Assistant City Administrator Harold Duffey has left Oakland to take a job with the city of Brentwood. 

The move caps a dramatic tenure in Oakland for Duffey, who, during his stint as a high-ranking city staffer and briefly the interim city administrator, helped navigate a ransomware attack, saw former mayor Sheng Thao taken down in an alleged bribery scheme, and battled with a local activist in court. 

Duffey’s last day with Oakland was Sept. 26, according to city spokesperson Jean Walsh. Duffey’s role was eliminated in the city’s budget that was approved by the council in June. 

Duffey told The Oaklandside he was recently interviewed by the city of Brentwood, which is in Contra Costa County. Duffey said the Brentwood City Council still has to approve his contract in a public session scheduled for Oct. 28. 

“Brentwood is just a phenomenal community that is in the midst of actually transitioning from its historical small town to more of a medium-sized town,” Duffey said.

Duffey joined Oakland in July 2021 as the director of the Public Works Department. Before that, he was a city manager for the cities of Grand Terrace and Compton in Southern California. In Oakland, Duffey also briefly served as the interim city administrator, the top-ranking staff position in the city. 

Oakland was hit with a devastating ransomware attack in February 2023 that Duffey had to respond to while administrator. He said he worked closely with the FBI and negotiators to try to get city data back from the PLAY group, a hacker network that took credit for the attack. According to Duffey, the city was able to resolve the situation without paying the attackers. 

Duffey said he was also proud of the work he did overseeing the city’s response to an algal bloom in Lake Merritt that killed thousands of fish, preparing the city for atmospheric river storms, and the closure of the massive Wood Street encampment. 

“I pride myself in making sure that my actions can withstand any challenge that there is,” Duffey said. 

Duffey’s time in Oakland was also marked by his proximity to the city’s biggest political scandal in years. In June 2024, the FBI raided the home of Mayor Sheng Thao, along with properties belonging to David and Andy Duong, the owners of California Waste Solutions. 

Duffey told the East Bay Times that Thao had directed him to appoint a city employee named Larry Gallegos to a high-ranking role in the city department in charge of housing. In an indictment unsealed in January, federal prosecutors revealed that they believe Thao orchestrated this move to smooth the way for the city purchasing modular housing units from a company controlled by the Duongs. 

The FBI and federal prosecutors haven’t accused Duffey of any wrongdoing or charged him with any crime.

Federal investigators also questioned city officials about Oakland’s City Hall security contract and ABC Security Services, which provides guards at city locations. The city’s security contract has become a political hot potato, with several companies vying for it. As the director of public works, and while he was interim city administrator, Duffey had a hand in the city’s handling of the security contract.

Earlier this year, Duffey attempted to secure a restraining order against political activist Seneca Scott. In videos, Scott called Duffey corrupt and accused him of accepting a bribe from a security company. 

Duffey strongly denied these claims, but a court declined to grant his request for a restraining order. Duffey and Scott have threatened to sue each other, but it’s unclear if either has moved forward. 

Brentwood, located in eastern Contra Costa County, is a formerly agricultural town that has grown significantly in recent decades, reaching a population of roughly 67,000. 

“I’m very excited about taking my leadership skills back into that environment.”

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