Former Oakland Police Commissioner Ricardo Garcia-Acosta making his case for reappointment at Tuesday’s Oakland City Council meeting.Vol. VI, No. 1,176

—Oakland is edging toward a charter crisis after the City Council rejected a proposed slate of Police Commission appointees—for the second time since October.

On Tuesday, the council voted 6–2 to deny the reappointment of Ricardo Garcia-Acosta and Omar Farmer, with Councilmembers Noel Gallo and Carroll Fife dissenting.

With the second rejection now on the books, the standoff raises unresolved questions about process, power, and what happens next.

When the Police Commission selection panel met on Dec. 18, it unanimously voted to send the same two names back to the council. The panel did not review or discuss new applications submitted after October.

That meeting has since come under scrutiny, with some councilmembers questioning whether the agenda—which listed an “update” on the selection process—was properly noticed for a vote.

Fife said she has not heard substantive objections to Garcia-Acosta or Farmer themselves—only concerns about process. “What I’m hearing is a moving of goalposts,” she said, arguing that earlier criticism focused on personalities but has since shifted.

—Supporters of the slate contend the rejection is being driven by the Oakland Police Officers’ Association, noting both candidates have been outspoken critics of OPD accountability.

Council President Kevin Jenkins pushed back on claims that the council is undermining police oversight. He said the body is simply exercising its charter authority to affirm or reject commission appointments.

Meanwhile, the council confirmed Mayor Barbara Lee’s separate appointment to the commission on Tuesday, including former Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo.

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