner and alternate commissioner positions on the Police Commission, and submitting its recommended slate to the City Council for approval; and WHEREAS, the initial members of the Police Commission served staggered terms of two, three, or four years; subsequent appointments serve terms of three years; and for vacancies that occur for reasons other than the expiration of a term, the Commission shall select one of the alternates to replace the regular member for that regular member’s remaining term of office; and WHEREAS, the Selection Panel-appointed Commissioner Wilson Riles began his term on October 17, 2023, which was scheduled to expire on October 16, 2026; Commissioner Riles left the seat on February 1, 2026, before the end of his term, leaving the regular commissioner seat vacant as of February 2, 2026; and
2 WHEREAS, the Selection Panel-appointed Alternate Commissioner Omar Farmer began his term on June 18, 2024, which expired on October 16, 2025, and he has served in holdover status since October 17, 2025; on April 23, 2026, the Police Commission elevated Farmer to fill the regular commissioner seat previously held by Wilson Riles, with his holdover term ending on September 16, 2026; and
WHEREAS, the Selection Panel-appointed Commissioner Samuel Dawit began his term on October 17, 2024, which was scheduled to expire on October 16, 2026; Commissioner Dawit left the seat on April 9, 2026, before the end of his term, leaving the regular commissioner seat vacant as of April 10, 2026; and
WHEREAS, following the City Council’s rejection of the Selection Panel’s previously submitted slates in October and December 2025, the Selection Panel initiated a new recruitment and selection process to fill vacancies on the Oakland Police Commission; and WHEREAS, during its 2026 recruitment process, the Selection Panel received forty-five (45) applications and conducted a comprehensive selection process, including independent application reviews, candidate evaluations, background and reference checks, finalist interviews, and standardized scoring to identify qualified nominees for the Oakland Police Commission to fill two extant regular commissioner vacancies (one of which to be filled by the instant resolution), the one extant alternate commissioner vacancy, one impending Fall 2026 vacancy and to add to the Selection Panel Reserve Pool; and
WHEREAS, following this process, the Selection Panel selected Jean Quan and Nicholas O’Brien-Kovari as its recommended nominees for three-year terms to fill the two regular commissioner seats that will become vacant as of October 17, 2026, due to the expiration of the regular terms on October 16, 2026 of Commissioner Samuel Dawit and Commissioner Wilson Riles; and
WHEREAS, Section 604(c)(3) of the City Charter provides the City Council with the authority to accept or reject the Selection Panel’s recommended slate of appointments to the Police Commission; now therefore, be it
3 RESOLVED: That pursuant to City Charter Section 604(c)(3), the City Council hereby accepts the Selection Panel’s slate of candidates, in its entirety, to serve as members of the Police Commission, as follows:
Jean Quan (Regular Commissioner, for seat formerly held by Wilson Riles, and followed by Omar Farmer)
Term: October 17, 2026 – October 16, 2029
Nicholas O’Brien-Kovari (Regular Commissioner, for seat formerly held by Samuel Dawit) Term: October 17, 2026 – October 16, 2029
IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES - BROWN, FIFE, GALLO, HOUSTON, RAMACHANDRAN, UNGER, WANG, AND
PRESIDENT JENKINS
NOES –
ABSENT –
ABSTENTION –
ATTEST:
ASHA REED
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council of the
City of Oakland, California
3485093 / JB