Oakland council pulls talk about audit criticized by black leaders

http://www.insidebayarea.com/breaking-news/ci_23252412/oakland-council-cans-talk-about-audit-criticized-by

A potentially divisive proposal to audit City Auditor Courtney Ruby's report accusing two council members of violating the city charter has been shelved, possibly for good.

City Council President Pat Kernighan said she pulled the proposal from Tuesday's agenda because it risked distracting the council from dealing with approving the city's budget and other pressing matters.

Two African-American organizations had blasted Ruby's March audit that accused Council members Desley Brooks and Larry Reid of violating the city's charter's prohibition against telling city staffers what to do.

Brooks and Reid were the only two African-Americans on the council during the period covered by the audit. One of the allegations was that they directed staffers to swing a $2 million construction contract to an Oakland-based African-American-owned construction firm.

Supporters rallied behind both council members during council meetings, and the Oakland chapter of the NAACP drafted a letter calling Ruby's audit "a racist attack and a character assassination." Critics of the audit were expected to address the council Tuesday for what promised to be a lengthy and spirited debate.