A California metropolis official who was fired over some handwritten paperwork by which she referred to Black folks as “tokens” lately spoke out to make clear why the notes have been written and the way they have been taken out of context.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Oakland’s former chief of workers Leigh Hanson was let go from her place this week.
Hanson was employed in 2023 to work beneath the town’s embattled former mayor, Sheng Thao. Thao was recalled from her mayoral seat final November, however Hanson was allowed to remain on beneath Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins to assist finalize the sale of a neighborhood area.
Hanson mentioned the notes that resulted in her termination have been written final 12 months throughout an anti-recall assembly for a way Thao might struggle requires her removing. She specified that the “tokens” word referred to potential methods the recall effort would possibly undertake to take away Thao from her publish, together with recruiting Black folks to their trigger.
In an announcement to a number of native information retailers, Hanson mentioned:
“These handwritten assembly notes file a bunch dialogue that included proposed messaging factors that the anti-recall marketing campaign wished to supply to potential surrogates. They’re a selected reference to Seneca Scott, a paid African American political operative, who was employed by the rich white funders of the recall marketing campaign to obscure the general public’s understanding of the recall’s political origins. It was Mayor Thao and her political workforce’s perception that this operative’s paid involvement constituted tokenization by the recall’s financier, and Oakland voters had a proper to know this connection. I remorse that my short-hand note-taking has been taken out of context on social media and inadvertently harmed shut buddies, colleagues and members of my group who’ve been marginalized by our political system. “
She offered additional readability in one other assertion:
“This was not Thao’s political technique, it was her commentary of her opponent’s techniques. And I used to be taking notes. That is clear to anybody searching for the reality and is handy political fodder for others who’re utilizing this to their political benefit. Sadly, that is the state of our democratic ecosystem proper now.”
Final summer time, the FBI raided Thao’s residence in connection to a federal corruption investigation that zeroed in on Metropolis Corridor and an Oakland household that operates the town’s curbside recycling program, The Chronicle reported.
A grand jury criminally indicted Thao on federal bribery fees in January.
The town of Oakland lately launched practically 1,000 paperwork linked to the FBI probe after media organizations filed public information requests. Hanson needed to flip over her day by day planner, a number of binders stuffed with notes, and all written communication to federal brokers for his or her investigation. Her word with the “tokens” reference was among the many paperwork launched.
Shortly after Hanson’s firing, Interim Mayor Jenkins introduced that he would even be firing a number of different workers members employed beneath Thao’s administration.
“I wish to thank everybody who’s leaving the workplace for his or her service,” Jenkins mentioned in an announcement, in line with KGO. “It has at all times been our intention to permit our subsequent Mayor to decide on their very own workers after the April 15 particular election. Within the meantime, my workforce and I are laser-focused on getting ready the Mayor’s draft finances for on-time launch on Might 1.”
