Oakland mayor Sheng Thao enters the room during a press conference at Oakland City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, June 24, 2024. This was the mayor’s first public appearance since her home was raided by the FBI two days ago. OAKLAND — After a City Council vote ended in a rare tie, Mayor Sheng Thao was put in the uncomfortable position of having to break the stalemate on a lucrative security contract with a company whose CEO has close ties to a target of the FBI’s ongoing corruption probe.
The move allows Thao — who as mayor can break any tied council vote — to avoid green-lighting a multi-million contract with a company run by Ana Chretien, an East Bay businesswoman who has had extensive business dealings with Mario Juarez, a fixture in the FBI’s investigation. As recently as 2021, for example, Juarez claimed to represent one of Chretien’s companies while securing a lucrative loan that’s since come under investigation by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. In another instance, Chretien appeared to become CEO of a company that Juarez started — one closely involved in a land deal bordering one of Chretien’s properties in Napa County.
It’s been running on contract extensions for the past couple years, after plans to approve a new security provider fell through amid changing security needs and a desire to wait for a new, permanent city administrator to arrive on the job. Its most recent extension expired June 30, though the company’s security guards have continued to patrol city buildings.
A council vote in July to extend the company’s contract through mid-2025 ended in unusual fashion, when councilmembers Nikki Fortunado Bas, Noel Gallo, Kevin Jenkins and Dan Kalb voted in favor, while Rebecca Kaplan, Janani Ramachandran and Treva Reid were either excused or not present for the vote. Councilmember Carroll Fife abstained, leading to a rare tie and the need for Thao to weigh in as soon as City Hall returned from summer recess.
From left, Mario Juarez, founder of Evolutionary Homes, Andy Duong, California Waste Solutions Director, and David Duong, president and CEO of California Waste Solutions.
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