Last month, Interim Oakland Mayor Kevin Jenkins announced he had hired two deputy mayors.
In a press release, the city described one of them, LaNiece Jones, as a “longtime strategist and community advocate” and explained, as a deputy mayor, that she would officially represent the mayor’s office while engaging with community members, business leaders, and city stakeholders and lead short-term projects focused on improving quality of life in Oakland.
Left out of the city’s statement was the fact that Jones has a financial investment in the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, the private developer trying to purchase the Coliseum complex from the city and Alameda County to pursue a multibillion-dollar development on the site…