Leading Candidates in Oakland Election Say No to Coal
In a strong warning to the coal industry, leading candidates for the Oakland mayoralty and District 2 council seat have declared their resolute opposition to construction of a coal export terminal on the West Oakland waterfront. Balloting in the April 15 election is about to get underway as mail-in ballots arrive in household mailboxes.
No Coal in Oakland reached out to the candidates in both contests and asked them to take a pledge not to accept money from coal interests and to oppose coal if elected. We also welcomed statements.
We are happy to report that the ...
Open Letter: Oakland Coalition Urges Hedge Fund Mogul to Stop Coal Threats
The following press release was sent to a broad array of print and online journalists to publicize an open letter to Jon Brooks. Brooks is the hedge fund owner who is threatening West Oakland with a giant coal export facility on the site of the former Oakland Army Base. See Who Is Jon Brooks?
If you or your organization would like to sign on to the Open Letter, individuals can sign on here and organizations can sign on here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2025
Oakland Coalition to Hedge Fund Owner:
Ditch Coal Export Terminal Plan Now!
Oakland, CA -- Eight...
Who Is Jon Brooks?
Jon Brooks is not a household name in Oakland. He should be. Brooks claims the City of Oakland owes him a billion dollars for taking a stand against coal.
Despite Deep Flaws, Hedge Fund Owner’s Case Against Oakland Drags On
On November 21, Judge Joan A. Lloyd, a bankruptcy court judge in Kentucky, issued a decision allowing Insight Terminal Solutions (ITS), a shell company owned by hedge fund operator Jon Brooks, to proceed with its frivolous lawsuit against the City of Oakland. ITS claims losses of more than a billion dollars stemming from the City’s termination of Phil Tagami’s lease in 2018 which effectively terminated ITS's sublease of the same West Oakland site.
The City is now seeking to have the case moved from the specialized Kentucky bankruptcy court to the United States ...
Which City Attorney Candidate Will Fight to Keep Coal Out of Oakland?
Two candidates are running for the position of Oakland City Attorney in November: Ryan Richardson and Brenda Harbin-Forte. The differences between them could have serious implications for the future of the coal campaign.
They each met with members of No Coal in Oakland and allies who have been working to keep coal out of Oakland. Only one pledged not to accept campaign contributions from coal supporters.
Ryan Richardson
Mr. Richardson has worked in the Office of the City Attorney since 2014, and is currently serving as Chief Assistant City Attorney. Although ...
City Council Candidates’ Positions on Coal
A majority of the candidates running for Oakland City Council in November’s election have pledged their opposition to coal (and are listed below). These pledges matter deeply to Oaklanders, most especially the West Oakland community adjacent to the long-proposed – and long-resisted – coal terminal developers aim to build at the foot of the Bay Bridge.
The Oakland City Council faces a major change of personnel in the new year. Dan Kalb and Rebecca Kaplan, who were staunch advocates for the coal ban, are not seeking re-election. With Treva Reid also not running, ...
Oakland Disputes Tagami Lease Reinstatement in Opening Appeal Brief
On August 27, the City of Oakland filed its opening brief in its appeal of Superior Court Judge Noël Wise’s ruling requiring the City to give Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal (OBOT) another 2½ years to begin construction of a marine export terminal on the West Oakland waterfront.
The City terminated the developers’ lease in 2018 for failure to meet an August 2018 construction deadline set out in the lease. The developers blamed their failure on unforeseeable roadblocks (so-called “force majeure”) the City placed in their way, most importantly the passage in ...
Attempt to jumpstart coal terminal development nixed by court
West Gateway project on hold (for now) while City appeals
Developers have been attempting to jumpstart an Oakland coal terminal following a ruling against the City of Oakland, but those efforts were derailed today by a ruling from the judge who presided over last year’s bench trial OBOT v Oakland. Her January 2024 judgment reinstating the developers’ lease has been automatically stayed – that is, put on hold – by the City’s appeal contesting the judgment. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Noël Wise confirmed the stay in Tuesday’s ruling, which responded to ...
OBOT seeks to clear path for coal terminal while court decision is on appeal
UPDATE: The hearing described below has been rescheduled to Tuesday, July 23, 2024 at 1:30 pm
OBOT is trying to proceed with plans to build a coal terminal on Oakland’s waterfront even as the City of Oakland is appealing the court ruling that found they may do so.
To that end, Phil Tagami – with his hedge fund backer Jon Brooks standing right behind him – has filed a motion to hold the City of Oakland in contempt for failing to immediately produce documents and permitting necessary to restart the coal terminal project following January’s ruling by ...
Dust Settles on Attorneys Fees and Costs in Coal Trial (for now)
Judge Wise denies nearly half of developer's fees and costs request.
