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Troy Ault's avatar

Thank you for shining a light on this! I recall seeing the police chief complain of the difficulty in procuring necessary equipment. These Jacobin commissions are, at best, suffocating good governance. They also seem like fertile ground for corruption.

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Roland De Wolk's avatar

Another important story based on verifiable facts - not ideological (left or right) assertions.

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John BC's avatar

Thanks for this report. It would be interesting to see Hofer's contributions to Oakland's elected officials. We already know that plaintiffs lawyers who sue the city contribute City Attorney Parker's campaigns.

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Alex Montana's avatar

Thank you for your comment. According to the Open Disclosure Oakland website, Hofer donated to at least ten Oakland political campaigns on at least 22 occasions between 2014 and 2022.

Between 2014 and 2022, Hofer appears to have donated to the election campaigns of:

- Sheng Thao - $550

- Rebecca Kaplan - $526

- Dan Kalb - $250

- Nikki Bas - $250

- Janani Ramachandran - $300

- Carroll Fife - $30

- Cat Brooks - $50

- Desley Brooks - $80

He also donated a total $100 to the Coalition for Police Accountability Yes on LL between 2016 and 2020.

https://www.opendisclosure.io/search/

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John BC's avatar

Wow! Thanks for the update. Some of the worst of the worst in that group. It appears Hofer got a great return for his investment. Chump change for appointment to a commission that he was able to leverage for a grifting lawsuit against the very same city that appointed him.

Thanks again for your hard work to bringing this to light.

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Sean S. Reinhart's avatar

Hi John, we would like to publish your comment and Alex’s response in our next letters column. Would you be so kind as to let us know what city you are in? (You don’t have to live in Oakland to have a letter in our column, but we try to stick to standard practice for letters to the editor columns with respect to signing letters with name and city). Thank you

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John BC's avatar

Sean, Apologies for the delayed response. Yes, you may publish my comment. As with the last time you asked, please write comment posted on Substack or something like that, rather than my place of residence. thanks. And thanks again for the hard work.

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