MOST OF THE STAFF working in the Oakland mayor’s office was placed on administrative leave Monday by Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins.
In a news release sent out Monday morning, Jenkins said everyone in the office will be let go by Friday except himself, Deputy Burt Jones, Deputy Mayor LaNiece Jones and the office executive assistant and scheduler.
Jones will now serve as chief of staff, replacing Leigh Hanson, who was fired Sunday. Hanson was former mayor Sheng Thao’s top deputy but stayed on to help Jenkins after Thao lost the mayor’s office in a November 2024 recall election.
The Oakland chapter of the NAACP called for Hanson’s ouster “for allegedly participating in what has now been exposed as a deliberate campaign to target and manipulate Black leaders and organizations” during Thao’s campaign to defeat the recall effort, according to a news release from the organization.
Thao ultimately lost her job as mayor and was subsequently arrested on federal corruption charges, along with her romantic partner Andre Jones.
‘A cynical strategy’
Local NAACP President Cynthia Adams said she called for Hanson to be fired after the release of documents tied to the federal investigation, one of which is a handwritten note from Hanson that details “a cynical strategy to ‘use BP (Black People) as tokens,’ with explicit reference to leveraging Councilmember Carroll Fife to ‘reach out to’ the Oakland NAACP.”
Hanson did not immediately return requests for comment Monday.
“It’s time for accountability at Oakland City Hall. We’re not asking for apologies. We’re demanding justice. Our community has been vilified, disrespected, and used,” Adams said. “Anyone who participated in a scheme to tokenize Black people or mock Black leadership has no place working for the people of Oakland.”
Adams and other NAACP leaders planned to hold a news conference Monday morning detailing their complaints and calling for swift action, but Jenkins announced the mass departures before the event could kick off.
“It has always been our intention to allow our next Mayor to choose their own staff after the April 15 special election,” Jenkins said. “In the meantime, my team and I are laser-focused on preparing the Mayor’s draft budget for on-time release on May 1.”
