{"id":463754,"date":"2026-09-14T21:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T21:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/463754\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T21:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T21:36:09","slug":"sheng-thao-used-signal-how-about-other-oakland-elected-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/463754\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheng Thao used Signal. How about other Oakland elected officials?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

The use of encrypted messaging apps by government officials has drawn scrutiny in recent years. An AP investigation last year found that officials at every level of government across the country are using<\/a> encrypted apps. Officials may rely on them because they offer greater security from cyber threats. But good governance advocates have raised concerns that many public officials use them to hide their conversations<\/a> about government business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unlike text messages, which have to be manually deleted on both ends to completely disappear, apps like Signal offer users the ability to auto-delete messages after a certain period of time. This conflicts with directives issued by many cities, including Oakland, that require elected officials to retain a record of their communications for a period of time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oakland\u2019s policy on electronic communications says that instant messaging, such as text messages, is supposed to be limited to brief communications to establish contact, identify location, or confirm appointments. Instant messaging is not supposed to be used to create and communicate directives, conduct city business, or send files, according to the policy<\/a>. The policy doesn\u2019t specifically address encrypted apps such as Signal or WhatsApp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been shown that some Oakland officials have used these kinds of encrypted messaging apps. For example, federal prosecutors recently gave a preview<\/a> of some of the materials they plan to introduce as evidence at former Mayor Sheng Thao\u2019s corruption trial in October.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Among the materials are communications that Thao had on Signal and WhatsApp. Prosecutors claim Thao used these apps to correspond with some of her codefendants, as well as her staff. The government is introducing these communications along with other evidence as part of their case. Prosecutors have alleged that Thao engaged in a bribery conspiracy with her former boyfriend, Andre Jones, and David and Andy Duong of California Waste Solutions. (Thao and the others have pleaded not guilty.)<\/p>\n

Given all of this, we decided to ask Oakland\u2019s elected officials about their use of encrypted apps. We reached out to the mayor and each city councilmember. We also contacted the city attorney and city auditor, both of whom are elected officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We sent each official the same questions asking whether they use any encrypted apps, and if so, which ones. We also asked who they communicate with on these apps \u2014\u00a0 constituents, contractors, lobbyists, current or former elected officials, city staff, or journalists \u2014 and for examples of what they talked about. And we asked whether they use auto-delete to get rid of their messages.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We received answers from the mayor, three councilmembers, the city auditor, and the city attorney. Five councilmembers did not respond to interview requests.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Officials said they either don\u2019t use encrypted apps or use them sparingly<\/p>\n

Mayor Barbara Lee\u2019s spokesperson wrote in an email that Lee and some members of her internal staff have used Signal to discuss draft statements and documents, with final documents shared by email.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mayor has not used Signal or any other encrypted app to communicate with constituents, contractors, lobbyists, City Councilmembers, or journalists,\u201d spokesperson Sarah Henry said in an email.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Councilmember Carroll Fife told The Oaklandside that she first started using encrypted apps as an activist, shortly after the murder of Trayvon Martin.<\/p>\n

Fife has used Signal on occasion while in office. Earlier this year, Fife\u2019s office made public two batches of her Signal communications from 2025 in response to a Public Records Act request. One was a message to Councilmember Ken Houston on March 5, 2025 regarding a public records request filed by political activist Seneca Scott.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The other included two brief exchanges with Lili Gangas, a policy advisor at the Kapor Center, an Oakland-based foundation that focuses on technology and racial justice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most of the messages were from Gangas, who told Fife she was communicating with other councilmembers about legislation, including Flock Safety, a surveillance contractor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fife said she mostly doesn\u2019t use these apps to communicate about city business. She added that some people have tried to contact her over WhatsApp to discuss city business. Fife\u2019s office released a batch of records earlier this year that show lobbyist Isaac Kos-Read reached out to Fife over WhatsApp to discuss community forums for the proposed Costco<\/a> in her district.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Councilmember Noel Gallo told The Oaklandside he doesn\u2019t use any encrypted apps to communicate about city business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing that I\u2019ve communicated with since the beginning of my political thing was the city phone,\u201d Gallo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Councilmember Charlene Wang, who took office in May 2025, told The Oaklandside in an email that she has used Signal and WhatsApp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI created a Signal group for rapid-response and information sharing related to potential ICE sightings with District 2 organizations that serve immigrants after the Coast Guard incident,\u201d Wang wrote, referring to a protest that happened last year outside a Coast Guard facility in Alameda that was providing support<\/a> to a planned operation by Customs and Border Protection.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople only felt safe sharing this type of sensitive information over Signal,\u201d Wang wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She was also added to neighborhood WhatsApp groups, where Wang said she\u2019s able to easily send out messages and be responsive to issues and incidents happening in the neighborhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m using this because I\u2019m plugging into an existing neighborhood infrastructure,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

City Auditor Michael Houston told The Oaklandside he\u2019s never used an encrypted app to communicate about official business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI would not use one of these apps to discuss City business because City business should be transmitted only through official City communication channels,\u201d Houston wrote in an email. \u201cI am not aware of these apps being authorized as an official communications channel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In an email, City Attorney Ryan Richardson said he used Signal in 2024 for campaign-related messages when he was running for office, including a small number of messages to and from other City employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI have not used Signal since 2024,\u201d Richardson wrote in an email. \u201cDuring the brief time I used Signal, I never set my messages to automatically erase.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Five councilmembers didn\u2019t tell us anything. But records shed some light<\/p>\n

Councilmembers Zac Unger, Janani Ramachandran, Kevin Jenkins, Ken Houston, and Rowena Brown did not respond to interview requests.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We filed public records requests last December with each council office for any records of communications on Signal and WhatsApp in 2025. Each of these five councilmembers stated they had no responsive records for Signal messages. Houston did not complete our records request for WhatsApp messages, while the other four said they had no WhatsApp messages.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In March, Thao\u2019s former chief of staff Leigh Hanson sued<\/a> the city in Alameda County Superior Court for wrongful termination. In her lawsuit, Hanson claims that she messaged Jenkins using the Signal app in early 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hanson declined an interview request for this story.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When we asked Jenkins about this earlier this year, he stated in a text message that Hanson\u2019s claims in the lawsuit were \u201cfarcical.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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