Cambra Law

08/14/2022

03/08/2021

What tenant clients are saying about Jeff Cambra & Cambra Law

11/25/2019

The Odde/Vella Tape - A Different Perspective

Last week, the City released the redacted transcript and recording of the conversation that Councilmembers Odde and Vella had with former City Manager Jill Kiemach. The Alameda County Grand Jury characterized this conversation as “interfering” with Ms. Kiemach’s authority to hire a new fire chief and concluded that it violated the Alameda City Charter.

Judging from the initial reaction on social media, the transcript did little to change minds. In other words, if one thought the Grand Jury was wrong in determining that both Councilmembers Odde and Vella violated the Alameda City Charter, then the transcript vindicated their actions, and if one thought that the Grand Jury got it right, then the actual text conclusively supported the findings of the Grand Jury. An interesting paradox to say the least.

With all the opinions being shared on the merits of the Grand Jury findings and whether attorney’s fees should be paid, I realized that nobody was discussing the concerns that I felt were equally important regarding the impact of the meeting. I am referring to the fairness to the other candidates for the job and the importance of having a transparent process.

The transcript reveals that both councilmembers contacted the final decision maker (city manager), bypassing the selection panel and not only advocated for one individual, but also criticized the other two internal candidates. Candidates applying for any City job are entitled to a selection process that evaluates each candidate on their qualifications and how the candidate’s training, experience, and skills fulfill the requirements needed to do the job. It seems unfair that certain information was being circulated outside the established hiring process to selected individuals that would impact the decision on who would be the next fire chief.

The hiring process was supposed to be “an open and fair process, without any pressure,” quoting City Manager Jill Keimach. This meeting, however, was a closed-door private advocacy session for one candidate with the person responsible for making the final hiring decision. It is hard to see how such a meeting promotes transparency in government, which both council members have advocated for in the past.

Another interesting aspect of this “situation” is the outlook of the individuals involved by re-reading the various public statements they made about the matter before it was clear that the tape would be released. Perhaps the topic of a future post.

Ultimately, the formal hiring process was followed, and Alameda now has a well-qualified Fire Chief. However, the impact of the irregularities that took place resulted in financial consequences for the City and will bring into question exactly how transparent our government is.

07/09/2019

The Alameda City Council has removed the "no cause" provision from the current rent control ordinance. The law became effective on July 5, 2019. Please see the attached SPECIAL NOTICE for specific provisions.
This amendment does not affect terminations of tenancy for specific reasons, including
1) when the owner wants to move back into the rental unit,
2) the property owner wishes to permenantly remove the unit from the rental market,
3) or for violations of the rental agreement.
There are other more specific provisions that allow housing providers to terminate tenancies. Please check with the Alameda Housing Authority for specific requirements.

07/07/2019

For more detailed information regarding this new law, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/cambralaw/

06/26/2019

As many of you know, I have been providing free tenant/landlord legal and mediation services to members of my Alameda community since 2014 when the rental market started heating up and residents began experiencing excessive rent increases. I continue to provide pro bono services today primarily to tenants out of a desire to give back to my community and help those in need.

Fourteen months ago, a public official of the City of Alameda published a comment containing several gross misrepresentations about my law practice that I believe would impact my ability to continue to provide free legal services to the members of my community. This was particularly distressing to me because most of the residents that contacted me in the past were the ones that had the greatest need of legal assistance and the least likely to be able to afford it.

My efforts to correct these misrepresentations informally included direct email communication with the official, an informal conversation with a member of the City Attorney’s Office, and finally being forced to file a claim with the City in order to avoid the statute of limitations. My objective was always to obtain a public retraction of the erroneous statements rather than to seek money damages from the City.

Earlier this month, the City Attorney’s Office released the official retraction and provided me with the retraction text for self-publication on my Cambra Law page.

“In May of 2018 there was a comment to a post on a private page of the Alameda Renters Coalition that Jeff Cambra, an attorney who at the time was a member of the City’s Rent Review Advisory Committee, did not have malpractice insurance, could not represent renters and communications with him would arguably not be privileged.

In May of 2018 Mr. Cambra did carry malpractice insurance, could represent renters but in certain instances he may have had to recuse himself and communications with him would be privileged only if he were retained as a person’s attorney. The comment to the post concerning Mr. Cambra’s not having malpractice insurance was removed from the comment.”

I want to acknowledge the role the City Attorney’s Office played in facilitating the communication and providing guidance to the parties in crafting this resolution. Thank you for your continued work in service to my city.

Please "like" this comment if you support my continued efforts and accuracy in statements made by public officials.

04/01/2019

I want to thank the folks at Alameda Magazine for printing my Letter to the Editor, which corrected the information contained in the February, 2019 issue.

10/30/2018

A number of people have asked me about the rent review process. Specifically, they have asked about the number of rent review applications and the outcome of those cases. Here is a graphic summary of those requests. In FY 2017-2018 of the 14,000 rental units in the City, 136 applications for rent review were filed with the Alameda Housing Authority. This is a 75% decrease from the number of requests filed in FY 2016 - 2017. Another interesting data point is that 52 landlords withdrew their mandatory filings for rent increases above the 5% maximum rent increase or cap amount. All figures are taken directly from the Alameda Housing Authority's FY 2017-2018 Annual Report. Here is the link: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56df370d22482e5c7f09022f/t/5b90188d0ebbe85ea24655fc/1536170151036/FY+17-18_Annual+Report_Final.pdf

10/16/2018

Over the past several months, I have posted individual statistics regarding the reasons that housing providers have terminated the tenancy of residents and the frequency it happens. Here is a chart summarizing the reasons and the totals.

08/28/2018

City of Alameda Rent Stabilization 101 - Termination of Tenancy Procedure. ****** Please share with your Alameda friends. Be sure to check out the "Is My Rent Increase Notice Valid" and "Rent Review Process" infographics at Cambra Law. ,

08/16/2018

City of Alameda Rent Stabilization 101 - The Rent Review Process. ****** Please share with your Alameda friends. Be sure to check out the "Is My Rent Increase Notice Valid" infographic at Cambra Law.