Posted on 10/19/2011 6:30:50 AM PDT by csvset
Former Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums returned to the East Bay on Tuesday as the city's star witness in disputing fired City Administrator Deborah Edgerly's claim that she was a victim of gender discrimination.
"That is bizarre in the extreme," Dellums told the 12-member jury in Hayward that is hearing Edgerly's lawsuit against the city.
Dellums became tearful at times as he told jurors how difficult it was to be mayor and how reluctant he was to fire Edgerly in 2008, even after she came under fire for allegedly tipping off her nephew to an impending police raid on West Oakland gang members.
"I can't tell you the pain I feel," he said of having to appear in court to defend himself against allegations of mistreating Edgerly.
At one point, the judge handed Dellums a box of tissues.
Edgerly and her assistant Cheryl Thompson were both fired by Dellums after Edgerly was accused of warning her nephew William Lovan, a convicted felon who worked for the city as a parking meter repairman, of the planned police sweep. Edgerly and Thompson fought back with wrongful-termination suits.
Sources close to the case say Edgerly offered to drop her suit for $750,000. But the City Council, apparently still feeling the heat for having paid out $500,000 to settle Thompson's case, decided to go to trial.
Even before Edgerly's trial got under way last week, the city had spent nearly $1 million on an outside law firm to defend it in both lawsuits.
Edgerly had said the real reason she was fired was her refusal to go along with Dellums' use of taxpayer money to pay for a new office for his wife, who was acting as a City Hall adviser, and for refusing to use city cash to pay for a goodwill trip
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Comrade Dellums is feeble minded it seems. "That is bizarre in the extreme,
I'll tell what is bizarre, is that Dellums is now vice chairman of a lobbying firm in Washington.
If the tip-off happened just before she was fired, this case is stupid.
Oakland ping
‘twas once a great city.
I’ll tell what is bizarre, is that Dellums is now vice chairman of a lobbying firm in Washington.””
I think that lobbying firm is connected to J C Watts...how’s that for strange bedfellows?
It was so difficult for him to be mayor that he showed up for work maybe once or twice a week. Otherwise, the only way he could ease the pain was to travel first class and stay in five-star hotels all over the country.
He was disinterested and inept as a mayor as he was a congressman. And he was exactly what Oakland deserved.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.