Oakland Mayor's Press Chief Resigns After FBI Raids as Turmoil Mounts

A day after Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s defiant first public statement since FBI agents raided her home last week, operations in her office seem to be in limbo as her chief spokesperson has resigned.

On Tuesday morning, emails to Thao’s communications director, Francis Zamora, garnered an automatic reply directing people to alternate contacts. In a separate statement via the mayor’s office, Zamora said he had resigned from his position.

“I thank my colleagues for their professionalism and dedication. It was an honor to serve the City of Oakland beside them,” Zamora said.

The departure adds to the turmoil in the embattled mayor’s inner circle since the raids. Thao also parted ways with Anthony Brass, the San Francisco-based attorney representing her, and no City Council allies have spoken out in support.

According to Pati Navalta, who will be supporting Thao’s communications team as the office searches for a new press officer, Thao said that she decided to part with Brass and pursue new counsel over the weekend.

In an interview with CBS Bay Area, though, Brass said he withdrew his counsel on Monday.

The interview took place just hours after Thao’s first public statement since the raid, during which she questioned the FBI search and vowed to remain in office, saying, “I am innocent.”

Brass told CBS he did not know Thao would be holding the conference and that it made clear that the two did not see eye to eye on how to handle the case.

He maintained his statement from last Friday that he did not believe Thao was the target of the raids, which took place at her home along with the offices of California Waste Solutions and two homes linked to the family who owns and operates the company, which acts as Oakland’s curbside recycling provider.

As City Council members prepare to meet on Tuesday in committees for the first time since the raids and last week’s shooting at Lake Merritt following a Juneteenth celebration, no members have come to the mayor’s defense.

Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas and Councilmembers Janani Ramachandran and Dan Kalb have said that they will continue to focus on their duties. Other council members declined to comment or did not respond to KQED’s request.

Ramachandran, who succeeded Thao as representative of District 4 when Thao became mayor in 2022, said that Wednesday’s meeting, during which the council is expected to vote on the city’s midcycle budget, was her priority.

“There’s a lot of things that are outside of my control as a council member, including what’s going on with the mayor right now, but what is very firmly within my control is deciding our budget. And this is, in fact, one of our fundamental responsibilities as a council member,” she told KQED.

KQED’s Brian Krans contributed to this report.