OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — A county judge handling a watchdog’s investigation into the recall campaign targeting Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao abruptly recused herself from the case Friday.
Two days after tentatively siding with political committee Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Julie Spain on Friday reversed her unofficial decision to quash a subpoena from Oakland's Public Ethics Commission and recused herself from the case. She did not give details in her order Friday on the decision to remove herself from the case.
Spain’s departure from the case vacated a Friday hearing on a motion to compel. The litigation now goes to a different judge who will hold a case management hearing on Nov. 6, just one day after Oaklanders finish voting in the general election on whether to recall the mayor.
Nicolas Heidorn, executive director of the city's Public Ethics Commission said Friday: "We are presently reviewing our next steps in light of the judge's recusal order and do not have additional comment at this time."
The recall campaign could not be contacted for comment.
The commission filed a lawsuit against the recall campaign in June, following the organizers’ refusal to cooperate with its May subpoena seeking access to the recall group’s financial records. The political watchdog agency says it intends to learn whether or not backers violated Oakland’s Campaign Reform Act and ignored rules requiring political committees to disclose all funds and donors.
Court records show that the commission's Enforcement Chief Simon Russell said he thinks that the committee running the recall solicited contributions from a separate group which hasn't had to file any campaign disclosure forms.
Judges may step away from a case if they have a personal connection to an involved party. The court may have a connection to the recall campaign head Brenda Harbin-Forte, who served as an Alameda County Superior Court judge from 1998 until 2019. She also served on the Oakland Police Commission through 2022.
The committee Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao in April disclosed that it raised $61,646 in cash between January and March, and nearly $210,000 in “non-monetary” support from Foundational Oakland Unites, which paid for signature gathering.
Spain’s tentative ruling Wednesday said that the commission did not give the group organizers time to respond to the subpoenas, nor did it make clear that privileged records were exempt.
The judge tentatively ruled that the subpoenas were unconstitutional, due to requiring recall organizers to search records belonging to their officers, treasurers, employees and other agents. She said that would mean enforcing them would “blatantly violate due process law" and potentially infringe on the privacy rights of many people's private records.
The commission previously said that it would refile revised versions of the subpoenas to address the issues Spain raised.
Thao is currently cooperating with a federal investigation following several dramatic FBI raids on homes in Oakland, including hers and that of Andy Duong, a member of the family that owns Cal Waste Solutions — a recycling firm investigated for campaign contributions to Thao and other elected city officials.
The mayor told the public in June that right-wing controlled forces funding the recall campaign seek to remove her within her second year in office, despite voters choosing her to lead the city in a fair election.
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