Rebecca Kaplan has found a new job, and it’s in the same building as her last one.
The city of Oakland has hired the former at-large councilmember as a project manager in the city administrator’s office. Kaplan started on Sept. 29 as an exempt limited duration employee and her job is to perform policy research with an emphasis on illegal dumping and blight, city spokesperson Sean Maher told The Oaklandside. It’s unclear how long she will be in this role.
Kaplan served for nearly two decades on the city council as the at-large representative. She previously ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor in 2014, and for a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in 2022. Kaplan’s council term ended in January, but at the request of her colleagues she covered the vacancy in District 2 for five months until the election of Charlene Wang. In 2018, Kaplan also unsuccessfully sought a job leading the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Kaplan didn’t respond to an interview request for this story.
Some of her former colleagues on the council will likely be thrilled at this news. Councilmember Carroll Fife previously referred to Kaplan as “a library” of knowledge when it comes to government operations and city history. But Kaplan’s support of the proposal to link the Coliseum sale to the city’s budget, and her ties to Sheng Thao, may give some City Hall insiders pause.
While on council, Kaplan focused heavily on the future of the Coliseum property, which she also stewarded as a member of the city-county governing body that managed the complex. Kaplan helped the city secure a partnership with the Roots soccer team to play at the Coliseum. She was also a booster of the proposal to sell the city’s stake in the Coliseum to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group. In 2023, she worked with the Coliseum authority to give $2.5 million to Oakland so officials could invest in the 911 system.
As a councilmember, Kaplan voted in favor of Sheng Thao’s proposal to link the sale of the property to the city’s budget, which at least one external financial advisor warned could end in “catastrophe.” The sale stalled and Oakland was forced to adopt a backup budget that resulted in painful cuts to city services.
As Oakland’s first openly lesbian councilmember, Kaplan worked with the city to invest in LGBTQ programs for youth, pushed to terminate old discriminatory laws, and co-sponsored a bill to create the Lakeshore LGBTQ Cultural District.
Kaplan also helped the city issue bonds to pay for affordable housing street paving projects, open a new fire station in the San Antonio neighborhood, and investigate why the city stalled on paying for dozens of new police vehicles.
Earlier in her council career, Kaplan spearheaded a vacant parcel tax that helped raise money for the city’s homelessness services and affordable housing while creating incentives for property owners to activate empty and blighted buildings and lots.
In 2022, the Public Ethics Commission fined Kaplan $19,000 for failing to recuse herself from a vote on expanding Estuary Park, near a condo she owned. Although Kaplan said it wasn’t her intention to financially benefit from this move, she acknowledged to investigators that she erred in not reporting her condo sooner or recusing herself from the decision.
Kaplan also made a powerful enemy when she was on the council in the form of former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. During the 2020 election, Schaaf supported local businessman Derreck Johnson who unsuccessfully attempted to unseat Kaplan. Schaaf solicited an illegal $100,000 contribution from Lyft to fund a political committee that attacked Kaplan, according to an ethics investigation. Kaplan told The Oaklandside at the time that she thought the ride-share company wanted her gone because she didn’t support its attempts to change a contract with Oakland for its rental bike and scooter franchise.
As a councilmember, Kaplan also fostered the career of Sheng Thao, who started off in Kaplan’s office, along with Andre Jones, Thao’s boyfriend.
Earlier this year, federal prosecutors indicted Thao, Jones, and David and Andy Duong of California Waste Solutions for allegedly orchestrating a sprawling bribery scheme. Kaplan was not named in the indictment and has not been accused of wrongdoing.
It’s unclear what Kaplan’s day-to-day work as a city staffer will look like, or how long she’ll be on the job. But illegal dumping is a growing concern for many residents, and a stated priority of Mayor Barbara Lee. On Friday, Lee announced that the city will increase the weekend staff of the Public Works illegal dumping clean-up crews.
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