A former top-level Oakland mayoral staffer is suing the city over claims that she was improperly fired after voicing concerns about possible ethics violations at City Hall.
Leigh Hanson filed the suit on March 20 in Alameda County Superior Court alleging whistleblower violations and retaliation, among other things.
Hanson was former mayor Sheng Thao’s chief of staff before and during a successful recall effort that removed Thao from office in 2024.
After Thao’s departure, Hanson stayed on to advise two interim mayors, Nikki Fortunato Bas and Kevin Jenkins.
Hanson was fired last April after the public release of documents tied to a federal corruption investigation into Thao, who has been charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud and bribery.
One of those documents is a handwritten note from Hanson in which she allegedly refers to a campaign strategy using Black people as “tokens” — although she has said it was referring to the opposition’s practice, not hers or Thao’s.
Hanson says complaints went ignored
In her lawsuit, Hanson says she wasn’t fired for the note but rather in retaliation for calling out Jenkins’ alleged too-cozy relationship with political lobbyists and breaking city rules about hiring practices and travel expenses.
“Ms. Hanson was outspoken regarding numerous violations of campaign and election law that she observed, including lobbyists operating from the Mayor’s Suite and the improper acceptance of gifts,” according to the suit.
Hanson said she brought her concerns to Jenkins, the city attorney, the city administrator and the city finance director but was largely ignored.
One of those concerns was Jenkins’ relationship with a pair of lobbyists, Isaac Kos-Read and Nema Link.
On the day he was sworn in as interim mayor, Jenkins allegedly brought Link and Kos-Read back to his private mayoral office, which made city staffers “concerned and uncomfortable,” according to the suit.
Hanson herself became worried when she learned that Link and Kos-Read were allegedly selecting offices within the mayor’s suite.
She said she was in touch with City Attorney Ryan Richardson about her worries and that Richardson advised her to “use a gentle touch” with Jenkins and “allow him to realize his mistake.”
‘An absurd and baseless claim’
Spokespeople for the city declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation, and neither Jenkins nor Link immediately responded to requests for comment.
Kos-Read vehemently denied Hanson’s accusations.
“It’s an absurd and baseless claim, sad but perhaps not surprising coming from a disgruntled and disgraced ex-chief of staff of an indicted mayor,” he said in an emailed statement.
The suit also claims that Hanson saw Link give Jenkins wine and fancy olive oil and that Link attended a closed-door negotiation with Jenkins and the Oakland Acquisition Company regarding the sale of the Oakland Coliseum, which the suit says was inappropriate and unethical.
Hanson also expressed concern when Jenkins later allegedly hired two new senior staff members, both with six-figure salaries, during a hiring freeze and also when he asked her to approve six trips that cost roughly $15,000 total to Long Beach, Washington, D.C. and other destinations despite the city’s travel-expense freeze, according to the suit.
Then in early April of 2025, Hanson says she applied for a medical leave of absence due to extreme stress caused by harassment from a local political activist. She says she was fired later that same day.
The lawsuit is asking for monetary damages as well as court costs and attorney fees.
