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City Administration > Our Services > Public Ethics Commission
The above introduction video to the Government Ethics Act is approximately 10 minutes in duration.
Click here for more information about the Government Ethics Act.
Public Ethics Commission
Note from the Director
Dear Oaklanders,
Welcome to our Public Ethics Commission (PEC) website! It is with gratitude that I share with you our
PEC's current activities and future plans to expand our services and enforcement following the passage
of measure CC on the November 2014 ballot.
This year is a time of significant and historic growth for the PEC.
 Thanks to the unanimous support of City Council and 73% support of Oakland voters, the new
City Charter Section 603 (Measure CC) augments the PEC’s strength, independence, and
staffing necessary to accomplish the Commission's mandate. As a result, the PEC receives
funding for four new full-time positions – for a total of six– to be created, approved, and filled
between August and December 2015.
 In addition to advocating in 2014 for sufficient resources and independence, the PEC authored,
and the City Council unanimously approved, a new Government Ethics Act, which consolidates
state and local ethics laws in a single local law, imposes new ethics requirements on City
employees and elected officials, and vests the PEC with broadened enforcement
authority. Some of the new ethics obligations include rules prohibiting breach of
confidentiality, lower limits on gifts to City staff and officials, post-employment restrictions on
City staff who go on to lobby the City after leaving City employment, and the ability to enforce
City Council non-interference rules.
 Alongside these policy and operational changes, PEC enforcement is ramping up. In 2014-15, the
PEC has issued twice the number of fines than in the prior decade combined. The PEC has
prioritized complaints concerning violations of the Oakland Campaign Reform Act (OCRA)
because, prior to the passage of measure CC in 2014, OCRA was one of the few laws allowing
the PEC to impose financial penalties.
 In 2013-14, the PEC revised its Complaint Procedures with an eye toward ensuring that
administrative investigations and prosecutions are conducted in a manner that is orderly and
fair, particularly to the accused.
Since the passage of measure CC, we have accomplished many of our Charter Amendment execution
tasks; however, the practical strengthening of the Commission – and of the City’s overall ethical
performance – will not occur overnight. Rather, it will be a work in progress for the next several years.
Short-Term Focus: Expand, Educate, and Enforce
Currently, the Commission has only one full-time employee and one part-time worker, and so has
prioritized current staff activities around the following three objectives for 2015:
1. PEC Growth – creating 4 new staff positions and job classifications, recruitment, hiring and
training of 5 new staff, moving and equipping new offices, and creating and revising policies
and procedures for consistency with measure CC.
2. Government Ethics Act Roll-out – creating training and educational materials to orient City
staff and officials about the new law and answering their questions about how to comply.
3. Enforcement – continuing to focus on campaign finance and ethics cases, for which the
Commission can make an impact via monetary fines; the PEC recently hired an enforcement
consultant to increase momentum on investigations.
This means that other important activities, particularly open government/transparency concerns
(Oakland Sunshine Ordinance and the Brown Act), are not getting the attention they deserve. For the
time being, the PEC has chosen to strategically deploy its limited resources in the areas (described
above) where the PEC can have the most impact. When the PEC is fully-staffed, and with additional
amendments to certain laws where the PEC has little or no penalty authority, it will be better able to
meet the full array of responsibilities delegated by the City Charter.
Long-Term Vision: Develop Robust PEC Operations and Laws
As the PEC implements the Charter Amendment changes, its vision for the future and the new staffing
structure is built upon the following Ethics Compliance Model for an effective Ethics Commission:
 Educate/Engage – Provide education, advice, formal legal opinions, and technical assistance to
ensure that all public servants, candidates for office, lobbyists, City contractors, and interested
members of the public understand and are aware of the campaign finance, ethics, and
transparency laws that apply to them.
 Disclose/Illuminate –Facilitate accurate, effective and accessible disclosure of government
integrity data such as campaign finance reporting (ie. www.opendisclosure.io), conflicts of
interest/gifts reports, and lobbyist activities, all of which help the public and PEC staff monitor
filings and detect inconsistencies or noncompliance.
 Detect/Deter –Conduct investigations and audits to foster compliance with the laws within the
Commission’s jurisdiction.
 Prosecute – Impose penalties and fines for violations of the laws within the PEC’s jurisdiction.
Even after this framework is put in place, additional changes to the PEC’s laws will be necessary to
modernize and strengthen the rules and ensure the PEC has robust penalty authority comparable to
other ethics commissions. As part of the long-term agenda, the PEC will need to draft amendments to
its operational by-laws, enabling ordinance, Oakland Campaign Reform Act, Lobbyist Registration Act,
and the Sunshine Ordinance, and we look forward to working with citizens and City leaders, in the
coming years, to improve these laws.
These changes are long overdue. At the same time, if the public is to receive the full benefits
envisioned and intended in measure CC and the Government Ethics Act, this authority (and the
policies and procedures under which it is exercised) must be implemented with care. The PEC is fully
committed to the above agenda for the long-term, and asks for your patience and support as we lay
the groundwork for what promises to be a new era in government integrity compliance and
enforcement in the City of Oakland.
Very Sincerely,
Whitney Barazoto
Executive Director
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News & Announcements
Expenditure Ceilings No Longer Apply in Races for City Council District 2 & 4 (October 17, 2014)
PEC Seeks Commissioner for 2015-18 Term (September 22, 2014)
Sunshine on Local Campaign Spending (September 4, 2014)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Campaign Activities by Officials-Candidates-Staff (May 5, 2014)
Public Ethics Commission Urges New Approaches to Transparency in Oakland (January 7, 2014)
PEC Letter to City Council Asking for Ethics Ordinance, Staff (September 16, 2013)
PEC Needs Greater Authority, Resources (July 25, 2013)
City Councilmember Salary Information on PEC Website (July 2013)
How Open is Oakland City Government? (June 21, 2013)
Oakland Elected Officials Comply with Ethics Training (May 2013)
Electronic Filing Training Monday May 20, 2013 (May 15, 2013)
Public Records & Open Meeting Laws Training Monday, May 13 (May 8, 2013)
Annual Report 2012 Released by PEC (April 17, 2013)
PEC Embraces Rise in Sunshine (March 14, 2013)
PEC Welcomes Eddie Tejeda as a New Commissioner (January 23, 2013)
PEC Appoints New Commissioner Jenna M. Whitman (January 14, 2013)
PEC Seeks Commissioner for 2013-16 Term (November 2, 2012)
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