Oakland council buries concerns on teen center ON THE EAST BAY

Clara Garzon, aide to Oakland City Councilwoman Desley Brooks, displays a picture of the Digital Arts and Culinary Academy during a council meeting on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. Clara Garzon, aide to Oakland City Councilwoman Desley Brooks, displays a picture of the Digital Arts and Culinary Academy during a council meeting on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Oakland council buries concerns on teen center 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The Oakland City Council's performance Tuesday evening was among the most cowardly, irresponsible and loathsome acts I've ever seen from a publicly elected panel.

A majority of the council said it would not support commissioning a full audit and investigation into the unorthodox manner in which a publicly funded teen center was built.

The project in question is the Digital Arts and Culinary Academy, a teen center that Councilwoman Desley Brooks developed, managed and had staffed using her office budget.

The building of the center was the subject of a Feb. 24 report by City Administrator Deanna Santana, who recommended that the council hire an outside investigator if it wants answers to the many questions her report raised concerning rules and laws that may have been broken in building what she said is a worthy facility. Her report said that her office was not equipped to handle such a detailed, time-consuming probe.

But instead of pursuing an outside audit, the council directed Santana to continue her review of the project, but only as part of a broader look into city practices.

Sorry crew, but that just ain't gonna cut it.

And that's nowhere near good enough to satisfy the public expectation and its right of full disclosure in government operations.

It was a weak attempt by an even weaker legislative body to try and bury the serious questions raised in Santana's report. Only Councilwomen Libby Schaaf and Pat Kernighan refused to turn a blind eye.

Right before the council approved funding the center through June 30, Schaaf proposed that the council authorize Santana to continue her management review.

Councilwoman Jane Brunner was alarmed when Chief Assistant City Attorney Doryanna Moreno informed the council that Brooks should recuse herself from the debate and from the vote because such activity amounted to a potential violation of conflict of interest laws set by the state Fair Political Practices Commission.

Moreno informed the council that there is already evidence that Brooks may have violated a City Charter law that prohibits council interference in administrative affairs.

However, Brunner defended Brooks' right to participate, saying she should be allowed to vote on whether her actions warrant further investigation. This from the person who wants to be Oakland's next city attorney.

Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente issued a council-wide mea culpa claiming that at one time or another every council member has shirked the rules to promote a worthy public project. This from the person who wants to be Oakland's next mayor.

Council President Larry Reid's contribution to the discussion: "We've spent far too long on this."

Councilwoman Nancy Nadel admonished Brooks' behavior but refused to support an independent investigation. Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan was not at the meeting.

By the end of the discussion, the best the council could muster was to direct Santana to continue her "management review." Ultimately Brooks did not participate in the vote. Instead, she excused herself, saying she was taking a restroom break.

If we follow the council's flawed logic in trying to avoid the probe, Oakland residents have neither the right nor the need to know how the tax dollars they provided were allocated.

These elected officials have sent a clear message that they have no intention of holding a colleague to the same standards other citizens would be held to. It seems they have violated the very oaths of office they took to uphold the laws evenly for everyone.

City officials should spend whatever is necessary to uncover all the facts in this case.