Five of Oakland’s top leaders will gather with residents for a series of town hall events dedicated to public safety starting Friday. 

Billed as the “Clean and Safe City Town Halls,” the series of five gatherings is open to the public and will include Mayor Sheng Thao, Police Chief Floyd Mitchell, Fire Chief Damon Covington and City Administrator Jestin Johnson, as well as various other city staffers. 

“The goal of these Clean & Safe City Town Halls is for residents, businesses, and community members to have a chance to get familiar with their public safety leaders,” said Thao spokesperson Casey Pratt. “This is a wonderful opportunity to detail Oakland’s comprehensive public safety plan and to have an open dialogue with the community.” 

Friday’s event will be at Beth Eden Baptist Church at 1183 10th St.; Monday’s will be at St. John’s Episcopal Church at 1707 Gouldin Road; Tuesday’s will be at Fremont High School at 4610 Foothill Blvd.; the event on Aug. 29 will be at Allen Temple Baptist Church at 8501 International Blvd. and the Aug. 30 event will be at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center at 388 Ninth St., Suite 290.

All of the events start at 5:30 p.m.

Kiley Russell writes primarily for Local News Matters on issues related to equity and the environment. A Bay Area native, he has lived most of his life in Oakland. He studied journalism at San Francisco State University, worked for the Associated Press and the former Contra Costa Times, among other outlets. He has covered everything from state legislatures, local governments, federal and state courts, crime, growth and development, political campaigns of various stripes, wildfires and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.