Anthony Batts, Oakland Police Chief, And Fear Being Of Backstabbed

The advantage of living in Oakland off and on since 1974, and the experience of having worked for two mayors of this town, is that one gets to know a lot of people, and they talk a lot, especially about Oakland City Hall.

The topic of the week, aside from Mayor Quan's trip to The White House with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, is the possible departure of Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts.

Frankly, this blogger can't blame Batts for seeking an escape hatch from the City of Oakland. His police force has been cut down to 656 officers (and it could go lower once the new deficit information hits the streets). The overall civic regard for Oakland's police force is at an all-time low. The Oakland Police Department is looking at a possible Federal takeover (due to issues with its compliance with the consent decree related to The Riders Case).

Oh, and, on top of all of that, Oakland now has a mayor in Jean Quan that many Oakland Police officers - those remaining - just don't trust, or like.

Just telling it like it is.

And "like it is," is that while Oakland City Councilmembers have said nice things about Chief Batts, long-time Oaklanders know that such words only last until someone else can be found to replace him, and the climate to have that happen has developed.

That's called backstabbing: if you have a high profile in Oakland, they love you until they replace you. You'll seldome see it coming and it happens all too often in the City of Oakland.

(Just look at how many execs the Oakland Coliseum has went through. Between SMG and the elected officials, implementing the business plan crafted in 1996 (and never updated) has been almost impossible.)

Chief Batts was and is smart to seek an escape hatch.  Until the Oakland City Council offers a pledge of support for him via resolution, rather than just pointing to his contract, Batts is going to have one eye out of Oakland.

This is where Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid, now President, has to fight.  Historically, Larry has been the gentle lion, allowing the political bulldog that is Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente to set the political agenda, especially in the face of now-former Mayor Ron Dellums.

But can Larry, who's said that maintaining Chief Batts is a priority, actually do that?  Can he withstand the desires of Mayor Quan, who has no problem replacing Batts with someone else?  

This is where we will see if Larry Reid can make his title of President mean more than just words.

Stay tuned.