Pushes for Oakland-based Firms to Provide Repair for City-Operated Vehicles
Part 1
Concerned about how Oakland-based and/or minority firms have been “systematically omitted from bidding on millions of dollars of city work through the ‘waiver process’ and through neglect,” Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston challenged an agenda item at Tuesday’s council meeting that would have awarded more than $6 million to suburban contractors for body and fender work on City vehicles.
Houston said, “I was concerned that, of the contracts presented, only one was awarded to a small, homegrown Oakland business — Quality Body & Fender located on Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The remaining contracts—with the exception of one additional contract added—were awarded to vendors located outside of the City of Oakland (Dixon, Concord and San Leandro), leaving out certified Oakland businesses, some of whom have been here for over 30 years…