Oakland A’s Relocation: The Untold Story Of Libby Schaaf’s Oakland Promise, John Fisher And AASEG – Vlog

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Now that the Oakland A’s relocation to Las Vegas has been approved, Oakland A’s Fans are finally waking up to the many problems with how Oakland Government did not correctly handle it’s role in the failed development of Howard Terminal Ballpark. But what no one is asking is how the Fisher Family, owners of the Oakland A’s managed to gain negotiating control of Howard Terminal Ballpark and the Oakland Coliseum at the same time?

That was done via a May 17^th, 2018 Oakland City Council resolution that gave the Oakland A’s a unique dual exclusive negotiating agreement (ENA) position, where it could form development plans for both land areas, Coliseum and Howard Terminal.

The Oakland City Council passed the resolution 5 votes to none, with then Oakland District 6 Councilmember Desley Brooks and District 5 Councilmember Noel Gallo abstaining and then Oakland District 7 Councilmember Larry Reid excused.  Here’s the full resolution with the date time stamp and the vote record at this link. 

Oakland City Council Dual E… by Zennie Abraham

The result was a dual plan unveiled in October 11^th, 2019, that presented the BIG Architects Howard Terminal design, and a plan for the Coliseum that featured a demolished Coliseum Stadium, and the Oakland Arena surrounded by new office buildings. The Oakland A’s / Fisher plan was to sell various parts of the Coliseum property to other developers to have them build new structures.

In effect, having two new office development complexes, one in East Oakland at the Coliseum, and the other near Jack London Square at Howard Terminal. The Fishers were given the key to Oakland’s Economic Development Future. But why?

But how did that happen? Why did the ENA come down in 2018?

The Fisher’s control may have been and looks like it was bought via donations to Mayor Schaaf’s Oakland Promise non-profit corporation and program, which happened the same year.

Fisher Oakland Promise Donations In 2022 Oakland Post, Connection To Oakland A’s Not Discovered

Those donations were first reported publicly in the Oakland Promise Annual Report for 2018 and in a news article in The Oakland Post, Oakland’s African American-owned news publication.

Here’s what Ken Epstein, Oakland Post Reporter, wrote in the Oakland Post of February 14th, 2022:

Donations to Oakland Promise in 2018 by Fisher and Fisher-owned organizations include between $50,000-$100,000 from the Oakland Athletics, between $10,000-$25,000 from the Fisher Family and between $10,000-$25,000 from the Silicon Schools Fund.

Other charter school billionaires supporting Oakland Promise in 2018 were Arthur Rock, between $1 million-$3 million; Rogers Family Foundation, between $100,000- $1 million; Reed Hastings of Hastings Fund at Silicon Valley, between $100,000-$1 million

A locally based pro- charter school organization, Educate78, donated between $100,000-$1 million.

Schaaf is on board with Fisher’s agenda. In a KQED television interview on February 4, she offered “full-throttle support Fisher’s multi-billion-dollar real estate development at the Port,” she said. “This is everything that I as a mayor could want.”

Schaff was also unequivocal in her support for closing 15 Oakland neighborhood schools. She said that Oakland has 80 schools, while comparable districts have 40 schools, implying she supported closing as many as half the public schools in her city.

“I really feel for parents, students, teachers,” she said. “They have every right to be distrustful of this decision. But I believe it is different this time… This is an opportunity to do better for our students, for our educators, our families.”

Because the donations were not reported in real time for public view in such a way as to make a fast connection between the Oakland Promise and the rushed-through dual ENA for John Fisher, no one was able to make a connection between the two actions that would have raised flags. But, now, it’s clear that Mayor Schaaf made a giant deal to help a political ally: John Fisher.

The arrangement, happening just a year after the 2017 March 27^th NFL meeting that gave the Raiders the green-light to leave the Coliseum for Las Vegas, and just before Mayor Schaaf was re-elected Mayor of Oakland in November of 2018, calls into question if Mayor Schaaf was really interested in retaining the Raiders in Oakland at the Coliseum? Did Mayor Schaaf set this up to leave Oakland all for the Fisher family at the expense of Mark Davis? And was what Mayor Schaaf did legal?

 

Did Mayor Schaaf Make A Mistake While Fueling Her Oakland Promise Effort

Back in 1993, the person who is now the former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf started, with her Mom and this author, and other friends, “Oakland Cares”.  The focus of “Oakland Cares” was to help poor black families gain a better path to education for their children.  This has been Libby’s focus for decades.  As Mayor, it morphed into a battle cry against society’s racism  on Mayor Schaaf’s part called “Oakland Promise”.  While those who may have issues with her may take issue with this view, it’s also a fact.  Libby was determined to make society help black families.  But it’s fair to ask if she went too far in the case of John Fisher and Howard Terminal and the Oakland Coliseum? 

Did The Oakland A’s Work To Leave Oakland Because Loren Taylor Lost The 2022 Oakland Mayoral Election?

And did the A’s intend to leave Oakland because Loren Taylor, her hand-picked successor, lost the 2022 Mayoral Election to Sheng Thao? And, did Mayor Thao, and Oakland Councilmembers Carroll Fife (District 3) , Nikky Fortunado Bas (District 2 – President) , and Rebecca Kaplan (At Large – Vice Mayor), plot to make the Fisher Family pay even more money in the form of affordable housing and community benefits, and deliberately avoided implementing the promised tax increment financing zone?

From this vlogger’s perspective and opinion, it does appear so. But an investigation is warranted to determine the truth.

Stay tuned.

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