What exactly is the job of City Auditor?

I manage a team of professional performance auditors who collectively have expertise in public policy analysis, accounting, economics, business, and computer systems. Through our performance audits, we provide guidance to Council and management about how to fix problems and deliver better service. We follow up to make sure the City implements our recommendations. I also manage the Payroll Audit division.


How do you decide on what to audit?

We look for audits that can result in streamlined services, improved service delivery, cost savings, or the avoidance of risks. We ask the public, the commissions, Council, the City Manager and City staff for ideas and we use our knowledge of the City’s priorities and risks, as well as reports from other cities, to put together an audit plan every spring. -more-

Shady eucalyptus trees growing in the East Bay hills could pose a serious fire danger and 12 area elected officials are advocating for federal funding to remove them. -more-

Republicans shut down government services just to stir up ideological drama. They lobbied to weaken real reform of our broken health insurance system, then, after it passed, they've been working to prevent many people benefitting from even those modest improvements. Republican leadership in the House won't even consider closing the most egregious tax loopholes through which billions of dollars are squirreled into off-shore bank accounts. The rest of us are left with more taxes, unrepaired roads, and higher college tuition costs for our children. -more-

It is gratifying that more and more courageous Israelis are stepping forward and publicly denouncing the appalling treatment of Palestinians under the crippling, suffocating occupation. The latest refuseniks are veterans from an elite secretive intelligence unit that have publicly declared they will no longer “take part in the state’s immoral actions against Palestinians because of what they call “our moral duty to act.” -more-

A new report finds many talking heads who have been fanning the flames of war in the news media have close ties to Pentagon contractors. Lee Fang, a reporter of the Nation, describes how television analysts including retired generals Jack Keane and Anthony Zinni and former Department of Homeland Security official, Frances Townsend, make regular appearances on television but fail to disclose the huge fees they collect as paid directors and advisors to some of the largest military contractors in the world. -more-

Your comments about the response you received to the free speech issue miss the pertinent point. -more-

After the previous election some readers complained that they couldn't locate the Planet's endorsements when they went to vote. To make it as easy as possible, between now and the election we're going to maintain this corner of the front page where you can always find our endorsements along with links to editorial material with more detail about specific candidates and issues.

New in this issue: Yes on Berkeley Measure R.

Then, click here for the candidates: Which Berkeley City Council Candidates Should You Support?

Short Answers: District 1, Alejandro Soto-Vigil; District 4, Jesse Arreguin (unopposed); District 7, Kriss Worthington; District 8, Jacquelyn McCormick (rank her first, followed by George Beier, second, and Lori Droste, third. Skip fourth place. )

Finally , check out this May editorial with a self-explanatory title: Tony Thurmond is the Best Choice for California Assembly ...

We're pleased to see that Berkeley Councilmember Jesse Arreguin has added his endorsement to Tony's long list of fans.

In this video you can see Tony explain his campaign in person at a Berkeley house party: -more-

During the 2014 midterm elections Republicans have waged a negative “slash and burn” campaign, attacking President Obama and Democrats in general. The GOP strategy is to fire up their base, bamboozle a few independents, turn off Dems or prevent them from voting. In this hostile environment, most Democrats have been defensive and their message has been muted. Democrats must go on offense and tell voters what they stand for. -more-

People in Oakland learned this month what a Texas-based garbage disposal company wanted out of our city. But a question nobody is asking is, what does an Alabama-owned cast iron foundry want from Oakland city government? While I can't figure out the answer to that question but I know it's something, because AB&I Foundry regularly pours money into Oakland city government elections, lots of money, the kind of money folks give when they expect something in return. -more-

Some people in the general public do not have much understanding of mental illness. Certain people may have negative opinions about mentally ill persons which are based on ignorance, and other people may be open-minded but lack much information. -more-

Berkeley Symphony opens at 7--not 8!--this Thursday evening with a program conducted by Joana Carneiro that features Jennifer Koh in the Sibelius Violin Concerto; the world premiere of a commissioned piece by Oscar Bettison, Sea Shaped, and Elgar's Enigma Variations. Koh performed a formidible double-header of violin concerti with the Symphony a few years back, a stellar performance. The Sibelius concerto

The Shotgun Players production of Enda Walsh's 'New Electric Ballroom,' ongoing at Ashby Stage, brings to mind the Druid Theatre's production of 'The Walworth Farce,' an earlier play in Walsh's same series, which Cal Performances produced here in November, 2009, one of the memorable shows in the Bay Area of the past decade. shotgunplayers.org -more-