Oakland News: Mayor Quan Invites Councilmembers To Mua For Drinks; Budget Items

Oakland Mayor Quan tried for a Kumbaya moment Thursday June 28th, and got it, to a degree. And that after a Wednesday July 27th press conference that went badly off the rails. If you didn’t see it, here’s the full video:

And here’s Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid’s post-presser blast:

It was that event that caused Mayor Quan to work to improve relations with the Oakland City Council.

On Thursday night, and after a Special Meeting Of The Oakland City Council regarding several budget matters, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan invited her fellow Councilmembers and their staffers for drinks and dinner at Mua. Mua’s a popular restaurant and quasi-nightclub at 2442 Webster Street in the north Downtown Oakland / Uptown area, and next to what was once the Broadway Motors Ford Dealership on Broadway and 27th Street.

A Momentary Aside On The Budget

And as a momentary aside, the Oakland City Council passed an amended “Fiscal Year 2011-2013 Biennial Budget” by a 5-3 vote (and by Libby Schaaf, District Four, Nancy Nadel of District Three, and Pat Kernighan of District Two, over a series of budget disagreements centering around restructuring several positions including the Economic Development Director’s position and complications around restoring current city shut down days to active days) and voted to place the matter of the rejection of a 2.1 percent pay increase to the Oakland City Council July 3rd Meeting as a “continued item.”

One complication is that if the Council rejects the increase, it results in an imbalanced Oakland City Budget. As part of the budget adjustment, the City of Oakland retained the Coliseum City EIR (funding some of the $3 million, and holding $1.7 million in reserve), and approved money for a third Oakland Police Academy. But overall, Quan, who attended the meeting, said that they were “close” on establishing a final budget.

On the matter of “An Ordinance Authorizing The Issuance And Sale Of City Of Oakland, California Taxable Pension Obligation Bonds, Series 2012 For The City Of Oakland Police And Fire Retirement System (PFRS) And Approving Certain Related Matters,” the Oakland City Council voted 6-1 – with the one being Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente.

After Meeting: MUA’s!

This blogger didn’t attend the meeting, so missed the quasi-after-party at Mua’s. But the report I got was that not all Oakland Councilmembers attended even though all were invited – Oakland Councilmembers Jane Brunner (District One) and Libby Schaaf (District Four) did, as did some staffers. By all accounts, it was a good time, and helped Mua’s have some activity on what otherwise would not have been a busy evening for the establishment.

At least give Quan credit for trying to mend fences.

Stay tuned.