Look behind most major city decisions in Oakland and you\u2019ll probably find a lobbyist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like any big city, the contracts, zoning decisions, and policy choices made by Oakland\u2019s leaders can be worth millions to private companies. Or, they can cost millions in additional taxes, fees, and lost bids.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where lobbyists enter the picture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paid by clients who have a lot riding on the city\u2019s decisions, lobbyists work to influence the decision makers. And there are dozens of lobbyists in The Town who spend their days chatting up politicians, meeting with public employees, and doing their best to help their clients.<\/p>\n
The Public Ethics Commission maintains a database that allows you to search for lobbyists, their employers, and their clients. Search OakApps<\/a><\/p>\n The lobbying crowd has thinned out in recent years in Oakland, according to official data. Last year, there were 57 lobbyists registered in Oakland, the lowest of any year since the start of the pandemic.<\/p>\n But some of these lobbyists were very busy, reporting 801 contacts with Oakland public officials in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n A contact may involve emailing or calling an official to support or oppose legislation or a contract. It can also include meeting with someone in government to share information about a project, collaborating on drafting a policy, or introducing a client to someone in government.\u00a0<\/p>\n Anyone lobbying in Oakland has to register with the city. And four times a year, each lobbyist must file a report with the Public Ethics Commission that discloses their list of clients and documents all their contacts. The rules are spelled out in Oakland\u2019s Lobbyist Registration Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here are some key takeaways for 2025, based on the ethics commission\u2019s records:<\/p>\n Influence is concentrated. 70% of all contacts with public officials were made by just 10 lobbyists. This same group of lobbyists also accounted for about two-thirds of all contacts with elected officials.<\/p>\n The most active individual lobbyist in 2025 was Isaac Kos-Read. Last year, Kos-Read reported 153 contacts with public officials, including civil servants and politicians. He also accounted for more than one-quarter of all reported contacts with elected officials, 125, the most of any lobbyist.<\/p>\n The most active lobbying firm was the public interest law firm Earthjustice, which deployed three staffers to influence Oakland officials last year. They collectively reported 242 contacts.<\/p>\n 18 lobbyists reported no activity or terminated their registration, meaning they\u2019re no longer actively trying to influence the city.<\/p>\n Isaac Kos-Read, has worked in the public affairs arena for 25 years, including stints at the Port of Oakland and OUSD. He set up his own lobbying firm in Oakland in 2014, the Kos-Read Group<\/a>, which represented 13 clients last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Verizon<\/p>\n Becker Boards<\/p>\n East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation<\/p>\n Ohana Real Estate Investors<\/p>\n High Flying Foods<\/p>\n Marina Security Services<\/p>\n Strive Real Estate<\/p>\n AIMS K-12 College Prep Charter District<\/p>\n Deca Companies<\/p>\n Waste Management<\/p>\n Hybridge Capital Management<\/p>\n Marshal Retail Group<\/p>\n B9 Hotel LLC<\/p>\n Kos-Read notched several wins for his clients. In June, the City Council agreed<\/a> to let Becker Boards set up new billboards around Oakland in exchange for millions of dollars for the city and free advertising for some local organizations. In December, the council authorized<\/a> city staff to begin negotiations with Costco and Deca Companies for a potential big box store on the former Oakland Army Base. That same month, the council approved legislation<\/a> to forgive outstanding loans for two properties owned by EBALDC affiliates.<\/p>\n Thanks in part to lobbying by Kos-Read, the city council did not approve<\/a> a security services contract to a company recommended by the Public Works Department. Kos-Read represented Marina Security Services, who several councilmembers wanted to win bidding for the multi-million dollar service. The contract has yet to be awarded.<\/p>\n Kos-Read declined an interview request but in response to a list of questions emailed a brief statement: \u201cI have served as a public affairs and community engagement consultant throughout California for 25 years. KRG follows the highest standard for public transparency and is in full compliance with the law. And our clients\u2019 results speak for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n An environmental group extensively lobbied the port to reduce emissions<\/p>\n Two attorneys, Michelle Ghafar and Katrina Thomas, and an analyst, Kjellen Belcher, representing the nonprofit Earthjustice<\/a>, a public interest environmental law organization, chalked up the most contacts for a single organization.<\/p>\n Of the trio\u2019s 242 contacts with city officials, they mainly interacted with Port of Oakland leaders who they urged to support zero-emissions operations. Ships and trucks visiting the port have been big sources of pollution, especially when their engines idle awaiting loading and unloading.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Earthjustice team also lobbied port and councilmembers to support the appointment of a \u201cpublic health and environmental justice advocate\u201d to the Port Commission. Last summer, the city council appointed Alvina Wong<\/a>, an activist who worked for the Asian Pacific Environmental Network.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Ghafar, Thomas, and Belcher did not respond to an interview request.<\/p>\n Roots and Soul looking for places to play<\/p>\n Lindsay Barenz is the president of Oakland Pro Soccer<\/a>, the parent organization of the Oakland Roots and Soul soccer teams. In 2025 she reported 44 contacts with public officials, almost all of them members of the Oakland City Council or the mayor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n All of Barenz\u2019s contacts concerned real estate development and economic plans. The Roots have been playing at the Oakland Coliseum and both teams have expressed interest<\/a> in Howard Terminal as a site for a permanent stadium. At the end of the year, the City Council agreed to give the sports club a cut of the city\u2019s hotel tax<\/a> revenue to help the franchise attract a team to play at their Alameda training facility during the FIFA World Cup. The Australian men\u2019s national team also recently selected this facility<\/a> to be a base camp training site ahead of the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the club declined an interview.<\/p>\n Cannabis and transitional housing<\/p>\n Nara Dahlbacka, who works for the Milo Group of California<\/a>, reported 37 contacts with public officials, most of them elected. She represented eight clients last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kiva Confections<\/p>\n Martin-Marietta<\/p>\n IKE Smart City<\/p>\n Amarok Security<\/p>\n Tidewater<\/p>\n Bay Area Community Services<\/p>\n Saint John\u2019s Episcopal Church<\/p>\n Urbana Oakland<\/p>\n Only two of her clients actually needed her to talk to city leaders, according to disclosure records.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of these clients was Bay Area Community Services. She contacted councilmembers and the mayor\u2019s office to discuss contracts and leases for transitional housing sites and a program for housing homeless people BACS was running. In June the council approved a resolution that authorized up to $4 million<\/a> in additional funding to BACS to extend a homelessness prevention pilot program.<\/p>\n She also urged city staff and councilmembers to allow cannabis consumption at designated lounges at the behest of her client Urbana Oakland, a weed dispensary. In May, the city council set new standards for approving on site<\/a> cannabis consumption permits. The council also carved out an exemption from the city\u2019s indoor smoking restrictions. According to her bio on the Milo Group\u2019s website<\/a>, Dahlbacka\u2019s representation of cannabis companies has earned her the nickname \u201cQueen of Green.\u201d<\/p>\n Dahlbacka did not respond to an interview request.<\/p>\n Since moving to Oakland, PG&E frequently talks to the city<\/p>\n The utility company PG&E<\/a>\u2019s lobbyist, Sarah Yoell, is on the board of the Unity Council. She used to lead the East Oakland Boxing Association, and before that was a staffer to former District 7 Councilmember Larry Reid. She reported 37 contacts with public officials last year.<\/p>\n Many of Yoell\u2019s contacts concerned public safety issues. She asked councilmembers and a police commission staffer to change OPD\u2019s vehicle chase policy. The department and police commission agreed in September to approve a handful of changes<\/a> to the policy after some critics complained it was preventing officers from chasing people suspected of property crimes. One of the big changes was to rescind a special department order that required police to end a chase if they or the suspect\u2019s speed reached or exceeded 50 mph, unless a supervisor allowed them to continue.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n She also met with elected officials and non-elected officials to discuss public safety funding and resources, and homelessness prevention resources. PG&E recently donated hundreds of thousands<\/a> of dollars to help Oakland revive its police cadet program.<\/p>\n Yoell lobbied several councilmembers to oppose a resolution supporting California Senate Bill 332, which would impose stricter audits on PG&E and called for a study to assess alternatives to for-profit utilities. Council President Kevin Jenkins, who pulled the legislation<\/a> before it could be scheduled for a vote, was one of the officials Yoell lobbied.<\/p>\n Yoell also met with the City Administrator\u2019s office and the mayor to discuss a \u201cpossible location for a new substation build.\u201d<\/p>\n Yoell did not respond to an interview request.<\/p>\n Airbnb is concerned about being regulated in Oakland<\/p>\n Rashad Johnson, a lobbyist employed by the Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck<\/a> law firm, made 28 contacts with public officials in Oakland last year, almost all of them elected officials. Johnson represented six clients.\u00a0<\/p>\n Airbnb<\/p>\n Supportive Housing Community Land Alliance<\/p>\n Zen Compound LLC<\/p>\n Throne Labs<\/p>\n Samuel Merritt University<\/p>\n Behring Capital<\/p>\n About one-third of Johnson\u2019s contacts concerned Airbnb, the giant short-term rental company. Short-term rentals are generally illegal in Oakland<\/a> but for well over a decade the city has mostly looked the other way, choosing not to regulate the thousands of homes, apartments, and rooms that are rented out through Airbnb and similar platforms. Johnson contacted councilmembers and the mayor about short-term rental policies in Oakland. He also pitched working together with local organizations \u201cto support the arts, housing, and special events.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n City officials told The Oaklandside last year that recommendations for short-term rental rules would be coming forward<\/a> in 2026.<\/p>\n Johnson also reported meeting with the mayor\u2019s chief of staff and Councilmember Kevin Jenkins to discuss a building purchased by the company Zen Compound. In July, news organizations reported that the owners of the Temple nightclub in San Francisco had purchased the historic Greyhound bus station<\/a> on San Pablo Avenue.<\/p>\n And Johnson met with several councilmembers to discuss \u201cproduct and potential procurement\u201d for his client Throne Labs, a company that sells prefabricated public restrooms. He also met with councilmembers to discuss programs that Samuel Merritt University is supporting, and he met with several elected officials to \u201cestablish a relationship\u201d with Behring Capital, a major real estate developer that trumpeted plans last year to do business in downtown Oakland<\/a>.<\/p>\n Shereda Nosakhare<\/p>\n Shereda Nosakhare used to be Libby Schaaf\u2019s chief of staff when Schaaf occupied the mayor\u2019s office. She now works for Lighthouse Public Affairs<\/a> and represented 10 clients last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oakland Ballers<\/p>\n BH Management<\/p>\n AAA Northern California, Nevada, and Utah<\/p>\n BMG Money<\/p>\n BMO Bank<\/p>\n FairVote Action<\/p>\n Grocery Outlet<\/p>\n Allied Universal Security Services<\/p>\n Oakland Housing Authority<\/p>\n Temescal Property Management<\/p>\n Nosakhare made 27 contacts with public officials last year. She contacted city staff several times on behalf of the Oakland Ballers<\/a> regarding use of Raimondi Park for their stadium, permits for hosting games, and to advocate for the removal of illegal dumping and encampments that blocked the right of way.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Oakland Ballers was probably one of my favorite wins,\u201d Nosakhare told The Oaklandside. \u201cThat one was a good public-private partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ballers went on to win the Pioneer League championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nosakhare also contacted councilmembers to support awarding a lucrative security services contract to her client, Allied Universal. City staff wanted to give the contract to Allied but lobbying by Marina Security Services and its lobbyist, Kos-Read, may have derailed the bid. Public Works staff tried to give the contract to Allied again last fall but withdrew it after reports emerged that a subsidiary of Allied does business with ICE<\/a>.<\/p>\n